18 
MOMBASA TO NAIROBI . 
hundred miles to the Northwest, to that splendid glittering and burnished 
cone, seen from Voi, like a shimmering blaze in the clouds and known to 
lovers of nature as one of her most glorious exhibitions. Geographers call it 
Mt. Kilimanjaro and describe it as the highest peak in Africa, 19,200 feet 
above Mombasa at the sea. “The Mountain of the Spirit Njaro” appeals to 
all the unbounded superstitions of the . native African^ and well it may. A 
good government road leads from the railroad to the very base of the moun¬ 
tain, if the tourist decides to make the trip. If taken afoot, especially in the 
hot season, it is a most trying walk; but it is nothing compared to the ascent 
of the mountain itself—the climbing from a heat of some no° Fahrenheit, 
through forests of bamboo and cacti, into the region of gradually thinning 
vegetation, to the rocks and eternal snows and glaciers, whose radiant reflec¬ 
tions are seen from Mombasa, Voi and Nairobi. The scaling* of the very 
summit has been accomplished only two or three times in the world’s history. 
HOW THE GAME IS KILLED IN THE RESERVES. 
Near Tsavo, the first station beyond Voi, on both sides of the line com¬ 
mences the great game reserves of the British government, extending on the 
north for some 230 miles to the vicinity of the dizzy escarpment, or cliff, over 
which the line almost pitches into the grand Rift Valley. But this is taking 
time by the forelock indeed, since the Roosevelt train has but just pulled out 
of Voi and is speeding through the grounds ;n which the big game of the land 
find refuge and safety from human hunters. From: human hunters, yes; but 
the reserves are the slaughter pens of the small or peaceable game by the big 
and ferocious animals. Thousands of tiny soft-eyed antelope, mottled sleek- 
coated zebras arid long-legged, long-necked ostriches feed over the plains of 
jungle grass, broken by hills and mounds and wander fearlessly close to the 
tracks. The stately giraffe is also seen abroad, with his sinuous neck moving 
around in the tree tops, like the animated trunk of a slender date palm. While 
they thus swarm in seemingly conscious security in these reserves, the lions, 
leopards, hyenas and jackals gather in the same district and there satisfy their 
blood-thirsty appetites. Seeming to fully realize its exemption from attack 
at the hands of human kind, game of every description is continually crossing 
the tracks. It may be a stately lion, or lion, lioness and cubs; a creeping, 
snaky-looking leopard; or even a large herd of elephants traveling* from the 
bamboo forests of Mount Kilimanjaro to more northern feeding grounds. 
In the last case the train slackens its speed and may even be brought to a full 
