230 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP. 
tribe must attend strictly to their duties, and are 
not allowed to marry or to smoke or to drink 
until after their term of active service is completed. 
Besides the spear and shield they generally carry 
a sword or knobkerrie, suspended from a raw-hide 
waist-belt ; and they certainly look very ferocious in 
their weird-looking head-dress when on the war- 
path. Once or twice I met detachments out on 
these expeditions, but they were always quite 
friendly to me, even though I was practically 
alone. Before the advent of British rule, however, 
sudden raids were constantly being made by them 
on the weaker tribes in the country; and when a 
kraal was captured all the male defenders were 
instantly killed with the spear, while the women 
were put to death during the night with clubs. The 
Masai, indeed, never made slaves or took prisoners, 
and it was their proud boast that where a party of 
elmorani had passed, nothing of any kind was left 
alive. The object of these raids was, of course, to 
capture live stock, for the Masai are not an agri- 
cultural people and their wealth consists entirely in 
their herds of cattle, sheep and goats. Curiously 
enough they do not hunt game, although the country 
abounds with it, but live principally on beef and 
milk ; and it is also a common custom for them to 
drink daily a pint or so of blood taken from a live 
bullock. As they thus live entirely on cattle, and 
