whoever he might happen at different periods to be,
had always been privileged to make his home with
Lokomogul. There appeared to be great rivalry between
the villages, and the three chiefs with whom
we had dealings were excessively jealous of one another.
After receiving their presents they came singly both
to Lieutenant von Hohnel and to me, and each said
that, as his village was the greatest and most powerful,
he was the most influential chief, and hence a greater
present should be tendered him than the others.
Owing to the fact that all our intercourse with them
was through an interpreter, who spoke the Masai language,
the native tongue neither of the Rendile nor
of our interpreter, and the further fact that in speaking
with our interpreter we were forced to use the
Swahili, it was difficult for us in the short time we
were in communication with these people to gather
really satisfactory information from them.
During a visit from these three chiefs, Lokomogul
gave us a shrewd glance, and asked why, if we were
such great people, we travelled without our wives; they
knew of but one tribe willing to undergo the hardships
of life without the companionship of the other
sex, and that tribe was the lowest of the low — they
were outcast robbers and criminals of other tribes—
they were the dthombons. This question was a poser.
We at once felt the difficulty, indeed the impossibility,
of explaining to these untutored savages the fact that
we were able to exist so long without the society of
ladies; but we knew silence should be a last resort in
dealing with Africans. Some reply is always absolutely
necessary; so, under the spur of necessity, we said that
we had left our women a few weeks’ journey back on
the road, as they had become greatly fatigued by the
long distances we had travelled. Lokomogul then said
that the women of his tribe never tired. Do what we
could later, we were never able to recover the loss of
prestige attached to the fact that our caravan was confined
in its personnel strictly to the male sex.
Not being able to penetrate the mystery surrounding
the origin of these people, we were forced to content
ourselves with the fact that we had discovered
them. It remains for some future traveller attended
with better fortune to lift this veil. Suffice it here
to say, that both Lieutenant von Hohnel and I feel
firmly convinced that, when at" some future time a well
qualified and equipped traveller visits these people, he
will find them worthy of his attention. To us, at
least, they seemed the most original and interesting
of all the strange and different peoples met in East
Africa. We think there can be little doubt that hundreds
of years ago they came from the far north.
Perhaps in some way they are allied to that mysterious
people called the Shepherd Kings, who thousands
of years ago inhabited Egypt.
During our stay with the Rendile, our guide, May-
olo, had daily, and in fact almost hourly, pressed us
to flee from the neighbourhood. He said that for
many years he had lived with the Rendile, and assured
us that they were capable of any degree of
treachery. He said that their treatment of us had
not been such as they were accustomed to accord
friends; but, on the contrary, showed that they looked
upon us not only with distrust, but with positive dis