242 
ELEPHANT-HUNTING 
[CH. X 
very rarely they kill one with a kind of harpoon. The 
’Ndorobo are doubtless in part descended from some 
primitive bush people, but in part also derive their blood 
from the more advanced tribes near which their wander¬ 
ing families happen to live ; and they grade into the 
latter, by speech and through individuals who seem 
to stand halfway between. Thus we had with us 
two Masai ’Ndorobo, true wild people, who spoke a 
bastard Masai; who had formerly hunted with Cuning- 
hame, and who came to us because of their ancient 
friendship with him. These shy woods creatures were 
afraid to come to Neri by daylight, when we were 
camped there, but after dark crept to Cuninghame’s 
tent. Cuninghame gave them two fine red blankets, 
and put them to sleep in a little tent, keeping their 
spears in his own tent, as a measure of precaution to 
prevent their running away. The elder of the two, 
he informed me, would certainly have a fit of hysterics 
when we killed our elephant! Cuninghame was also 
joined by other old friends of former hunts, Kikuyu 
’Ndorobo these, who spoke Kikuyu like the people who 
cultivated the fields that covered the river bottoms and 
hillsides of the adjoining open country, and who were, 
indeed, merely outlying, forest-dwelling members of the 
lowland tribes. In the deep woods we met one old 
Dorobo, who had no connection with any more ad¬ 
vanced tribe, whose sole belongings were his spear, skin 
cloak, and fire-stick, and who lived purely on honey and 
game ; unlike the bastard ’Ndorobo, he was ornamented 
with neither paint nor grease. But the ’Ndorobo who 
were our guides stood farther up in the social scale. 
The men passed most of their time in the forest, but up 
the mountain sides they had squalid huts on little 
clearings, with shambas, where their wives raised scanty 
