84, IN AFRICA 



narrow channel and land their passengers and 

 freight at the dock at Kilindini, a mile and a half 

 from the old Portuguese town of Mombasa, where 

 all the life of the island is centered. There are many 

 relics of the old days around the town of Mombasa 

 and the port of Kilindini, but since the British have 

 been in possession a brisk air of progress and en- 

 terprise is evident everywhere. Young men and 

 young women in tennis flannels, and other typical 

 symptoms of British occupation are constantly seen, 

 and one entirely forgets that one is several thousand 

 miles from home and only a few blocks from the 

 jungles of equatorial Africa. We dreaded Mom- 

 basa before we arrived, but were soon agreeably 

 disappointed to find it not only beautiful and in- 

 teresting, but also pleasantly cool and full of most 

 hospitable social life. 



When our ship anchored off Kilindini there was 

 a great crowd assembled on the pier. There were 

 many smart looking boats, manned with uniformed 

 natives, that at once came out to the ship, and we 

 knew that the town was en fete to welcome the 

 newly appointed governor, Sir Percy Girouard. 



He and his staff landed in full uniform. There 

 were addresses of welcome at the pier, a great deal 

 of cheering and considerable photographing. Then 

 the rest of the passengers went ashore and spent 

 several hours at the custom house. All personal 

 luggage was passed through, and we embarked on 

 a little train for Mombasa. The next day we regis- 

 tered our firearms and had Smith, Mackenzie and 



