14 IN AFRICA 



There were also a number of women on board 

 and some children. J don't know how many children 

 there were, but in the early morning there seemed to 

 be a great number. 



These Indian Ocean steamers are usually filled 

 with an interesting lot of passengers. At first you 

 may only speculate as to who and what they are 

 and whither they are bound, but as the days go by 

 you get acquainted with many of them and find out 

 who nearly everybody is and all about him. On this 

 steamer there were several interesting people. First 

 in station and importance was Sir Percy Girouard, 

 the newly appointed governor of British East 

 Africa, who was going out to Nairobi to take his 

 position. Sir Percy is a splendid type of man, only 

 about forty-two years old, but with a career that has 

 been filled with brilliant achievements. He was 

 born in Canada and was knighted in 1900. He 

 looks as Colonel Roosevelt looked ten years ago, 

 and, in spite of a firm, definite personality of great 

 strength, is also courteous and kindly. He has re- 

 cently been the governor of northern Nigeria, and 

 before that time served in South Africa and the 

 Soudan. It was of him that Lord Kitchener said 

 "the Soudan Railway would never have been built 

 without his services." 



The new governor was accompanied by two staff 

 officers, one a Scotchman and the other an Irish- 

 man, and both of them with the clean, healthy look 

 of the young British army officer. There would be 

 a big reception at Mombasa, no doubt, with bands 



