A VISIT AT JUJA 



the avenue of trees. Our approach had been seen. 

 Tea was ready, and a great and hospitable table of 

 bottles, ice, and siphons. 



The next morning we inspected the stables, built 

 of stone in a hollow square, like a fort, with box stalls 

 opening directly into the courtyard and screened 

 carefully against the deadly flies. The horses, 

 beautiful creatures, were led forth each by his proud 

 and anxious syce. We tried them all, and selected 

 our mounts for the time of our stay. The syces 

 were small black men, lean and well formed, accus- 

 tomed to running afoot wherever their charges went, 

 at walk, lope or gallop. Thus in a day they covered 

 incredible distances over all sorts of country; but 

 were always at hand to seize the bridle reins when 

 the master wished to dismount. Like the rickshaw 

 runners in Nairobi, they wore their hair clipped close 

 around their bullet heads and seemed to have de- 

 veloped into a small compact hard type of their own. 

 They ate and slept with their horses. 



Just outside the courtyard of the stables a little 

 barred window had been cut through. Near this 

 were congregated a number of Kikuyu savages 

 wrapped in their blankets, receiving each in turn a 

 portion of cracked corn from a dusty white man 

 behind the bars. They were a solemn, unsmiling, 

 strange type of savage, and they performed all the 



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