CHAPTER XIII 



Westward to Lake Victoria Nyanza 



WEST of Nairobi the scenery is more magnificent than on the 

 journey from Mombasa. The train has been ascending the 

 high plateau for sixty miles by a series of wooded slopes to 

 a height of over 6,(X)0 feet. Then the ground falls away apparently 

 more than 2,000 feet, almost like a precipice. Farther than the eye 

 can see the Kikuyu Escarpment stretches away as straight as a ruler 

 to right and left. The train zig-zags downward along its western face, 

 opening vistas of a wonderful panorama. Far below, the level surface 

 of the plain is broken by volcanic hills and extinct craters, and in the 

 far distance the opposite wall appears dimly like the other side of a 

 gigantic trough. 



Lake Naivasha lies on the route, about ten miles square, with the 

 rim of a submerged crater making a crescent-shaped island in its 

 middle. The water is brackish and thronged with wild fowl and hip- 

 popotami. Ex-President Roosevelt had an exciting experience on this 

 lake when he went out in a row-boat to hunt hippos. Of this an 

 account has been given in our opening chapter and it need not be 

 repeated here. But it is well to say that this giant animal, little less 

 than the elephant in size of body, while generally not inclined to 

 attack man, at times has fits of rage in which it becomes very dan- 

 gerous. In such cases it will rush upon the frail boats of the natives, 

 crush them in its huge jaws, and often kill the boatmen. Many 

 natives have lost their lives in this way, and on the occasion in ques- 

 tion, Mr. Roosevelt was in imminent peril of the same fate, his quick- 

 ness with the rifle alone saving him. Even on land it is not always 

 safe to attack this huge creature, though it is usually inoffensive. 



The government stock farm at Naivasha proved to be of very great 

 interest. Official experimenters are here crossing breeds to produce 

 domestic animals adapted to the climate and country, and at the same 



(114) 



