OUR NEW LEADER 



75 



shape common at Nyemps, in Kamasia, Kavirondo, Suk, and 

 Turkana, and the shields of buffalo hide are also evidently 

 borrowed from the people of the two last-named districts. 



Sokoni, our guide from Nyemps, was the go-between in all 

 our dealings with the natives here ; and we found him, to our 

 great satisfaction, a most trust- 

 worthy and zealous broker in our 

 interests. As a native, yet ex- 

 perienced in all the needs of a 

 caravan, he proved himself most 

 useful at this juncture of our 

 affairs. Through him the natives 

 became properly acquainted with 

 our needs ; and we got all the 

 information we wanted without 

 having ourselves to take part in 

 the endless shauris. There is no 

 doubt that we owed getting a 

 guide here to lead us further, 



to the presence of two men in our caravan related tribally 

 to the mountaineers. Our new leader was a young fellow, 

 who, according to his own account, came from the extreme 

 north of Samburu, and was now only on a visit to his 

 connections on Mount Nyiro. We named him Lembasso, as 

 he was to guide us to the lake, the Burkeneji word for which 

 is Basso. 



The following is the information we obtained here about 

 the districts on the north, and the way to them. 



We had two paths to choose from. One would lead us in 

 a few days to a big lake called the Basso Narok or Black Lake, 

 situated in an uninhabited district beyond which we should pass 

 through a further long deserted stretch of country, and then 

 come to the home of the Eeshiat, from whom we could obtain 



BURKENEJI SHIELDS. 



