NZOIA PLATEAU AND ITS TRIBES 219 



were in touch with tribes that smelted their own iron) and 

 which, by tempering, they render into a good, mild steel, 

 very suitable for their purpose. Some arrow heads, 

 generally one in a quiverful, are sharpened to a long plain 

 keen edge, like a prolonged bay leaf. These they use as 

 a sort of pocket knife, cutting the meat from finer skins with 

 them, cutting out thorns from their feet, etc. They also 

 use them against small game, easily killed, when poison is 

 not necessary. 



Others are even more carefully made, the points long and 

 cruelly barbed. These last they use for hunting large game, 

 when there is small chance of the shot being missed and the 

 arrow lost in the long grass. The shaft is of fine split bam- 

 boo. Into this shaft fits exactly an ironwood head, some six 

 inches long, and on this again, the barbed point is fastened. 

 The steel head of the arrow, and the iron wood top piece, 

 for two inches or more, are smeared with the much dreaded 

 poison. The kongoni, stung by the arrow, rushes off, and 

 the feathered shaft drops, leaving the iron wood head and 

 barb of the weapon in the wound. If the poison is fresh, 

 and a shoulder or a neck shot has been made, the N'dorobo 

 say positively that no beast will run a hundred yards. I am 

 inclined however to think that they exaggerate somewhat the 

 action of this poison. That it is very deadly there is no 

 doubt. Newman who lived among the Kenia N'dorobo 

 satisfied himself of that. In a man's case its deadly action 

 was almost instantaneous. Quite lately there happened 

 hereabouts a small fight between ten Massai (young bloods) 

 and some Kamasea, who used the same poison on their 

 arrows. The Massai were cattle stealing, and had the 

 temerity to attack a small village. The Kamasea saw 

 them coming, and, lying in the grass, let them come. Eight 

 out of the ten raiders fell almost at once. They had only 

 time to cut up their shields and break their spears (no 

 enemy at least should ever wield these) and die beside the 



