242 THROUGH MASAILAND TO THE BORDERS OF KTKUYU 



lessened the disagreeable odour, but it still tasted strongly of 

 salt and of decaying vegetation. 



The inarch here had been across a salt-strewn steppe over- 

 grown with succulent bush and two kinds of grass, one resem- 

 bling coarse swamp grass, the other looking like soft green 

 sward, but with stiff stems ending in sharp needle-like points 

 which hurt the feet of our men. Even where this grass grew 

 the ground was covered with a layer of salt, and we scrunched 

 it under our feet with a noise like that made by hard, frozen 

 snow. A row of light green acacias, forming a regular 

 avenue, were the only trees we passed, and bore witness to 

 the presence of an underground stream. There was plenty of 

 game about, so Count Teleki and his Masai friends made a 

 detour for hunting whilst the caravan pressed straight on, joining 

 us again a few hours later, bringing three gnus and one zebra. 



From the top of a low, flat hilt we could make out at a 

 distance of some 2,000 yards from the camp two large ponds, 

 one on the north, the other on the west. From the latter rose 

 clouds of smoke, bearing witness to the presence of natives, 

 and we learnt that there were two Masai kraals or bumbas 

 beside it. Beyond stretched a forest extending to the base of 

 a low range of heights on the west. 



It is now time to describe, with some detail, the noble race 

 of the Masai through whose country we were now passing. 

 They call themselves Ol-Masai, and are by far the most inter- 

 esting and most powerful people with whom we came in con- 

 tact in our journey of exploration. Even the uninitiated must 

 be struck with the immense difference between them and the 

 negro tribes dwelling on the south of their dominions ; and as 

 a matter of fact they are quite unconnected with the negro 

 family. Whilst the negroes belong to the great Bantu 1 stock, 



1 The word Bantu is used by Bleek as a general term for those African 

 languages in which the prefix is used in declination and conjugation. With this 



