IV 



TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



down the side of the mountain, there was a series of 

 extinct craters and cone-shaped hills, w^hich extended 

 to the plain below. 



The northern side of Mount Kenya is very barren- 

 looking, until an altitude of 9000 or 10,000 feet is 

 reached, at which height one may see a narrow belt 

 of forest crossing the northwestern slope, gradually 

 widening until it reaches the southwestern side, which 

 appears to be covered with a dense, forest-like growth. 



January 29, at 10 a.m., we arrived at the river prom- 

 ised by Motio the preceding day. At the point where 

 we reached the stream it was a mere brook ; but 

 Motio said that another stream, coming from Mount 

 Kenya, flowed into it, and that jointly they made a good 

 addition to the Guaso Nyiro. Rhinoceroses were plen- 

 tiful here, and we saw further signs of elephant. At 

 noon we reached a dense growth of acacias and other 

 bushes, where we rested for a moment by the side 

 of a deep ditch formed by the rains. Here, with the 

 aid of our glasses, we could see on the slopes of the 

 Jombeni range, about five miles distant, the huts of 

 the Wamsara. The soil is a bright red. 



A few hours after we crossed the ditch and 

 resumed the march, the occasional cries of men were 

 heard. At length we emerged from the bush, and 

 entered a beautiful forest glade about thirty acres in 

 extent. In the centre of this glade bubbled a clear 

 mountain spring fringed with reeds, near which an 

 unsuspecting and naked savage was pasturing some 

 cattle. I was riding on my white pony in front of my 

 men, and when I appeared on the edge of the glade, 

 the terrified negro left his cattle and fled. He had 



