II 

 LIFE AND SCENERY IN UGANDA 



TH E kingdom of Uganda, together with 

 the provinces of Usoga and Unyoro, 

 constitute one happy land of perpetual 

 greenery. 

 O'er hill and dale, swamp and plain ; o'er the 

 belts of elephant grass intermingling with the tall 

 and stately forest trees, in appearance something 

 like an English elm, whose white trunks rise high 

 above the undergrowth ; o'er the whole verdant 

 landscape, trembles and wavers, year in year 

 out, a pearly shimmering haze of heat-waves. A 

 sleepy, steamy silence, too, prevails. The only 

 constant sound that greets the ear is the monoto- 

 nous whirr of the tree-froo; as he shakes his 

 wings against their horny coverings, whilst tucked 

 away against the rugged bark of a tree trunk. 



The occasional sounds are now the harsh 

 gabble of a flock of guinea-fowl, as the birds rise 

 and fly out of one's way, making believe that they 

 are dreadfully frightened at one's intrusion ; now 

 the rush in the jungle beside one's road of a 

 startled herd of water-buck on the way back from 

 the morning drink ; now the crashing of a herd 

 of elephants somewhere in the depths of the 



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