An ivory trader in North Kenia

by A. Arkell-Hardwick

The day had been exceedingly hot and dry, and we found that all the puppies, except one, that were born in Maranga were dead. The man who carried the bucket containing them had put his blanket over the top to keep the sun from them, and they had been suffocated. Their mother however did not seem to be much concerned.

We saw a lot of natives hanging about on the adjacent heights, but did not encourage them to come any nearer, bearing in mind the warning of our Zuka guide. We were now fairly in the Imbe country, and the next day would decide whether they were inclined to be friendly or otherwise.

The next morning on resuming the march the character of the country again changed. The quartz boulders and gravelly stretches gave place to pretty woodland scenery. Lovely stretches of greensward occurred at intervals, dotted with stately trees. Magnificent baobabs and tall sycamores (Egyptian fig) were numerous. The sycamores are called by the Swahilis “Mikuyu.” Unfortunately, they were not in fruit. It was quite refreshing to see the smooth green grass dotted with the gigantic stems of the baobabs, which gave us the idea of being in some beautiful park.

Presently we encountered some of the Wa’Imbe headed by their chief, who, to our astonishment, welcomed us most ostentatiously. They insisted on helping our men to carry their loads, and on learning that we wished to camp, the chief pointed out an open space that appeared to be the market-place. Our tents accordingly were pitched beneath the grateful shade of a group of sycamores, and we made ourselves as comfortable as possible, inwardly wondering what prompted this more than usually friendly attitude.

After we had eaten we held a “shaurie,” and the mystery was explained. It appeared that some three months before, the Wa’Igani, who are the neighbours of the Wa’Imbe on the north, arose in their might and smote the Wa’Imbe sorely, spoiling them of many sheep. The Wa’Imbe were not strong enough or not courageous enough to make reprisals, and hailed our arrival with great joy as possible avengers. They calmly proposed that we should accompany them, attack the Wa’Igani, and recover their lost property, and incidentally anything else we could lay our hands on that was worth annexing. We dismissed them with a diplomatic answer to the effect that we would consider the matter.

That night I felt very queer and feverish, and turned in early. I got no sleep, and when we started off early the following morning I was very ill indeed. I had great difficulty in sitting on the mule, while my eyes were so affected that I was hardly able to see. We traversed much the same country as on the day before, but being only half conscious, I did not take much interest in the scenery. El Hakim had a touch of fever also, and in consequence we made a comparatively short march, and halted and camped at midday. I went to bed immediately, and the rest of the day was a blank as far as I was concerned. The following morning I was too ill to move, and so the day was passed quietly in camp. I grew better towards evening, and went outside and lay in a blanket on the grass under a baobab tree.

The Wa’Imbe chief made us a present of a sheep, which was very acceptable, as, with the exception of that solitary partridge in Zuka, we had had no fresh meat for six days.

The next day, though very sick and dizzy, I was so much better that we resumed our march, and travelled for three hours, when we halted and breakfasted. After an hour’s rest we went on again. At four o’clock in the afternoon we discovered that we were in Igani. We saw natives hurrying hither and thither among their shambas, but though they were rather noisy, they showed no signs of open hostility. When we camped they came and visited us in large numbers. Once in our camp they appeared rather more ready to quarrel, and made a deal of noise; so much so that we were compelled to use force to clear the camp, our men belabouring them soundly with the butts of their rifles, which had a very salutary effect, as they at once grew much more respectful and well behaved. They went away, and returned later with some bunches of green bananas and a jar of very fair honey as a present. They came back early the next morning with a sheep, and desired to make “muma” (blood-brotherhood) with us; an honour we declined for the present, apparently to their great disappointment.

We then departed, and travelling rapidly, shook the dust of Igani from our feet. The next little kingdom on our route was Moravi, which we crossed in an hour or two, and finally entered Zura, where El Hakim was well known. We were now in the Limeru district, which comprises the whole of North-East Kenia, and contains numerous small districts, each ruled over by its petty chief. In the immediate vicinity of Zura are G’nainu, N’dakura, Munithu, Katheri, and Karanjui. To the north-east lay the Jombeni mountains, which are inhabited by the Wa’Embe. Between the Jombeni mountains and Karanjui was a small range of hills called variously “Chanjai” or “Janjai,” and between Chanjai and Embe resided the Wa’Mthara.

The destinies of Zura were presided over by a Masai named “Dirito,” who was a great friend of El Hakim’s. He had even then some cattle belonging to El Hakim in his charge. We were presently met by Dirito himself, a fine-looking man with a good reputation as a fighter, who appeared very pleased to see us, and welcomed us warmly. We camped just outside his village, which was surrounded by a very strong stockade, and soon afterwards he brought us a quantity of honey and some milk for our refreshment.