374 THE LAND OF THE LION 



Kavorondo to my tent door. They said they wanted 

 "dowa." David explained that since eleven o'clock of 

 the day before they had eaten all their three days' potio, and 

 the zebra meat into the bargain, a truly appalling amount. 

 This accounted for their call on the medicine chest. I 

 asked them why they had been such gluttons. Quite 

 seriously they answered, "Bwana, we had our potio, there 

 are many lions about here and some of the men are sick. 

 You never can tell when death will come. We would hate 

 to die before we had eaten our potio." I told them they 

 might fast for the next three days. They did not seem 

 at all disquieted at this prospect, but as they went away 

 one of them said quietly that bwana koubwa (the big 

 master) did not know evidently much about eating. If 

 he would but come to Kavorondo land they would gladly 

 show him how two reasonably competent Kavorondo could 

 eat up a whole sheep at one sitting! 



The incident illustrates what all who would help him 

 must recognize, the crude savage has but one aim and end 

 in life, and his existence centres around that aim. It is to 

 have enough to eat. Even his wives are chiefly valuable to 

 him because, since they till his shamba, they assure him his 

 food and sometimes his beer. 



Sometimes he seems to have no affection for his off- 

 spring, or care for them other than that attaching to a more 

 or less valuable chattel. 



The Kikuyu seem specially lacking in this regard. 

 A very unusually intelligent Kikuyu, a man of considerable 

 influence in his own section of that tribe, came with us on 

 a long hunting trip. He was badly mauled by a lion, and 

 his return home to his four wives was delayed. When asked 

 what they would do in his absence, he replied that he did 

 not care what they did ; they must keep his shamba in order, 

 and for the rest, if an unexpected child or two should come, 

 it did not matter, for they would be his property. The 



