After tramping for about an hour through this charming and refreshing scenery, we arrived at Ismail Robli’s boma. El Hakim’s tent was pitched two or three hundred yards away from it on the left. A moment later El Hakim himself appeared to welcome us. We did not build a boma, but pitched our camp under the shade of the palms some two hundred yards from the river. During the morning George and I went down to bathe in the river. Divesting ourselves of our clothing, we ventured into the shallow water near the bank, keeping a sharp look-out for crocodiles meanwhile. I had not advanced many steps before I uttered a yell, and jumped wildly about, to the intense astonishment of George. He was about to inquire the reason of my extraordinary conduct, but when he opened his mouth, whatever he intended to say resolved itself into a sudden sharp “Ouch!” and he commenced to dance about as wildly as myself. Something (which I afterwards found to be leeches) had attempted to bite our legs, and especially our toes, causing anything but a pleasant sensation. Bathing, consequently, was only indulged in under difficulties. We were compelled, for fear of crocodiles, to bathe in but a foot of water, and even then our ablutions were only rendered possible by keeping continuously in motion, so that the leeches were unable to fasten on to our persons. The instant we discontinued jumping and splashing, half a dozen nibbles in as many places on those portions of our anatomy which happened to be under water, would remind us of their presence, and we would either make a dash for the bank or recommence jumping. The spectacle of two white men endeavouring to bathe in water a foot deep, and at the same time performing a species of Indian war-dance, would doubtless have been extremely diverting to spectators of our own race, had any been present; but the Rendili and Burkeneji, who also came down to bathe, merely eyed us in astonishment, probably considering our terpsichorean efforts to be a part of some ceremonial observance peculiar to ourselves; or they might have put it down to sunstroke. The Rendili and Burkeneji bathe with frequency and regularity, seeming to derive great enjoyment from the practice. This is another very marked characteristic which distinguishes them from the other tribes we had met with—the A’kikuyu and Masai, for instance. Parties of the young men would go down to the river and run about, splashing and shouting in the shallow water for an hour or two, with every manifestation of pleasure. When we returned to camp we found several of the Rendili elders visiting El Hakim, chief of whom was an old man named Lubo, who is, probably, at present the most influential as well as the most wealthy man among the Rendili. There were also two other chiefs named Lemoro and Lokomogo, who held positions second only to Lubo.