372 



OUR STAY AT NDORO 



4 The peak of Kenia was wrapped in heavy clouds the whole 

 time, and in the afternoon a storm, accompanied with thunder, 

 broke above our heads, the scattered woods seeming to draw 

 nearer to us and to form one unbroken belt. Just before sun- 

 set the roaring of two lions lead me to go off hunting, but 1 did 

 not see them after all. 



6 The next day we marched alternately across little clearings 

 and through woods denser than those lower down, but not so 

 dense as those on Kilimanjaro, though the trunks of the trees are 

 loftier. The undergrowth is nothing like so thick here, and the 

 quantities of moss and interlacing creepers are also wanting, so 

 that there were really no difficulties in this part of the march, 

 and the forest belt was crossed in an hour. At a height of about 

 7,800 feet begins the bamboo thicket, at first consisting only 

 of pliant cylinders, which, however, grow as closely together 

 as reeds, and would be quite impassable if a path had not been 

 trodden through them by elephants and buffaloes. And even as 

 it was we often had to use the axe and to part the bamboo 

 stems, dripping wet with rain, with our outstretched arms, a 

 most arduous and exhausting task. 



' A little before noon we reached a small brook and camped. 

 We were now at a height of about 8,600 feet, but there were 

 still a great many wild animals, and we were surprised to see 

 numerous long-tailed apes (? Colobus guereza) and a leopard 

 which suddenly announced its presence with a growl quite 

 close to us, only however to disappear in the thicket again 

 immediately. The stillness of the woods was often broken by 

 the shrill cry of whole flocks of green-feathered red-cheeked 

 parrots, of the size of doves, with green plumage dashed with 

 red about the head. We also noticed several gallinaceous birds 

 about the size of a wood-grouse, with a reddish-brown white- 

 spotted breast, rather like a tailless pheasant, but it was im- 

 possible to bring any of them down. 



