KIJANJA'S ELOQUENT HARANGUE 



315 



all manner of beautiful things, and we will give you rain, if 

 you will let us pass through your land unmolested. We 

 promise to keep peace if you keep it. But beware of war, 

 for war with us is an evil thing. We have arrows which give 

 forth fire and will burn your villages. And in war, too, you 

 might lose your oxen and sheep, for when once we let fly our 

 fire-arrows, not one of you will be able to stand against 

 them.' This harangue ended, the natives made many pro- 

 testations of friendship. Death and the wrath of Heaven 

 were invoked on all who should break faith ; one arm of 

 each of the contracting parties was gashed and each wetted 

 his lips with the blood of the other, and, to the accompaniment 

 of shouts of 6 Ndugu ' (brother) and ' Muma ' (blood), the broiled 

 flesh was eaten by the two. 



The natives brought food, weapons, and ornaments in great 

 quantities for sale. They also offered us slaves, chiefly girls 

 from Ukambani, with a few Masai maidens. They were ready 

 to accept almost anything in payment, but they preferred deep- 

 red Masai beads and thick brass wire. Some of our people, 

 who had been ailing ever since we left Taveta, ran away here 

 in the night, probably tempted by the fertility of the land, but 

 their fate was pretty sure to be slavery, and the natives always 

 consider such fugitives their property. A good many caravan 

 men are caught in this way, but they always hope to evade 

 their new masters on some favourable opportunity. 



On September 12 we started again accompanied by Utahaj 

 Uajaki, the path leading, as before, over many ridges and 

 streams, the whole district being covered with fairly steep hills, 

 extending north-west and south-east with a south-easterly trend. 

 In the ravines and valleys flow insignificant streams, and the 

 country is almost bare of trees, but very well cultivated, the 

 more humid valleys with sugar-cane, more rarely with bananas 

 or colocasia ; the hill-slopes with potatoes, beans, gums, millet, 



