26 FROM ADEN TO MOMBASA. 



Singapore, or kikokos (whips of rhinoceros hide). It is said that 

 Col. Roosevelt bought one of these which he wore on his wrist during 

 the hunt. It may come in hand sometime again and will probably be 

 the only thing not provided by his American outfitters. Every man 

 up country carries one. You are in a savage land, where you may 

 one day have to meet savage conditions in savage manner. 



In Mombasa, probably at De Sousa's, the ex-President's party 

 completed its outfit. At De Sousa's you can get every conceivable 

 thing, from a thimble to a cofiin. It is a cool, dark, airy repository, 

 where a soft-voiced Goanese family waits on you very gently and 

 pleasantly, seating you in wicker chairs, bringing you fans and serv- 

 ing you with soda and lime juice — a drink you become fond of in the 

 tropics, where water supplies are dangerous. 



FROM MOMBASA TO NAIROBI. 



The ex-President had all the courtesies of the road going from 

 Mombasa to Nairobi, where he made his headquarters. And what 

 a wonderful journey that is, as you rise from the sea to the great up- 

 lands of the interior on the Uganda Railway! In the little cars 

 fashioned like the cars in India you adjust yourself and your be- 

 longings on the lengthwise running seats. Each car is divided into 

 two compartments, separated by toilet-rooms, whose not too 

 abundant supply of water is most useful on this dusty trip. The 

 gauge of the track is of the narrowest, the engines are small but 

 energetic, and burn wood with a tremendous sputter of sparks and 

 smoke. 



Leaving the noisy, ferociously hot and glaring station of Mom- 

 basa the train trundles across the island to the causew^ay which 

 unites the latter with the mainland. Up, up you rise, through groves 

 of mango trees and bananas, while sea and land spread out in an 

 ever-widening panorama below you until you lose it as the train 

 leaves the seashore and turns inland. 



The rich tropical vegetation grows sparser and is finally sup- 

 planted by palled, leafless scrub thorns and queer distorted trees of 

 unknown family. Already a cooler air blows into the car. The 

 pungent odors of the lower country are replaced by a sweet fresh- 

 ness suggestive of herbs and aromatic shrubs. 



