312 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT 



CHAP. 



and was very severe; it resembled a Spanish bit. 

 The saddle was made of light wood covered with soft 

 folds of sheepskin; so that it was comfortable. It was 

 attached to the horse by means of a cinch girth run 

 through rings and knotted. The stirrups consisted of 

 rings just large enough to admit the great toe. The 

 saddle was held in place by a breastplate and breech- 

 ing, as well as by the girth. The reins consisted of 

 bits of untanned hide. The horseman was armed with 

 a spear quite ten feet in length. 



I was told that the Rendile possessed about 500 

 horses. These they had purchased from the Barawa, 

 whose tribe was said to be possessed of thousands 

 of horses, which they used in battle and also for 

 the purpose of hunting giraffe and antelope, which 

 are the only game eaten by the Rendile. 



During our stay in the neighbourhood of these 

 people I saw but one woman. She was clad as fol- 

 lows. About her hips there depended a short kilt, 

 consisting of what resembled rope-ends, and from her 

 shoulders fell a voluminous cloak of well-tanned sheep- 

 skin. The Rendile tanned their hides very success- 

 fully, and one of these bore a remarkable resemblance 

 to peau de suede. The woman's hair was most care- 

 fully arranged. It was gathered on the top of her 

 head in the shape of a crest of an ancient Greek 

 helmet, and was held in this position by means of 

 pins and grease. 



In the afternoon we were able to gather an idea of 

 the numbers of the Rendile flocks and herds. Just 

 before sundown a herd of camels passed our camp, 

 and we counted 4000. These were said to belong to 



