220 THE LAND OF THE LION 



broken weapons. Gallant fellows anyway! The broken 

 war gear was taken by the Kamasea to the nearest civil officer. 

 The bows are very strong and well strung, and, poor as 

 these Pukka N'dorobo are they will seldom part with their 

 really good bows and arrows; the old and inferior weapons 

 are not hard to buy. Each poisoned arrow is very neatly 

 wrapped with skin tape, and kept so covered till needed. 

 The arrows they use on their enemies are not tipped with 

 steel, but have long iron wood unbarbed points. They 

 are heavily poisoned, and are not nearly as carefully made, 

 nor could they pierce nearly so far, as the heavier hunting 

 arrow. I asked them why they did this. The reply was, 

 they wanted many arrows to shoot at their enemies, and these 

 were easily made, and less costly. There was no need in 

 a man's case for the heavy piercing heads. A prick was 

 enough. I think I remember reading long ago (if I am 

 mistaken I crave forgiveness for I am far from books of 

 reference) that the Malay tribes who use the blow pipe and 

 dip its tiny darts in deadly poison have strange customs 

 which they jealously observe, when that poison has to be 

 prepared.) These people most scrupulously continue to 

 obey the customs their forefathers have handed down to 

 them. A hunter must not make any poison, while with 

 his family. For two days he must not eat meat or touch 

 blood, and he must leave his hut and live alone in the forest. 

 If these rules are neglected, the poison will have no power 

 to kill. All the neighbour tribes to these Cherangang use 

 the poison: Kamasea to the east, Maraquette to the north, 

 and Elgao to the south. But the wild men say the poison 

 these tribes use is not so strong, and, even when they trade 

 it from themselves, it is apt to be old and so to lose much of 

 its power. Certainly the Pukka N'dorobo's instruments 

 and archery are markedly superior. The arrows and bows 

 made by the Nandi or the Massai are weak and inferior 

 when compared with them. I am convinced that our 



