272 
AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 
The day after we were out on plains untenanted by hu¬ 
man beings, and early in the afternoon struck water by 
which to pitch our tents. There was not much game, and 
it was shy; but I thought that I could kill enough to keep 
the camp in meat so I sent back the two Scotchmen and 
their Kikuyus, after having them build a thorn boma, or 
fence, round the camp. One of the reasons why the Masai 
had driven their herds and flocks off this plain was be¬ 
cause a couple of lions had turned man-eaters, and had 
killed a number of men and women. We saw no sign of 
lions, and believed they had followed the Masai; but there 
was no use in taking needless chances. 
The camp was beside a cold, rapid stream, one of the 
head-waters of the Guaso Nyero. It was heavily fringed 
with thorn timber. To the east the crags and snow- 
fields of Kenia rose from the slow swell of the mountain’s 
base. It should have been the dry season, but there were 
continual heavy rains, which often turned into torrential 
downpours. In the overcast mornings as I rode away from 
camp, it was as cool as if I were riding through the fall 
weather at home; at noon, if the sun came out, straight 
overhead, the heat was blazing; and we generally returned 
to camp at nightfall, drenched with the cold rain. The 
first heavy storm, the evening we pitched camp, much ex¬ 
cited all my followers. Ali came rushing into the tent to 
tell me that there was ‘'a big snake up high.” This cer¬ 
tainly seemed worth investigating, and I followed him out¬ 
side where everybody was looking at the ‘‘snake,” which 
proved to be a huge, funnel-shaped, whirling cloud, career¬ 
ing across the darkened sky. It was a kind of waterspout 
or cyclone; fortunately it passed to one side of camp. 
