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 

 \ve 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 



