VIII 



TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



357 



of a few months. With the exception of four or five 

 youths, the entire community seemed mere bags of 

 skin and bones. Their voices were hoarse, their eyes 

 sunken far v^ithin their sockets, and their hps tightly 

 drawn over their teeth ; but even in that emaciated 

 condition they seemed to enjoy the pleasures of con- 

 versation, and exchanged remarks and jokes upon the 

 appearance of myself and my men. 



The headman of the village, called " Leguinan " (a 

 Masai word, meaning leader), came to me, and after 

 cheerfully expectorating in my face (an act which the 

 Masai, Wanderobbo, and kindred tribes consider the 

 best testimony of their deep admiration and friend- 

 ship), proceeded to inform me of the starving con- 

 dition of his people, and prayed that I would lend 

 my powerful aid in supplying them with food. This 

 meant elephant, for the flesh of the elephant is the 

 favourite and staple food of these people. They will 

 eat anything which they can procure ; but they pre- 

 fer the elephant, because it has more flesh on it, and 

 the killing of one of these beasts means tons of meat. 

 I told them I had come to them for the purpose of 

 providing them with food, and hoped that on the 

 morrow they would guide me to a place where I 

 would find many elephants ; but this proposition did 

 not seem to meet the views of the Leguinan of the 

 Wanderobbo. He noticed that we had a good supply 

 of food for our men ; and before setting out upon a 

 journey, for the purpose of finding what possibly we 

 might not get, he thought it much better that he and 

 his tribe should be furnished with food from our 

 stores. He said that he had made bad medicine for 



