RETROSPECT 329 



from among the naked crowd on to the deck of an electrically 

 lighted and cooled 600-ton steamer ! 



Terrible havoc has the sleeping-sickness made on the western 

 Uganda side of the Lake and on the islands ; the fishing 

 population, very dense at one time, has almost entirely dis- 

 appeared. Brought from the Congo, this dread disease is said 

 to have killed 200,000 of our fellow subjects ! The germ is 

 carried by a cousin of the tsetse fly, and the microbe shown to 

 me under the microscope in the Entebbe Laboratory was lively 

 indeed among the blood corpuscles of an infected cat. 



Particularly interesting to a sportsman are the plains east of 

 the capital of East Africa Nairoba. Here on a huge reserve 

 game in incredible numbers and the greatest variety wanders 

 and even closely approaches the railway giraffe, large herds 

 of zebra, antelope by the hundred and more together and of 

 many kinds, but especially hartebeest and wildebeest, the 

 beautiful Thompson gazelle, the ugly warthog, lions sometimes 

 and ostriches often. These roam about in very large herds and 

 take but little notice of the passing trains. People who have 

 not seen this vast " Zoo," in which all enjoy full liberty, would 

 treat an accurate description as a traveller's tale and dub it 

 simply impossible. 



Although lions are still very numerous 100 have been shot 

 during the last two years just outside the above reserve they do 

 not seem to honour the station masters with their visits quite as 

 often as formerly, nor have they lately taken any travellers out 

 of the sleeping-carriage of a train. All the station masters on 

 this railway are baboos, a species of mankind known to all who 

 have been in India for their intense love of strict official routine, 

 their fondness of long, high-sounding words and curious ex- 

 pressions. Many are the amusing telegrams which have been 

 received from these at headquarters since the opening of the 

 railway, the occasions being a visit from the king of beasts. 



The following two are copied from an East African paper : 



1. " Pointsman surrounded by two lions, man up telegraph 

 pole. Please advise." 



2. "Lion roaring on platform, does not mind blank cartridge. 

 Please advise."* 



* Blank cartridge is served out to station masters to frighten away wild 

 animals, ball cartridge being considered too dangerous. 



