LAKE LIFE AND THE ROAD TO GONJA. 
301 
when the joyous flames leapt up from the crackling, 
spitting wood, exclamations of glad relief burst from 
every one’s lips, and we all extended our cold wet 
hands to the blaze. Soon my servant, Yirapan, 
brought me a bowl of hot and savoury soup, and after 
swallowing this I crept into my nice dry bed and slept 
a delicious dreamless sleep until two in the morning, 
when Kiongwe aroused me to go on. Then, with 
many a dismal yawn and sigh, we struggled along 
towards a dome-shaped hill, principally of limestone, 
and partially covered with forest. 'Reaching its base 
at about daybreak, we then turned southward and 
walked over a low plateau, which shut out Kilima¬ 
njaro and Jipe for ever from our view, while, on the 
other hand, we looked towards the hills of Kgurun- 
gani and the fine mountains of Pare. The country on 
the northern slope and on the summit of the tableland 
was exceedingly desolate and barren, but on the 
descent towards the south, and in the basin-like 
hollow below, the soil was rich, black, and alluvial, 
and green grass grew luxuriantly, together with some 
lovely lilies, whose white blossoms starred the prairie 
in all directions. Here I saw more game at once than 
I have ever seen in Africa. It was a sportsman’s 
paradise—a delicious dream of happy hunting-grounds 
hardly to be realized in this life. Hundreds and 
hundreds of giraffes scudded before us; herds of 
elands (the bulls a deep dun colour with glossy hides 
that looked like satin in the noonday sun) sauntered 
along, now nibbling the sweet grass, now trotting off 
as we advanced. Myriads of red hartebeests, sable 
antelopes, mpalas, and zebras studded the undulating 
plain, while a small group of ostriches might be 
observed on our left-hand side, and a rhinoceros stood 
