154 WAR : CAMPAIGNING IN EAST AFRICA 



Masai. They always looked exactly like the 

 ordinary Masai to us ; at the same time, there 

 must be some considerable tribal difference, for 

 the Kwafi always impressed on us M Sisi habana 

 Masai" ("We are not Masai"). These Masai 

 tribes have at last solved the problem, confessedly 

 difficult for most of us, how to have your cake and 

 eat it, for they live mostly on milk and blood, the 

 latter being obtained by daily bleeding certain of 

 their cattle, who are, of course, none the worse 

 for this treatment. The Masai have always had 

 rather a formidable name, but I think as fighting 

 men they have been much overrated, and, per- 

 sonally, I regard them as great cowards. Small 

 parties of German askaris, not more than six or 

 eight, would commandeer and remove their cattle 

 wholesale, without the Masai making any serious 

 attempt to check them, and it is well known that 

 the one sore point with all native peoples is, the 

 interference with either their live stock or women, 

 particularly the former. 



That night we had a long talk with the Kwafi, 

 who agreed to supply us with guides for our trip. 

 Our camp was about 400 yards from the village 

 in the thick bush, and in the middle of the night 

 some lions cut a big calf out of the Masai cattle 

 kraal, or else found it outside, and began to drive 

 the wretched animal, as mischance would have it, 

 in our direction. It seemed that there were one 

 or more cubs trying their hand at killing, for they 

 were nearly an hour playing with and mauling 



