LAKE KUDOLPH 
49 
islands (averaging only between 5 and 10 acres) and fish- 
catching. At the best I should think these Elmolo were chiefly 
made up of former outcasts of the Samburu and Masai. These 
were the only natives we met with the whole way up the lake. 
All the grass on this shore is exceedingly brittle and as 
sharp as needles, but our caravan, consisting of 6 mules, 
60 camels, and 300 sheep, seemed to thrive uncommonly well 
on it. The whole of Lake Rudolph seems to be full of croco- 
diles and hippopotamuses, and by way of a treat and change 
of diet we shot two hippo for the Elmolo. 
Having heard before I struck Rudolph that there was an 
idea that the lions went to the lake to eat cat-fish, I ques- 
tioned the Elmolo on this point. ‘No/ they said, 4 the lion 
does not come for the fish but to eat the crocodiles ! * I 
ridiculed this idea, but they were very decided, and somewhat 
annoyed at my doubting their word on the point, and I must 
confess that I afterwards found reason in what they said, 
for I came on at least four carcases of crocodiles lying in bushes 
about 300 yards from the lake shores. I am not sure how far 
4 crocs ’ generally wander inland, but these carcases were found 
in ideal lion lairs, and had evidently been dismembered by 
some animal, their bones being scattered about the place. 
It was about here that we had some splendid fishing, always 
getting a really good haul every evening. The most common 
variety was a bream-like fish, though we had one good capture 
in the shape of a 45 -pounder, very much like a cod, but 
as I have no knowledge of fish I will not venture into details. 
This fish was speared by one of our boys. The majority of 
the fish we caught were of the 4 eel ’ species, with long suckers 
round the mouth ; they averaged about 3 feet in length 
by 8 inches in circumference. 1 
We were not sorry to find, as we journeyed farther and 
farther northward, that the lake appeared to get much less salt 
(we also noticed that it got shallower), which we attributed to 
such a large river as the Omo flowing into it from the north. 
For most of the journey we had to use a roughly contrived con- 
denser (made from a paraffin tin), and this we kept going from 
the time of arrival in camp until our early morning start, and 
1 Probably Siluroids or Protopterus. 
Vol. II.— No. 3. 
