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THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 



what Plutarch relates of Camillus: he broke short the 

 assegais of his " magnificent savages " when he sent 

 them to war, and forbade each warrior to return with- 

 out having stained his stick with blood ; the conse- 

 quence was, that, instead of " dumb-shooting " at a 

 distance, they rushed in and won. 



The mkuki, farara, or spear, is more generally used 

 for stabbing than throwing. It has a long narrow blade 

 of untempered iron, so soft that it may be bent with 

 the fingers; it is capable, however, of receiving a fine 

 edge. The shoulders are rounded off, and one or two 

 lines extend lengthways along the centre from socket to 

 point. At the socket where the shaft is introduced, it 

 its covered with a bit of skin from the tail of some 

 animal drawn on like a stocking, and sometimes the iron 

 is forced on when heated, so as to adhere by contraction of 

 the metal. The shaft, which is five to six feet long, is 

 a branch of the dark-brown mkole or the light-yellow 

 mtata-tree, chosen because close-grained, tough, pliable, 

 and free from knots ; it is peeled, straightened in hot 

 ashes, pared down to the heart, smoothed with a knife, 

 carefully oiled or greased, without which it soon becomes 

 brittle, and polished with the leaves of the mkuba-tree. 

 The wood is mostly ornamented with twists of brass 

 and copper wire ; it is sometimes plated with zinc or tin, 

 and it is generally provided with an iron heel for plant- 

 ing in the ground. Some tribes — the northern Wagogo 

 and their neighbours the Wamasai for instance — have 

 huge spear-heads like shovels, unfit for throwing. The 

 best w r eapons for war are made in Karagwah. 



The kikuki, assegai, or javelin, is much used by the 

 Warori and other fighting tribes, who enter action with 

 a sheaf of those weapons. Nowhere, however, did the 

 East African appear possessed of the dexterity de- 



