276 THROUGH MASAILAND TO THE BORDERS OF KIKUYU 



able to make out that the animal had soon separated from his 

 companions and had gone off alone, but he could not find him 

 after all, as he lost the spoor on the stony ground beyond the 

 bush. Teleki then turned his attention to the lion he had 

 shot, but with equally unsatisfactory results. 



From Turuka two paths lead to Ngongo Bagas on the 

 frontier of Kikuyuiand, for which all trading caravans make 

 when passing through the Masai country. One path goes 

 westward along the course of the Turuka stream, and then 

 northward, striking the base of the Doenye Erok la Kapotei. 

 Most caravans take this route, and so did Thomson. The 

 other crosses the Turuka plateau, and bears northward on 

 the east of the Doenye Erok. It is far more arduous than 

 the first, as two days' marches are through uninhabited dis- 

 tricts, but for all that we chose it in order, for a time at least, 

 to avoid following Thomson's footsteps. We had only one 

 day's provisions left, so we were anxious to buy food from the 

 Masai. We were close to a warrior kraal containing seven 

 moran and their dittos who often came to visit us, but they 

 were very unwilling to let us have any cattle. We decided, 

 therefore,' to send Maktubu with thirty men to Dogilani in 

 advance, which delayed us here some time longer ; and, alas ! 

 he returned in a couple of days with empty hands, for, owing 

 to Jumbe Kimemeta's forgetfulness, he had gone without any 

 goods for barter, and could not, of course, make any pur- 

 chases ; and, moreover, the Masai seemed very averse to 

 selling cattle. It was nearly night, and we had nothing left, 

 for the only game brought down that day had been a little 

 Mpala antelope. The men gathered about us with woful 

 countenances, for they knew they would probably have to go 

 to rest with empty stomachs, and we were making up our 

 minds to the situation when there was a cry of zebras ! A 

 herd of six had approached the camp, and though the sun had 



