^ The Spell of the Elelescho 



But why do my bearers show no fear? Why does no 

 uproar break out in the camp ? 



It is plain enough that no one troubles himself 

 about the appearance of these figures, for they come, not 

 threatening and demanding tribute, but conscious of the 

 overpowering might of the European. True, a few 

 months ago, not so far from my camp, their warriors 

 surprised and destroyed a caravan of nearly a thousand 

 coast folk. But, generally speaking, they do not care to 

 have to reckon with the superior weapons of Europe. 

 They even accept some food from me. And in this 

 matter they are not so dainty as they used to be in former 

 times, when the warriors — obedient to strict dietary laws — 

 lived only on the meat and milk of their herds. Of 

 course, here we have to deal with only a small number 

 of them. Yonder, on the wild uplands, there still live a 

 not inconsiderable number of Masai, who having saved 

 their herds, or got them together again, keep as far away as 

 may be from the Europeans and their uncanny weapons. 



The Masai warriors, with their wives, children, and 

 herds, seem to me to be fit accessories for this desert 

 landscape. In the evening, dances amuse us till late in 

 the night, and many a wordy skirmish breaks out as some 

 of my bearers who, thanks to former journeys, have some 

 knowledge of the Masai tongue, gossip with these nomads 

 of the wilderness. The coast folk think themselves high 

 as the heavens above the "savage" Masai. The Masai 

 warriors, in return, despise the burden-bearing coast folk, 

 count them as ''barbarians," and scornfully call them 

 '' il'meek." 



15 



