Nairobi 



a height of 5,500 feet, and the air has become quite 

 cool and refreshing — in fact, at night so cold that 

 I question myself whether I can be as near the 

 equator as the map depicts. 



At last I sight Nairobi, the capital of British 

 East Africa, about which I have heard so much. 

 But, alas ! I am disappointed. From the train it 

 appears to be only the usual tin town one might 

 have expected. Things wore a somewhat different 

 aspect, however, after entering the station. A 

 splendid carriage drawn by two submissive donkeys 

 met my companion, who was an American with 

 a good deal of invested interest in East Africa. 

 This conveyance took us up the main street 

 to the Norfolk Hotel, the only large hotel at 

 present (1910). As in most young towns, prices 

 are high, and I paid a sovereign a day for my 

 expenses. The food was good, however, and the -rn 

 comfort excellent. There were a great many 

 " shikaris " both going and coming, and I heard 

 a lot of interesting yarns on matters of sport in 

 the country. 



I tried a rickshaw for the day, and visited the 

 club and the headquarters of the King's African 

 Rifles. I found most of the latter had departed on 

 active service to Somaliland, where the Mullah was 

 again bent on creating his periodical disturbance. 

 Then I called at Government House and took tea ^£1 

 with the Governor and his wife. The rickshaws 

 shown in the foreground of the illustration ply for 

 hire outside the station with a fixed tariff, which does 



3 



