famine, joined the people on the Jombeni range (notably
the Wamsara and Janjy), and some had merged
themselves with the inhabitants of Kikuyu and
Ukambani. I was struck by the fact that the vast
plains of the Leikipia plateau were deserted by all
but a few bands of Wanderobbo, who wandered over
them in search of game. Owing to the good pasturage
afforded by this country, it seems probable to me
that when the Rendile learn that it is uninhabited,
they may be tempted to move thither with their
camels; for the place they occupied at this time was
a mere desert in comparison with the Leikipia plateau.
From the Wanderobbo whom I had seen I gathered
by a rough estimate that the total number of
their tribe inhabiting the country between the headwaters
of the Mackenzie River and the Lorian
Swamp and the Loroghi range could not exceed 500.
From the reports of travellers who had visited the
Masai before the dispersal of that tribe, various estimates
of the total number of Masai had been made,
some stating, as the result of their information, that
there were at least 2,000,000. I very much doubt if,
even when they were most numerous, the total number
of Masai ever exceeded 200,000 to 300,000; and
these figures do not seem to me a low estimate.
Now that the British occupy the Uganda, and a railway
is in course of construction between that country
and the coast, which passes through Masai Land,
and will undoubtedly prove a great check upon the
marauding instincts of these people, I think it likely
that not many years will pass before they lose their
present characteristics and are forced to settle down
and cultivate the soil, like the other and less interesting
natives inhabiting East Africa.
The day following my last hunt at Bugoi I returned
to Sayer. Lieutenant von Hohnel had already
returned from an unsuccessful shooting expedition.
The adventure related to me by one of the natives
I found to have this shadow. of foundation. Lieutenant
von Hohnel had seen one large cow elephant,
and had shot her twice in the head with a Mann-
licher; but each time he aimed at her she moved
her head so that he was unable to reach the brain.
Having received two shots, the elephant charged
directly at Lieutenant von Hohnel, who was attended
by five men. These men scattered in all directions,
one of them dropping his tin water-bottle, while the
elephant, after stepping upon it, and trying to destroy
it, passed on, and disappeared in the bush.
Although Lieutenant von Hohnel and I had at
this place killed four elephants, we had not thoroughly
satisfied the hunger of the poor Wanderobbo; so we
decided to take one more trip, and, if possible, kill
sufficient game to satisfy their wants for at least a
short time; after which we were to set out for the
north.
During my absence Lieutenant von Hohnel had
discovered the source of the Sayer River to be a
small lake called Lilley, situated on the top of the
Leikipia plateau.