PROSPECTS OF E. EQUATORIAL AFRICA . 541 
abound so as to be dangerous. Rhinoceroses are so 
numerous that their horns are an important item in 
the trade, for they may be bought in the interior for 
a few pence worth of cloth, and sold on the coast for 
three and four rupees each. Hippopotami are abun¬ 
dant in the rivers and lakes. The Vice-Consul at 
Lamu, on the coast near the Pokomo river, informs 
me that when properly prepared (which is done by 
cutting the skin into long thin strips and drying it in 
the sun), hippopotamus hides will fetch hi. apiece in 
Natal. But the great wealth of this country lies in 
its ivory, which is preferred to any other in the 
Zanzibar market. The elephant abounds in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of Kilima-njaro to the extent of many thou¬ 
sands. He here becomes quite a mountaineer, and 
ranges through the magnificent forests that clothe the 
upper slopes of this giant among African peaks. The 
natives waylay his forest tracks with artfully devised 
pitfalls and traps, preferring this more cowardly way 
of procuring their ivory to facing the elephant in the 
chase. Other tribes to the north and west of Kilima¬ 
njaro kill the elephant with poisoned arrows, or 
javelins, or sharp swords. Indeed, there is one district 
on the northern borders of Masai-land where, according 
to Mr. Thomson, “ elephants are said to swarm un¬ 
molested and their ivory to rot untouched, for the 
people of the surrounding region have no trading 
relations with any one, and do not know the value of 
that precious article. A tusk worth IhOl. in England 
may be picked up for nothing, or bought from any 
native for a pennyworth of beads, &c., &c.” However 
this may be, whether the elephants are slain for their 
ivory, or whether, as in the tales of Sinbad the Sailor, 
there are districts in which the tusks may be simply 
