2 
EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
there are many extinct volcanoes, and the craters of 
some contain forests in which mighty beasts, such as 
lions, elephants, and elands, roam. Dotted along the 
trench are numerous lakes, the resort of immense 
numbers of birds, including some of the strangest 
forms living on the earth to-day, and also the 
biggest. 
The lion dominates the “rolling seas of grass”; the 
rhinoceros shows resentment to trespassers among the 
bushes and scrub ; elephants use the dense forests as 
retreats; and crocodiles lie in wait in nearly all the 
lakes and rivers, ready to drown any unwary man, 
beast, or bird that comes within reach of their dangerous, 
trap-like jaws or treacherous tails. 
Anxious to see something of Eastern Ethiopia I 
made a journey, accompanied by my friend and 
colleague Dr. Corny ns Berkeley, to the Victoria 
Nyanza. We started from Mombasa, and in due course 
reached the lake and visited its northern shore. On 
the return journey we went “On Safari” in the Rift 
Valley. Whilst writing this book I realised that some 
subjects discussed in it could be m_ade clearer by a visit 
to that part of the Nile which courses through the torrid 
Sudan, especially the Sudd region around Lake No. 
With this object I made a boat journey up the White 
Nile and the Bahr-el-Gebel as high as Rejaf. This 
journey was full of interest, for the Nile Valley is a 
convenient highway for European birds seeking com¬ 
fortable winter quarters in the forest and lake regions 
of the Rift Valley. In this book I describe my im¬ 
pressions in a series of essays. Seven of these deal 
with Mombasa, the Uganda Railway, the Victoria 
Nyanza, and LTganda ; seven with the natives we met 
during our visit, such as the Masai, Wa-Kikuyu, 
Ndorobo, and Kavirondo, including an account of their 
curious ear ornaments and modes of hair-dressing. A 
O 
description of the natural features of the Rift Valley 
occupies ten essays, under the titles of Crater, Lakes, 
