NZOIA PLATEAU AND ITS TRIBES 231 



Had I had time I should have liked greatly to hunt 

 in that great valley and travel down the Kerio River to Lake 

 Rudolph. The tribes that live on its banks are but little 

 known. Some of them, like the Maraquette and the Cheran- 

 gang N'dorobo, have never received a white man into 

 their forest strongholds. But the time for returning had 

 come and most unwillingly I rode away. 



The numbers and power of the Massai tribe in old days 

 can best be estimated by the wide-spread influence they 

 still exercise on surrounding and sometimes very different 

 peoples. Their customs suited no doubt their circumstances. 

 Their war organization was much more perfect than that 

 of any of their enemies, and by its means they were enabled 

 to hold their own even in struggles in which they were 

 heavily outnumbered. The Elgoa have been always men 

 of the forest. Their herds were insignificant when compared 

 with those of a great veldt tribe. Yet somehow among them 

 Massai customs have been universal for ages. 



In their method of fighting they seem to differ radically 

 from the neighbouring tribes, some of whom, like the Kara- 

 mojo, fight only with thrusting spear and shield (Karamojo 

 do not use either sword or club stick), or like the N'dorobo 

 who use pointed arrows alone. The Elgoa arm half 

 the men with beautifully balanced spears, and narrow, 

 oval shields of buffalo hide, and half with bows and poisoned 

 arrows ; the spear is however counted the more honourable 

 weapon. Their use of the bow to support the spear would 

 suit admirably the nature of the country they must defend. 



The Elgoa and the Cherangang, their near neighbours, 

 take the most serious view possible of homicide (of course 

 within the tribe; no significance is attached to killing out- 

 side of it). 



The old chieftain, who was much looked up to by his 

 people and who was everywhere watched over and waited 

 on by his two fine young warrior sons, is unquestionably 



