34 , 
IN AFRICA 
narrow channel and land their passengers and 
freight at the dock at Kilindini, a mile and a half 
from the old Portuguese town of Mombasa, where 
all the life of the island is centered. There are many 
relics of the old days around the town of Mombasa 
and the port of Kilindini, but since the British have 
been in possession a brisk air of progress and en¬ 
terprise is evident everywhere. Young men and 
young women in tennis flannels, and other typical 
symptoms of British occupation are constantly seen, 
and one entirely forgets that one is several thousand 
miles from home and only a few blocks from the 
jungles of equatorial Africa. We dreaded Mom¬ 
basa before we arrived, but were soon agreeably 
disappointed to find it not only beautiful and in¬ 
teresting, but also pleasantly cool and full of most 
hospitable social life. 
When our ship anchored off Kilindini there was 
a great crowd assembled on the pier. There were 
many smart looking boats, manned with uniformed 
natives, that at once came out to the ship, and we 
knew that the town was en fete to welcome the 
newly appointed governor. Sir Percy Girouard. 
He and his staff landed in full uniform. There 
were addresses of welcome at the pier, a great deal 
of cheering and considerable photographing. Then 
the rest of the passengers went ashore and spent 
several hours at the custom house. All personal 
luggage was passed through, and we embarked on 
a little train for Mombasa. The next day we regis¬ 
tered our firearms and had Smith, Mackenzie and 
