3o6 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT 



CHAP. 



forty of my men, and accompanied the chiefs to the 

 place where they wished us to make a camp. It was 

 two miles farther along the bed of the stream in 

 which our first camp was pitched ; in a few hours my 

 forty men had built there a strong zeriba. 



On our way to the new zeriba we were approached 

 by a band of lOO Samburu, or Berkenedji. They ex- 

 actly resembled Masai warriors, wore their hair in the 

 same style of tonsure, and were armed in identical 

 manner. They were very anxious to exchange don- 

 keys for our cattle. They had lain in wait for us on 

 the road ; for, as they said, when once we had reached 

 our new camp, they would be kept away by the Ren- 

 dile, and not allowed to exchange with us. As we 

 hoped to exchange our cattle for camels and horses, 

 we refused to trade with them. 



Shortly after we reached our new camp, and estab- 

 lished ourselves therein, the three chiefs, accompanied 

 by from 600 to 800 warriors, appeared. They all 

 wished to enter our zeriba at once. This we 

 gently but firmly refused to permit. We provided 

 boxes for the three chiefs, and they sat down. After 

 the exchange of small gifts (they gave milk, and we 

 gave tobacco), they said they were then ready to be- 

 gin trade, and asked what we wished to buy. We 

 said, camels. Lokomogul shouted to his men, and an 

 old camel, apparently suffering from a number of 

 diseases, was led to the edge of the zeriba. Loko- 

 mogul in a long speech extolled the merits of this 

 animal, and, among other things, said it was the best 

 camel they had. We told him that as he valued 

 this animal so highly, we thought it a pity to deprive 



