32 
ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA 
CHAP. 
(as has of late years been the case through the great cattle 
plague of a few years ago) the live stock decreases, the jungle 
again encroaches upon these delightful lawns. The soil is 
volcanic ; and owing to the loose way the lava rocks lie 
jumbled together, most of the water runs below the surface, to 
break out near the base of the mountains into the streams 
A View of Embe. 
(From a Photograph by Dr. Kolb.) 
forming the head waters of the branch of the Tana which 
Chanler and Von Hohnel had named the Mackenzie River. 
The contrast between the country and its inhabitants is great 
and not in favour of the latter, whether in appearance, habits, 
or character. They are inexpressibly dirty and smell strongly 
of castor-oil—to our notions not the choicest of perfumes. In 
common with those of Laiju and other adjacent districts, they 
are much addicted to a habit of chewing the leaves of a certain 
shrub, indigenous to the country, but which they also cultivate 
