230 Wanderings in Eastern Africa, 
the mass, of foliage in which it has been built. The 
people peeped at us curiously from every little open- 
ing in their leafy abode, their dark forms being 
scarcely discernible in the deep shade. Thence turn- 
ing another bend in the stream, we came upon a 
novel little hamlet, on the left bank, called Kinemu. 
It consists of five or six bee-hive huts, built, like some 
of the Galla hamlets, in the form of an imperfect cres- 
cent, and rising out of the water does not look unlike 
what, according to the descriptions of travellers, a * 
small settlement of beavers must be. Only that the 
beaver seems to be a far better architect and builder 
than are the Wapokomo, his habitation of earth, stones, 
etc., being a great deal more substantial than these 
huts of stick and straw. Kinemu is knee deep in 
water, and is shut in on all sides. Before it rolls a 
deep, strong stream, while behind, and on either hand, 
rises a thick wall of rich and ever-verdant, vegetation. 
It would be ridiculous to call Kinemu a beauty, the 
stream a silver ribbon upon her bosom, and the wood 
behind a crown of never-fading laurel upon her brow ; 
still she is picturesque for all that Coming upon her, 
as we did, suddenly, we both exclaimed, ^^What a 
queer, novel, pretty little spot ! " We crossed the 
stream, saluted the natives, and passed on. 
Makendani is a houseless district beyond Kinemu, 
but is to a great extent under cultivation. Here a 
creek, from six to ten yards wide, issues out of the 
right bank, in a north-easterly direction, and spreads 
itself for miles over the surface of the country. It is, 
however, navigable by daus for a considerable dis- 
tance. Lastly, we reached Ngau, another village of 
some half-a-dozen huts, on the left bank of the 
