302 



TO KENIA 



natives were waiting to lead us further. A little further tramp 

 uphill through the narrow belt of primteval forest which forms 

 a natural frontier encircling the whole of Kikuyuland, and we 

 found ourselves on its inner edge, looking down upon a 

 charming landscape, witli nothing to recall the dense woods 

 with which it had once been covered but here and there a 

 group of trees or a few stumps some three feet high. From 

 the picturesque little groves still left rose columns of smoke, 

 betraying the presence of native settlements, whilst all around 

 them as far as the eye could reach stretched well-cultivated, 

 undulating pasture-lands, which were a revelation to us, ex- 

 plaining the ease with which the Wakikuyu can supply the 

 needs of the largest caravans. 



The path now led through fields, and many natives, some 

 old acquaintances, others strangers, came out to meet us, all 

 spitting on their hands before they offered them to us. The 

 fame of Qualla and Kijanja had already spread far and near, 

 for everyone who approached the caravan called out their 

 names and seemed delighted when the}^ caught sight of them. 

 Crowds of warriors now escorted us, so that our march assumed 

 the appearance of a triumphal procession. 



We now went down by a gentle slope to a narrow, shallow 

 brook flowing through a ravine on the borders of a little wood, 

 in which a number of huts were hidden. Here a crowd of 

 some three or four thousand natives awaited us, but after the 

 friendly reception already given us their numbers did not 

 alarm us. But we soon had cause to change our minds, and 

 when I came up with the rear-guard Count Teleki told me that 

 his party had been surrounded by hundreds of warriors, who 

 barred his way, ordering him to stop, and were only with 

 difficulty persuaded by a few of their headmen to stand back. 

 This change of attitude was as unexpected as it was unwelcome, 

 but we kept calm, though we carefully watched every indica- 



