CHAPTER IV 
ON THE EDGE OF THE ATHI PLAINS, FACE TO FACE 
WITH GREAT HERDS OF WILD GAME. UP IN 
A BALLOON AT NAIROBI 
Before Colonel Roosevelt drew the eyes of the 
world on British East Africa Nairobi was practi¬ 
cally unheard of. The British colonial office knew 
where it was and a fair number of English sports¬ 
men had visited it in the last six or eight years. 
Perhaps twenty-five or thirty Americans had been 
in Nairobi on their way to the rich game fields that 
lie in all directions from the town, but beyond these 
few outsiders the place was unknown. Now it is 
decidedly on the map, thanks to our gallant and 
picturesque Theodore. It has been mentioned in 
book and magazine to a degree that nearly every¬ 
body can tell in a general way where and what it is, 
even if he can not pronounce it. 
Before coming to Nairobi I had read a lot about 
it, and yet when I reached the place it seemed as 
though the descriptions had failed to prepare me 
for what I saw. We arrived under unusual con¬ 
ditions. Files of native soldiers were lined up on the 
platform of the station to welcome the new gover¬ 
nor, and the whole white population of the town, 
several hundred in number, were massed in front 
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