peaceable strain, the elders agreed to sell food, after
muma had been made. They then went away.
A t i i a .m . I attended another palaver. This time
I found nearly 400 natives assembled, mostly warriors
and old men. They were seated in a circle, on the
edge of which Lieutenant von Hohnel and I placed
our chairs. We were accompanied by Motio, a Masai
interpreter, and three Somali. After a preliminary conference
I learned that this was not to be the muma,
but that, ere the blood-brotherhood could be made,
a preliminary ceremony had to be performed for the
purpose of convincing the Embe of our good intentions,
and to clean the road over which our feet had
passed. They said we had entered their country prior
to making a treaty with them, and in consequence each
footstep we had taken from the line between their
territory and that of the Wamsara might, for all they
knew, have some dire effect upon their crops. They
said, however, that their suspicions would be allayed,
should a male sheep be slaughtered, and portions of
its body strewn over the path by which we had come.
This was soon done, and the old men went gayly away,
promising to return in the afternoon of that day, and
perform the impressive and imposing ceremony of blood-
brotherhood.
It is politic to conform, as far as possible, to the
native customs, at least until the natives are fully
convinced of one’s good intentions. They place no
value whatever upon promises; but o il'I have met in
East Africa seem to attach great importance to any
agieement, which they bind either by the killing of
a goat or sheep, or by drinking milk, exchanging
blood, or some one of their many other customs. I
have never found that the natives construed in any
but a favourable manner the white man’s willingness
to adopt their customs in ratifying an oath; and although
it is annoying, and often a great waste of
time, to submit to the tedious and often disgusting
ceremonies connected with the making of blood-
brotherhood and the ratification of oaths, still, one’s
time cannot be said to be wholly wasted, for there is
no better opportunity of learning native customs and
studying native character than at these ceremonies.
A t 4 p .m . word was brought to us that the natives
wished to go through the ceremony of binding us
together forever in the ties of blood-brotherhood.
This time we found about 600 warriors and old men
assembled; but when we noticed that one and all of
them had come armed, we were disagreeably affected
by the sight. For the gathering more resembled a
hostile demonstration than one for the ratification of
a treaty of unending peace.
On this occasion a young male goat was sacrificed.
Some elders, who seemed to be impressed with a
sense of their importance, together with Lieutenant
von Hohnel and I, seized and held on to the hind
legs of the goat, and its head was pointed carefully
in the direction of the highest peak of the range.
While the sacrifice was going, on, the two elders,
Lieutenant von Hohnel,- and I gave vent in the most
solemn manner to the direst curses and most vindictive
threats, which, however, were to take effect only
in the event of treachery on the part of the other
high contracting party to this treaty. This portion