East Africa might be a new ground for colonisation — 

 for the Solai to-day is a valley of industrious colonists, 

 beautiful estates and happy homes. 



Instead of the lethargic Masai, Thompson would the Trans- 

 see the formerly despised Kavirondo, Walumbwa and formation. 

 Wakikuyu engaged in such modern pursuits as 

 ploughing, driving maize planters, planting, pruninig 

 and harvesting coffee, butter-making and budding 

 fruit trees — .in fact, engaged in all pursuits connected 

 with planting, farming and grazing, which only a 

 ^hort space ago were considered beyond their capabi- 

 lities. Instead of the narrow, tortuous path frequent- 

 ed only by the native trader and the proud moran, he 

 would find a comparatively modern road, motor cars 

 containing colonists with, mayhap, their wives and 

 children, and buck- wagons carrying to rail the produce 

 of a fertile land. In place of the squalid manyatas of 

 the ^lasai he would behold the neat dwellings of the 

 white settlers — the trim gardens, fruitful orchards 

 and plantations, the \nde acres of maize and flax, 

 breaking the monotony of virgin veldt. Instead of 

 bovines browsing lazily in an unprogressivc land he 

 would behold the patient, plodding ox inspanned in 

 plough, in harrow, in wagon and reaper, preparing 

 the land and garnering a valuable harvest to be sent 

 over an iron road hundreds of miles to the coast and 

 thence over thousands of miles of ocean to feed and 

 clothe the people of the homeland; fruits of the 

 labour not only of the surplus youth of the home- 

 land, as Thompson had pictured, but also of men 

 from all the corners of "that Greater Britain which 

 is beyond the seas." 



The Solai Valley is part of the great Rift Valley. situ.\tion. 

 It has for its railway station Xakuru, which is a 

 rising township having a hotel, two banks, post and 

 telegraph office, several good stores, a school, 

 churches, sports club, etc. All the land in the 

 Valley is above the 5,000 feet level. The average 

 rainfall near the hills on the eastern side is about 

 50 inches, and the chmate is equable and pleasant. 

 The Valley lies partly in the two hemispheres, the 

 equator running through the northern end. 



For the purposes of this article the Solai boundaries. 

 Valley includes the land running from the Uganda 



97 



