DESCRIPTION OF TAVETA 



95 



became a favourite halting-place. The natives welcomed the 

 traders, as they felt safer whilst they were with them ; and 

 they gladly exchanged for stuffs, beads, weapons, and ammu- 

 nition the superfluous produce of their fields, and the new 

 settlement rapidly increased in prosperity, till it became what it 

 now is— a beautiful, thriving, Arcadian colony, eagerly looked 

 forward to alike by outgoing and home-returning caravans, for 

 it is the last link with civilisation to the former and the first 

 halting-place in the final stage of the wanderings of the latter. 



The forest, which is in case of need so great a protection 

 to the people of Taveta, is carefully preserved by them. They 

 have plenty of weapons, and they are really pretty safe from 

 attack, as it is well known that there are generally people from 

 the coast with them. The clearings are picturesquely situated 

 in the depths of the wood, so that they are surrounded on every 

 side by impenetrable vegetation. Only three narrow, tortuously- 

 winding paths lead through the forest, and even these are care- 

 fully patrolled by wood-beaters and closed to passengers at 

 night. The huts of the natives are hidden amongst the shady 

 trees like the nests of birds ; one has to hunt for them, as well 

 as for the equally well-concealed plantations of maize, yams, 

 and sugar-cane. The banana-palms, however, the fruit of 

 which is the staple food at Taveta, cover vast tracts of ground, 

 forming thick, shady groves, the protection afforded by the 

 background of trees preserving the huge leaves intact ; whilst 

 a perfect network of rivulets intersect the whole settlement 

 in picturesque fashion. 



The clearing on which we were to camp, and to whichwe were 

 guided by natives, was less than a hundred paces from the left 

 bank of the Lumi. It was bounded on three sides by the forest, 

 and on the fourth side by a banana-hedge. A few monarchs 

 of the wood, with their mighty crowns of leaves, had been left 

 standing ; beneath the grateful shade of one of them our daily 



