IV 
THE MASAI 
39 
any attempt to keep their side of the bargain. Not 
only did they at certain seasons of the year move far 
beyond the bounds marked out for them in both 
Reserves into territory temporarily unoccupied, but 
they even spread themselves all over the farms marked 
out, but not yet given out in holdings, and furthermore, 
a considerable number broke new ground altogether 
and settled themselves on the Loieta plains, which lie 
to the west of the Southern Masai Reserve. Still, for 
a time, this encroachment gave little more than paper 
trouble. 
During this period, fostered in an unnatural manner 
the Masai flocks and herds increased abnormally. 
What head of stock the tribe possessed during its 
period of ascendancy can only be conjectured; but 
owing to their perpetual state of warfare it can 
never have been very large. The outbreak of rinder¬ 
pest in 1891 and the ensuing years reduced the 
numbers to a very low figure. After the epidemic 
there was, as usual, a period of exceptional fecundity, 
and by 1904 a careful estimate gave them in all 
50,000 cattle and 600,000 sheep. This total actually 
grew by the beginning of 1910 to 130,000 head of 
cattle and 2,230,000 sheep. 
Now it must be remembered that not only are the 
Masai a very small tribe, there being at the most 
50,000 souls in all, but that they make no use what¬ 
ever of their cattle. They simply hoard them as a 
miser does gold and cannot be induced to sell a single 
cow or sheep. In these circumstances this excess of 
wealth is of no benefit to anyone, least of all to them¬ 
selves ; indeed it may be fairly submitted that we have no 
right, let alone duty, to supply one single additional acre 
to pasture herds grown beyond all legitimate bounds. 
