FIRST EXPEDITION FROM MOMBASA 



reached was probably not more than about forty miles as the 

 crow flies away from my main camp. Laiju is about east-north- 

 east of Kenia (which, by the way, the natives here call Kilimara), 

 and the direction we took was nearly due east — but slightly to 

 the south by compass — from the former place. 



An old Ndorobo, to whom I had been introduced by 

 Baikenda, and who, being too feeble to hunt, lived here 

 generally as a sort of dependant of his — mainly on charity — 

 had offered to show me where elephants were, within two or 

 three days' journey ; and, as I was not yet in a position to 

 start on a long trip, I gladh' accepted his offer, in hopes of 

 putting in a little of the time I was obliged to wait pleasantly 

 and perhaps profitabh'. The Ndorobos,^ of whom I shall have 

 more to say later on, are a kind of degraded Masai, living on 

 game, honey, etc., in the bush, something after the style of 

 the South African bushmen, the grand object of their desires 

 being elephants. They live a more or less nomadic life 

 in small communities scattered over a wide extent of East 

 Equatorial Africa, where no settled inhabitants are. The wild 

 region from here northward to Lake Rudolph is left entirely 

 to them. 



On m}' outward journey, although I saw plenty of game, 

 I did not do more shooting than just to supply my men and 

 self with meat, for which a zebra or two and one or two 

 Grant's gazelles sufficed. I will go more into details in 

 describing our return journey, as it was then that I did most 

 shooting. But first, touching the elephants. We had crossed 

 several beautiful streams — the head waters of a considerable 

 tributary of the Tana, which Chanler and Von Hohnel have 

 called the Mackenzie River — and got into a prett}' dry country 

 beyond, where there was hardly any game. All the way the 

 bush was more or less open and easy to walk through, as we 



' I purposely refrain from using the .Swahili form of plural, W'a-ndorobo, because it is 

 no more correct than our own as applied to the Masai or Xdorobo language. I believe 

 the proper plural to be Londorobo, but am not sure. 



