Unika. 75 
go supperless to bed. I say bed, but that night I 
slept upon a wooden bench, called a table. I woke 
next morning to find myself in circumstances such as 
I could not have imagined. The iron-hut, twelve 
feet long by fourteen wide, was a mere heap of 
rubbish, having for several months been the abode of 
rats, white ants, and vermin of every kind. Stepping 
outside, I found myself in the heart of an extensive 
wilderness. To the west were the hills of Rabai ; to 
the south, in the dim distance, the Shimba range ; 
while from the south to the east I overlooked a vast 
uncultivated tract of prairie, jungle, wood, and forest, 
bounded by a strip of blue sea. I was nov/ fairly in 
Unika. 
The word signifies "the Wilderness." It extends 
along the coast between the third and fifth degrees of 
south latitude. It is, ther/, about 120 miles long, but is 
not more than some thirty wide. It is bounded on the 
south by Usambara, on the west by Taita, and on 
the north by the Galla-land. It may be divided 
into two sections, the lowlands and the highlands, 
running parallel with each other. The lowlands extend 
throughout its entire length, and from the sea-shore 
inland to a depth of about fifteen miles. The country 
then rises into two mountain ranges, the one extend- 
ing from Kauma to Duruma, and the other running 
through the land of the Wadigo, thereby naturally 
dividing the Unika into two parts, northern and 
southern. The lowland is fertile, and when culti- 
vated, yields abundant crops^ but almost the whole of 
it is left to run wild. Grasses grow to great height, 
but dense jungles are rendered impossible by the 
yearly burnings which take place over these tracts. 
