THROUGH THE PLEISTOCENE 27 



to have found a kinder host or a hunter better fitted to 

 teach us how to begin our work with African big game. 



At Kapiti station there was little beyond the station 

 buildings, a "compound" or square enclosure in which 

 there were many natives, and an Indian store. The last 

 was presided over by a turbaned Mussulman, the agent of 

 other Indian traders who did business in Machakos-boma, 



I'orters and their tents 

 From a photograph by J. Alden Loring 



a native village a dozen miles distant; the means of com- 

 munication being two-wheeled carts, each drawn by four 

 humped oxen, driven by a wellnigh naked savage. 



For forty-eight hours we were busy arranging our out- 

 fit; and the naturalists took much longer. The provisions 

 were those usually included in an African hunting or ex- 

 ploring trip, save that, in memory of my days in the West, I 

 included in each provision box a few cans of Boston baked 

 beans, California peaches, and tomatoes. We had plenty 



