cdl iebiainidibaadh paletaene Ean eee 
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I MY ARRIVAL AT TSAVO 13 
looking back out of the carriage windows we could 
every now and again obtain lovely views of 
Mombasa and Kilindini, while beyond these the 
Indian Ocean sparkled in the glorious sunshine as 
far as the eye could see. The summit of the Rabai 
Hills having been reached, we entered on the 
expanse of the Taru Desert, a wilderness covered 
with poor scrub and stunted trees, and carpeted in 
the dry season with a layer of fine red dust. This 
dust is of a most penetrating character, and finds its 
way into everything in the carriage as the train 
passes along. From here onward game is more or 
less plentiful, but the animals are very difficult to 
see owing to the thick undergrowth in which they 
hide themselves. We managed, however, to catch 
sight of a few from the carriage windows, and also 
noticed some of the natives, the Wa Nyika, or 
“children of the wilderness.” 
At Maungu, some eighty miles from the coast, we 
came to the end of this ‘desert,’ but almost the 
only difference to be noticed in the character of the 
country was that the colour of the dust had changed. 
As our train sped onwards through the level uplands 
we saw a fine ostrich striding along parallel with 
the line, as if having a race with us. Dr. McCulloch 
at once seized his rifle and by a lucky shot brought 
down the huge bird; the next and greater difficulty, 
however, was to secure the prize. For a time the 
