Ill 



TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



"5 



become imbued with fresh vigour, and even the lame 

 and the halt stepped forward briskly to where they 

 knew they would find water. The ground here was 

 absolutely white with sulphate of magnesium, so bright 

 in the sunlight, indeed, that the eyes were pained by 

 the glare. 



On our right there rose a cone to a height of 1500 

 feet, and to the southwest, in the far distance, we caught 

 a glimpse of the sloping sides of Mount Kenya. In the 

 rear towered the Jombeni Mountains ; in front, and not 

 far to the west, rose high hills. We were on the border 

 of volcanic and aqueous formations, between which the 

 Guaso Nyiro flowed. At this point the river had 

 worn its bed deep below the level, so that our camp, 

 pitched upon the river bank, was sheltered from the hot 

 winds which blew across the desert. The river here 

 is 100 feet wide and not more than six feet deep, but 

 this depth is attained only in few places. Its current 

 is swift, and the course is frequently interrupted by 

 gneiss rocks, which in some spots are so large and 

 numerous as to almost dam the river's flow. My de- 

 light upon reaching this river was truly great, but it 

 was surpassed by the joy of Lieutenant von Hohnel. 

 He, on his former journey, had been the first to dis- 

 cover the source of the Guaso Nyiro, and had followed 

 it to within about seventy-five miles of our present 

 camp. 



Up to the time of our journey it had been asserted 

 that the Guaso Nyiro emptied into the Tana. This 

 we discovered not to be the case. So it appears there 

 are at least three separate river systems having their 

 sources at Mount Kenya, viz. : the Sabaki, the Tana, 



