THE GUASO NYERO 



337 



began to go downhill, and hour by hour the flora changed. 



At last we came to a broad belt of woodland, where the 



strange trees of many kinds grew tall and thick. Among 



them were camphor-trees, and trees with gouty branch 



tips, bearing leaves 



like those of the 



black walnut, and 



panicles of lilac 



flowers, changing 



into brown seed 



vessels; and other 



trees, with clusters 



of purple flowers, 



and the seeds or 



nuts enclosed in 



hard pods or seed 



vessels like huge 



sausages. 



On the other 

 side of the forest 

 we came suddenly 

 out on the culti- 

 vated fields of the 

 Wa-Meru, who, 

 like the Kikuyu, 

 till the soil; and 

 among them, far- 

 ther down, was 

 Meru boma, its 



neat, picturesque buildings beautifully placed among green 

 groves and irrigated fields, and looking out from its cool 

 elevation over the hot valleys beneath. It is one of the 

 prettiest spots in East Africa. We were more than hos- 

 pitably received by the commissioner, Mr. Home, who 

 had been a cow-puncher in Wyoming for seven years 

 so that naturally we had much in common. He had built 

 the station himself, and had tamed the wild tribes around 



The Guaso Nyero 

 From a photograph by Theodore Roosevelt 



22 



