KUTIRE KTMANDAJA! 



301 



Terrere told us that not a day had passed since we left 

 without our being spoken of, for after the first fight with us 

 the rain had stopped, the crops had died, the fruit had dropped 

 off, expeditions against the Masai had miscarried ; in short, 

 everything had gone wrong. All this the Wakikuyu said 

 was the result of our curse, because they had received us 

 hostilely, and their one desire was that we should return and 

 remove that curse from their land. Daily they had gone to 

 the frontier to see if there were any signs of us, and already 

 things were a little better, there was promise of a good harvest, 

 but everything except potatoes was still unripe. We should 

 therefore not find very much to eat just now, but still it would 

 be better for us to cut right across Kikuyuland on our way to 

 Ukambani, than to go to JSTgongo Bagas. Terrere wound up 

 by assuring us that Kikuyuland was ours ; we could go to 

 and fro in it as we liked ; there would be no more ' kiniandaja ' 

 for us. 



We stopped on the frontier for two days, and a good man}^ 

 of the moran with whom we had been on friendly terms before 

 came to visit us, but neither Utahaj Uajakinor any of the other 

 moruu or samaki put in an appearance. During these two 

 days plenty of potatoes, with a little sugar, tobacco, and natron 

 were brought for sale. 



On September 1, a very foggy morning, we crossed the 

 little frontier wood and once more stood on the threshold of 

 fertile Kikuyuland. As before, the natives came to meet us in 

 crowds, but instead of spears they had green boughs in their 

 hands, and the air resounded with the cry from many hundred 

 voices of ' Kutire kimandaja ! ' 



We chose a site for our camp near a village. Young and 

 old at once set eagerly to work to collect brushwood, whilst 

 others made holes in the ground with their swords, and in next 

 to no time our fence was up. What a change had come over 



