EAST AFRICA AND ITS BIG GAME. 
116 
The men, unlike the Wa-taveta, avoid the most primi¬ 
tive form of clothing, and the small piece of cloth, 
hung on the shoulder, is worn for ornament and not for 
covering. On their ankles little rattles, consisting of 
thin strips of leather, to which are attached curiously 
wrought and hollow bits of iron, make a tinkling 
noise when the wearer moves ; these are cle rigeur, and 
any one caught after dark without them is treated as a 
thief. The weapons were superior to any we had yet 
seen, and a large number carried muzzle-loaders in 
addition to their big spears. Mandara presents to each 
of his head men a long spear, the facsimile of that used 
by the Masai; the blades of these formidable weapons 
are broad and flat, and vary from eighteen inches to 
two and a half feet in length ; the shafts consist of 
about one foot of hard wood and three to four feet of 
solid iron pointed at the lower extremity. All the 
Caga tribes are the blacksmiths of the country, but 
the chief are the Wa-moci, and Mandara has a great 
personal reputation for being a clever armourer; it is 
for this reason that he is on friendly terms with the 
Masai, who pay him frequent visits to obtain spears 
and honey in return for cattle. 
The iron heads and shafts of the spears are all manu¬ 
factured out of trade wire, which is wonderfully wrought 
and welded together by native skill. From the same 
material they also manufacture fine chains, for use as 
ornaments, by a process which is rather laborious though 
ingenious. One man has to draw out the thick wire into 
fine threads by passing it while red-hot through a series 
