550 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
the dawning sun and bathes in the rich hues and crimson 
glows of its early rays, to be immediately after hidden 
by a weird, ghost-like haze, which suddenly springing 
up no larger than the hand, spreads with remarkable 
rapidity, till nothing but a blank expanse of grey meets 
the gaze. And yet the scene does not always close thus ; 
for not uncommonly the upper part of Kibo is descried 
away up in mid-heaven, cut off apparently from all 
earthly connection, shining clear and bright with dazzling 
effulgence, suggesting a sight of the very heavens opened, 
a marvel of whiteness, and most fitting emblem of ethereal 
purity. This certainly is the most striking spectacle 
presented by Kilimanjaro. As seen projected against 
the upper sky like a mirage, it gives the spectator the 
notion of stupendous height, and as I have already said, 
all that he can whisper to himself is the awe-struck 
words of the Masai warrior, “ Ngaje Ngai ! ” (The House 
of God.) 
Highly interesting is Mr. Thomson’s description of 
Masai Land, and of the life of the Masai warrior : — 
The Masai country is very markedly divided into two 
quite distinct regions, the southerly, or lower desert area, 
and the northerly or plateau region. The southerly is 
comparatively low in altitude, that is to say, from 3000 
to nearly 4000 feet. It is sterile and unproductive in 
the extreme. This is owing, not to a barren soil, but 
to the scantiness of the rainfall, which for about three 
months in the year barely gives sufficient sustenance to 
scattered tufts of grass. The acacia and mimosa have 
almost sole possession of those dreary plains, except 
near the base of some isolated mountain, or other high- 
land where small rivulets trickle down, to be speedily 
absorbed in the arid sands. No river traverses this 
region, and many parts are covered with incrustations 
of natron, left by the evaporation of salt-charged springs. 
We have seen something of this lower region in the fiat 
reach of Njiri, and the forbidding desert of Dogilani. 
It is not, however, to be conceived as a monotonous 
level. Far from it. The colossal Kilimanjaro, and the 
conical Mount Meru belong to it. The hills of Gelei 
