74 
THE KILIMA-NJAR 0 EXPEDITION. 
or this clay, which had begun in such an exciting 
manner, first with the view of Kilima-njaro and next 
with the lion, we left every trace of sterility behind us 
—the very mimosas and acacias becoming changed 
and improved in their appearance, exhibiting more 
foliage and less thorns—and the track winding through 
superb avenues of lofty umbrageous trees. After 
many days of journeying in a sun-scorched wilderness 
my tired eyes here rested with delight on the soft 
green of the exuberant vegetation, while I no longer 
tramped along a stony road under a blazing sun, but 
followed a soft leaf-covered path plunged in absolute 
shade. We were now in the precincts of Taveita, but 
before we actually entered that African paradise we 
were obliged to halt at a gateway in the forest where 
the path was blocked with an immense structure of 
tree-trunks. Just a tiny aperture was left, an entrance 
three feet high in the shape of a delta, and through 
this we all had to wriggle and crawl, while several of 
the loads would scarcely admit of passing through, 
and only the most ingenious twisting and turning 
effected this end. 
The first barrier passed we found ourselves in a small 
square chamber, really a space between two gateways, 
where in times of war and rapine suspicious visitors 
could be inspected and interviewed before being allowed 
to enter. There was, however, no one to scrutinize us 
in this gateway, because the 66 passport ” regulations 
of Taveita have been greatly relaxed of late years, but 
a few decades back this elaborate hindrance to free 
transit was the only protection the wretched Taveitans 
had against the merciless assaults of the Masai robber 
bands. By erecting these wooden obstructions across 
the only feasible approaches to their forest stronghold 
