CHAP. VII SECOND EXPEDITION 141 



through the dry scrub under a burning sun — is monotonous 

 and hard work. Still the very desert itself has its charms and 

 even its advantages. It cuts off the back .country and dis- 

 courages communication, so that one feels fairly launched into 

 the wilderness almost from the time of leaving the coast. 



Of game there is little, as might be expected in so water- 

 less a district. A few Waller's gazelle — an antelope which 

 seems independent of water — may occasionally be seen, and I 

 shot a lesser koodoo — perhaps a wanderer from the Sabaki, my 

 first buck for the trip and welcome for the pot, being excellent 

 meat — while the tiny "paa " (Kirk's antelope) is not uncommon ; 

 I also saw a giraffe. After striking the Sabaki (or Athi, as it is 

 called above its junction with the Tsavo), the path follows the 

 river for three or four days. It is pleasant to get on the banks 

 of this river (for which I always retain an affection) with its 

 green willows and fresh scent, and its wide, though shallow and 

 rather muddy, stream, and to have an unstinted supply of good 

 sweet water. It was an old friend of mine, for I had done 

 some road-cutting here in 1890 for the I.B.E.A. Co.; and it 

 was a comfort, after the narrow, overhung path we had been 

 traversing, to find mine still quite open, with the exception of a 

 branch here and there or a fallen tree. When I cut this path 

 first, I was told the stumps ought to be dug up ; but, having 

 had some experience in South African road pioneering, I 

 merely cut the trees and bushes close to the ground, and the 

 result proved I was right, for they almost all died ; whereas, 

 had I dug up the soil, it would have had the effect of cultiva- 

 tion to encourage the growth of rank vegetation. 



The river runs through the same barren, scrub-covered 

 country — in some parts gravelly ridges, in others sandy flats 

 bordering its banks. There are quartz veins in places, but I 

 could never get a colour of gold, though I have tried. One 

 thing that always strikes me about this country is the scarcity 

 of game ; for even along the banks of the river there is 

 marvellously little — a very few waterbuck at intervals, an 



