64 



UNDER THE AFRICAN SUN 



of causing villagers to attend markets without a spear. Very 

 often they are armed simply with a small club which, if long 

 enough, serves also as a walking-stick. 



The native bill-hook is quite different in shape to the one used 

 in Uganda. It is used to cut down jungle, rank weeds, and 

 shrubs, as a preliminary clearing of the field ; the women 

 afterwards turn over the soil with native hoes of the usual 

 pointed heart-shape. I have seen men working in the fields 

 as diligently as women. Small boys usually serve as goatherds. 



THE KAVIRONUO CHIEF NGIRA. 



shepherds, and cowherds. Small girls, even from the earliest 

 years, assist their mothers, fetch water, look after the fire, pre- 

 pare the food, grind corn, and help in the fields. 



The Kavirondo natives have no supreme king over them, but 

 are under small independent chiefs. Very often the village 

 elders manage their own affairs without rendering obedience to 

 any one. According to different districts, the natives, though of 

 one race and one language, call themselves by different names, 

 such as Wakitosh and Wakilelowa. 



In 1894 a sad reverse attended British influence among the 

 neighbouring Wakitosh. Some Swahilies had deserted to a 

 certain Wakitosh village, and the force sent to demand their 



