378 THE LAND OF THE LION 



in regard for the truth between tribes that have lived near 

 each other for ages ? Environment in part accounts for it. 

 These truth speakers have been independent, they are men 

 of the mountain or of the impenetrable forest, no one has 

 lorded it over them, while the Waganda have been crushed 

 under the ruthless tyranny of their kings; and the Kikuyu 

 have been, till lately, a timid, ill-nourished people cower- 

 ing before the onslaughts of the irresistible Massai. 



In the case of the Massai and of their cousins the Nandi, 

 thbugh they do not seem to place any value on truth for 

 truth's sake, as do these other peoples, still, in matters 

 that affect tribal possessions, they are truthfulness itself. 



You can leave a bunch of cows, sheep or goats for years 

 in a Massai or Nandi munyata (village) and be quite certain 

 that an accurate tally will be kept and delivered to you of 

 every calf, lamb or kid born in your absence ; the beasts that 

 died or were killed by wild animals, and every particular 

 regarding your property will be accurately remembered 

 and accounted for. 



I have known of a man of mixed native blood, who was 

 driven forth from the Nandi tribe before the Nandi war in 

 1906 for (as he himself confessed to me) making love ta 

 girls he had no right to make love to. He had to escape by 

 night in order to save his life. Since his enforced flight 

 the war had taken place, and the Nandi had lost by cap- 

 ture one-third of their immense herds. He had not ven- 

 tured to visit the village for five years, yet he had no slight- 

 est doubt that on his return, a completely accurate account- 

 ing would be made with him, and he would be told just 

 how many cattle he stood possessed of. 



Such a standard of truthfulness is remarkable. Few 

 western American cattle owners, a few years back, would 

 dream of exacting it or would themselves have adhered to it. 

 My object in dwelling at such length on the moral differ- 

 ences I found among the East African tribes, is to supply 



