208 
THE KILIMA NJARO EXPEDITION 
taveita had burnt it down, according to their habit, 
when the caravan season was over and the traders had 
gone. This is their invariable custom, for which they 
give various reasons, the real one being probably that 
they do not wish the coast people to gain a permanent 
footing there. As far as I was concerned, they wel¬ 
comed me with enthusiastic delight, and reminded me 
of my promise to build a house in their midst. I told 
them I had on the present occasion only come for a few 
days, to await my caravan, but that I wanted a large 
piece of ground in a secluded part of their territory 
where I might ultimately make a “town,” in which 
to store my goods. They led me to a beautiful site, 
close to where Thomson had built when he sojourned 
there on his way to Masai-land. Not a vestige of his 
habitation remained other than the oral tradition of 
its situation. Possibly, of the fine little colony I 
started there may be little to see now, for although I 
bought the land I could not promise to occupy it, and 
the absentee system is not in favour at Taveita. 
This place, from the day of my first arrival up to the 
time of my final departure, seemed to me one of the 
loveliest spots on the earth’s surface. Imagine first a 
charming river of crystal clearness winding in curves 
and loops through tropical forest of such an imposing 
grandeur that it rather recalls to one’s imagination the 
vegetation of some more lusty epoch of the earth’s 
youth than the present degenerate days of less exube¬ 
rant growth. The river flows sometimes between high 
banks—little cliffs of red soil—crested with gigantic 
trees, whose enormous roots, detached from the crum¬ 
bling earth, stretch out like grey, sprawling fingers 
high in air above the rushing water; sometimes curls 
itself wantonly in loops, cutting out sweet little penin- 
