28 
A COLONY IN THE MAKING 
CHAP. 
Thus he does not demand his wages on the day they 
are due or rather generally two or three days before, 
as is invariable in the employment of Kikuyu. Very 
often he will not take his wages until the end of six 
months, perfectly confident in the honesty of his 
employer. Although by no means adverse to petty 
thefts and crimes, he does not, up to the present, at all 
events, combine to put the screw on his master, but 
rather accepts just punishment when necessary with 
complete equanimity. 
It must be borne in mind that the natural habitat of 
the tribe is very warm and moist, and that therefore he 
cannot be expected to be at his best at first in the cold, 
dry high plateaus. On the wind-swept Uasin Guishu 
plateau, for instance, he is at present far from happy, 
and to induce him to stay there, every facility and help 
in the way of superior housing is necessary. The 
next generation will undoubtedly be more inured to 
the climate. On the other hand, if the exportation of 
any highland nation to the coast is to be encouraged, 
the Kavirondo offer the most suitable material. 
The tribe, both Nilotic and Bantu, are prolific, but 
has suffered a great deal in the past from smallpox 
and sleeping sickness. The former has been held 
well in check by the Government ; the latter seems 
about stationary. There is a sleeping sickness 
observation camp in South Kavirondo, but its efforts 
at effecting a cure have, as elsewhere, been up to the 
present without avail. At the same time, there can 
be little doubt that the observations on this scourge 
are proceeding on the right lines, and that, without 
being unduly optimistic, one may anticipate the 
vital discovery within the next two years. One thing 
is certain, that though prevention may be better than 
