THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



5.450 feet above the level of the sea at Nairobi, the gov- 

 ernment headquarters, and now, in spite of its youth, the 

 most important town in the Protectorate. From Nairobi 

 the climb continues, and at beautiful Lake Naivasha the 

 station lies at an altitude of 6,230 feet, while at a place 

 on top of the Mau escarpment the railroad reaches its high- 

 est point. A large signboard is placed here on the north 

 side of the railway with the inscription : " Summit ; alti- 

 tude 8,320 feet." From here the country gradually falls 

 away toward the great Victoria Nyanza, where the 

 Kisumu railway station lies at an altitude of only 3,650 

 feet. 



The rainfall of British East Africa naturally varies 

 considerably, as the country differs so widely in altitude 

 and general aspect. The latest statistics show an average 

 rainfall of 14.78 inches at Kismayu, on the coast, 73.93 

 inches at Molo railroad station, from over 80 inches at 

 Kericho down to 38.86 at Nairobi; but on the big moun- 

 tains, like the Aberdare range. Mount Elgon, and the 

 magnificent, snowclad Kenia, the rainfall sometimes even 

 exceeds 100 inches a year. 



The best and most popular hunting grounds lie to the 

 northeast, north, northwest, and southwest of Nairobi at 

 altitudes varying from 4,500 to 7,000 feet, and can, there- 

 fore, with ordinary precautions, be said to be perfectly 

 healthy. Take, for instance, the great Athi plains, north- 

 east of Nairobi. There large herds of zebra, hartebeest, 

 Grant's and Thomson's gazelles may still be seen even 

 from the railroad, with occasional glimpses of the lion, 

 rhino, eland, and giraffe. Here the hunter seldom sees a 

 mosquito, and if he always has the water boiled before 



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