314 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT chap. 



neighbouring towns on the coast, they had left it. 

 They said that within the preceding year they had 

 been attacked by a body of SomaH, some hundreds 

 of whom were armed with rifles; they had beaten 

 them off, however, with great loss. They expressed 

 hearty contempt for the rifles used by the Somali; 

 which must have been muzzle-loaders charged with a 

 poor quality of powder, and most probably with too 

 small a charge. The Rendile said their shields were 

 sufficient to turn the bullets. They had heard of our 

 victory over the Wamsara, and expressed great sur- 

 prise thereat; for they reckoned the Wamsara to be 

 as formidable as the Masai, and the latter, in the old 

 days, had always been able to rout the Somali in 

 battle. 



The chief medicine-man of the tribe was called 

 Lesegetetti ; he was not a native of the Rendile, but a 

 Masai. His sway dated from the defeat of the Ren- 

 dile at the hands of the Turcana. Up to that time 

 their chief medicine-man was a Rendile, named Lao- 

 goum ; but as his magic had been unable to ward off 

 the attacks of the Turcana, his influence since that 

 day had waned, and Lesegetetti was considered the 

 most powerful medicine-man of the tribe. 



We waited at Kome another day, hoping there 

 would be more trade ; but few natives came to us, and 

 they only to beg tobacco. One was an intelligent 

 young fellow, and by means of presents we got him 

 to sit down and tell us all he knew about his people 

 and their custom^s. All our questions were answered 

 with satisfactory readiness ; but as we never entered 

 into intimate relations with the Rendile, I am unable 



