2 IO 
EAST AFRICA AND ITS BIG GAME. 
them why, if they wanted to take our rifles, they did 
not come boldly up to the whole caravan, instead of 
sneaking after a few wretched stragglers. A great 
deal of oratory on both sides ensued, and, to impress 
them, we burnt two Pharaoh’s serpents, declaring that 
their country should be infested by similar reptiles if 
the lost rifle was not returned. The Masai then abused 
the W’Arusha, telling them they had no business to 
annoy us, and so stop trade coming into the country! 
This I thought not bad for the Masai, considering they 
do more harm to trade, in these parts, than all other 
tribes put together. After these preliminaries we made 
them swear to get the rifle back, the oath being 
ratified by Martin, and the head-men of the Masai and 
W’Arusha, assisted by our interpreter Esa-Moussa, 
who in turn stepped backwards and forwards over a 
spear, swearing hard all the time. At the end of this 
performance Martin shook hands with the leading 
Masai, and they spat on each other as a convincing 
proof of everlasting friendship. 
These Masai did not seem bad sort of fellows, and 
were all six feet in height or over; their features are 
totally different to those of the Kilima-njaro natives, 
the faces being distinctly oval, with high prominent 
cheek-bones and slit-like eyelids, slanting downwards 
and inwards, like those of the Japanese. Their clothes 
were of the scantiest description, and their ornaments 
consisted of coils of fine chains of iron and copper wire, 
unrelieved by the beads affected by other tribes. 
Sina presented us with two goats and two bullocks 
