JUJA 



heavy wildebeeste — the gnu — stood in groups at a 

 safe distance their heads low, looking exactly like 

 our vanished bison; ghostlike bands of Thompson's 

 gazelles glided away with their smooth regular mo- 

 tion. On the vast and treeless plains single small 

 objects standing above the general uniformity took 

 an exaggereated value; so that, before it emerged 

 from the swirling heat mirage, a solitary tree might 

 easily be mistaken for a group of buildings or a 

 grove. Finally, however, we raised above the hori- 

 zon a dark straight clum.p of trees. It danced in the 

 mirage, and blurred and changed form, but it per- 

 sisted. A strange patch of white kept appearing 

 and disappearing again. This resolved itself into 

 the side of a building. A spider-legged water tower 

 appeared above the trees. 



Gradually we drew up on these. A bit later we 

 swung to the right around a close wire fence ten feet 

 high, passed through a gate, and rode down a long 

 slanting avenue of young trees. Between the trees 

 were century plants and flowers, and a clipped bor- 

 der ran before them. The avenue ended before a 

 low white bungalow, with shady verandas all about 

 it, and vines. A formal flower garden lay immedi- 

 ately about It, and a very tall flag pole had been 

 planted in front. A hundred feet away the garden 

 dropped off steep to one of the deep river canons. 



371 



