There was no game, and even the vegetation was very scanty; a few stunted thorn trees, and a species of aloe with red flowers, and some isolated Euphorbias forming the sole representatives of the vegetable world. The giant-branched Euphorbias (Nyikæ pax), presented a peculiar appearance with their huge cactus-like stem and vertical branches, which gave them the appearance of an immense candelabra. Some of them were thirty feet in height, with a stem six or eight feet in diameter. Great ravines, similar to those of east Kenia, but without their luxuriant vegetation, traverse the country from south to north. They required careful negotiation. Some of them had to be followed for miles along the edge before a suitable crossing-place was discovered. They all have considerable streams of water in the bottom, which flow north, and eventually join the Waso Nyiro.
We saw another lion, and stalked him for awhile, but he retreated into a patch of bush near one of the ravines and could not be found, nor could we waste much time in looking for him.
Late in the afternoon, on October 27th, we crossed a large ravine, and on climbing the opposite slope we emerged into open green country. As far as the eye could see the grass-grown surface rolled away in undulating ridges, without a tree or a bush to relieve the eye. It reminded me very much of portions of the Downs in Sussex, from which the trees had been removed. A herd of zebra disported themselves on the plain, and after a careful stalk I secured one of them for the men, who were already growing short of food. We camped that night on the grass, the air being very much colder, the temperature being certainly not more than 55° Fahrenheit.
CHAPTER XX.
ROUND NORTH AND WEST KENIA TO THE TANA.
The primeval forests of North Kenia—Difficult country—Ravines—Ngare Moosoor—Rain—Ngare Nanuki—Cedar forests—Open country—No game—Upper waters of the Waso Nyiro—Death of “Sherlock Holmes”—Witchcraft—Zebra—Rhinoceros—Sheep dying off—More rain—The A’kikuyu once more—Attempt of the A’kikuyu to steal sheep—Difficult marches—Rain again—Maranga at last—The Tana impassable.
For the next day or two we travelled over rolling grass-land, scarred by ravines, the sides of which were clothed with magnificent forests. These forests are very beautiful, and convey a welcome sense of restfulness and peace to the tired and weary traveller who enters their dark and silent precincts. The contrast from the glare of the sun-baked lava plains, dotted with the glittering quartz blocks, which were visible to the north, was exceedingly grateful; and the easy walking over the soft yielding moss was most delightful after the loose pebbles and stones and stiff yellow grass we had stumbled over for the previous few weeks. Tall junipers and podocarpus reared their stately heads towards the sky, the masses of grey beard-like lichen, pendant from their massive boughs, giving them a hoary and venerable appearance that accorded well with the deep silence of these forest glades, whose solemn aisles are seldom, if ever, disturbed by man. Even the birds and insects seemed unwilling to break the universal silence, and the soft hum of some flying insect, or a subdued chirp from a solitary bird were only occasionally heard. That most irreverent of animals, the Zanzibari porter, hushed his speech to a soft murmur, impressed in spite of himself by the grandeur and solitude of these primeval glades. On the first day’s march over the grass plains we crossed three good-sized streams, and finally camped at some pools we discovered in the bed of a sand river, which sufficed for our own requirements, the animals having drunk all they required during the march. On that day I shot another zebra, but found they were increasingly difficult to obtain in this open country. They were very wild, and would not let me approach nearer than 600 yards. I risked a shot at that distance with the Martini, and as luck would have it, I dropped one beast with a bullet clean through the heart. On short rations we found that it required one zebra per diem to feed the men.
The next day we reached a large ravine, at the bottom of which flowed a large river, called the Ngare Moosoor (Egg River), which took us an hour and a half to cross. No game was to be seen, but luckily the men had enough food to last them for another day or two, as they still had some of the grain left which they had brought from Munithu.
MOUNT KENIA FROM THE NORTH.
(Distant about 12 miles.)
