2 i8 THE LAND OF THE LION 



though they are somewhat undersized, and considering the 

 uncertainty of their food supply, this is perhaps to be 

 expected. The Massai legends have it (says Hollis) that 

 "in the beginning, when God came to the world, he found 

 three things in it, an N'dorobo, an elephant, and a snake/* 



Like other little mountain tribes, the value they place 

 on their independence and freedom is marvellous. Here 

 in remote unexplored Africa, the wide world's story is told 

 over again. Slaughtered, harried, reduced to starvation, 

 they have been times without number: but never conquered, 

 dispersed, or absorbed. Their mountain freedom has often 

 cost them dear. But the heavier the price the more they 

 value it. They cultivate a little "whimby" (a small, very 

 hard, round seed, something like canary seed and very 

 nutritious; all East African natives are partial to it. It 

 fetches a higher price than maize, and is in great demand 

 for beer). They ferment the meal and add honey. The 

 drink is highly intoxicating and with the aid of the honey 

 bird they steadily pursue the bees. From time to time they 

 visit the plateau on hunting expeditions, usually leaving wives 

 and children in the mountains. During these expeditions, 

 they often, in times past, suffered from the Nandi, Katosch, 

 and more especially the Karamojo, a more distant tribe, 

 but one that sent its war parties very far afield. 



When grass is long, they have no difficulty in procuring 

 much kongoni, and zebra meat. They can then stalk to 

 within thirty or forty yards of the game, and, at that distance, 

 seem always to send a heavily poisoned arrow home. These 

 arrows of theirs are terribly effective weapons ; they are quite 

 beautifully made, smooth on the shaft, feathered carefully 

 with vulture wing feathers, a twist being given sometimes 

 to the feathers (something I have never seen in any arrow 

 feathering before), the result being to give the arrow a spin- 

 ning flight, like that of a rifle bullet. The arrow heads are 

 made from iron wire they have traded (in years gone by they 



