II 
THE UGANDA RAILWAY 
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Scattered about in small herds, often in close 
proximity to the line, the pretty Thomson’s gazelles 
will be recognised. These antelopes as well as Grant’s 
gazelles mix with the herds of hartebeest and 
zebra. 
In the distance a number of vultures are sometimes 
seen flying around and forming a vortex. This indi¬ 
cates in many instances that a lion is busy feeding, 
and these birds are waiting to play the part of 
scavengers when the beast has finished his meal and 
retired from the carcase. After crossing the Athi 
river the line runs to Nairobi, 327 miles from 
Mombasa. 
Nairobi 
This town is situated on the river of the same name, 
and occupies a place where formerly lions roamed and 
roared. In 1909 a lion walked up the principal street 
at eight o’clock in the evening, and a man on a bicycle 
ran into him, fortunately without harm. 
Nairobi is the capital of the Ukamba Province. The 
Governor of the British East Africa Protectorate resides 
here, and the Commissioner of the Province. The 
chief office of the Uganda Railway is in this town : 
the locomotive and carriage workshops occupy an 
extensive area near the station. The railway works are 
worth a visit: natives may be seen working steam- 
hammers and riveting boilers who a year previously 
were running about the country naked. 
The town consists of Government offices, hotels, 
shops, banks and houses, many of which are built 
mainly of corrugated iron; hence it has been facetiously 
named Tinville. There are some substantial stone and 
brick buildings, notably the Post Office, Treasury, the 
Roman Catholic Church and its schools. There is also 
an excellent hospital, and a hospitable club. Efforts 
are also being made to establish a comprehensive local 
museum for the purpose of illustrating the Ethnology, 
C 
