" THE UGANDA RAILWAY 17 



Scattered al)out in small herds, often in close 

 proximity to the line, the pretty Thomson's gazelles 

 will be rec(.)gnised. These antelopes as well as Grant's 

 gazelles mix with the herds of hartebeest and 

 zebra. 



In the distance a number of vultures are sometimes 

 seen Hying around and forming a vortex. This indi- 

 cates in many instances that a lion is busy feeding, 

 and these birds are waiting to play the part of 

 scavengers when the beast has finished his meal and 

 retired from the carcase. After crossing the Athi 

 river the line runs to Nairobi, 327 miles from 

 Mombasa. 



Nairobi 



This town is situated on the river of the same name, 

 and occupies a place where formerly lions roamed and 

 roared. In 1909 a lion walked up the principal street 

 at eight o'clock in the evening, and a man on a bicycle 

 ran into him, fortunately without harm. 



Nairobi is the capital of the Ukamba Province. The 

 Governor of the British East Africa Protectorate resides 

 here, and the Commissioner of the Province. The 

 chief office of the Uganda Eailway is in this town : 

 the locomotive and carriage workshops occupy an 

 extensive area near the station. The railway works are 

 worth a visit : natives may be seen working steam- 

 hammers and riveting boilers who a year previously 

 were running about the country naked. 



The town consists of Government offices, hotels, 

 shops, banks and houses, many of which are built 

 mainly of corrugated iron ; hence it has been facetiously 

 named Tinville. There are some substantial stone anci 

 brick buildings, notably the Post Office, Treasury, the 

 Roman Catholic Church and its schools. There is also 

 an excellent hospital, and a hospitable club. Efforts 

 are also Ijeing made to establish a comprehensive local 

 museum for the purpose of illustrating the Ethnology, 



c 



