2 EASTERN ETHIOPIA 



there are many extinct volcanoes, and the craters of 

 some contain forests in which mighty beasts, such as 

 lions, elephants, and elands, roam. Dotted along the 

 trench are numerous lakes, the resort of immense 

 numbers of birds, including some of the strangest 

 forms living on the earth to-day, and also the 

 biggest. 



The lion dominates the " rolling seas of grass " ; the 

 rhinoceros shows resentment to trespassers among the 

 bushes and scrub ; elephants use the dense forests as 

 retreats ; and crocodiles lie in wait in nearly all the 

 lakes and rivers, ready to drown any unwary man, 

 beast, or bird that comes within reach of their dangerous, 

 trap-like jaws or treacherous tails. 



Anxious to see something of Eastern Ethiopia I 

 made a journey, accompanied by my friend and 

 colleague Dr. Comyns -Berkeley, to the Victoria 

 Nyanza. We started from Mombasa, and in due course 

 reached the lake and visited its northern shore. On 

 the return journey we went " On Safari " in the Rift 

 Valley. Whilst writing this book I realised that some 

 subjects discussed in it could be made clearer by a visit 

 to that part of the Nile which courses through the torrid 

 Sudan, especially the Sudd region around Lake No. 

 With this object I made a boat journey up the White 

 Nile and the Bahr-el-Gebel as high as Rejaf. This 

 journey was full of interest, for the Nile Valley is a 

 convenient highway for European birds seeking com- 

 fortable winter quarters in the forest and lake regions 

 of the Rift Valley. In this book I describe my im- 

 pressions in a series of essays. Seven of these deal 

 with Mombasa, the Uganda Railway, the Victoria 

 Nyanza. and Uganda ; seven with the natives we met 

 during our visit, such as the Masai, Wa-Kikuyu, 

 Ndorobo, and Kavirondo, including an account of their 

 curious ear ornaments and modes of hair-dressing. A 

 description of the natural features of the Rift Valley 

 occupies ten essays, under the titles of Crater, Lakes, 



