The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-07-21

so high up that we can barely make out two shouting specks above us, sometimes so near that we can clearly see the brilliant black and white and red brown of their plumage. On a shallow spnken mud bank is a long line of white, which shows tinge of black and crimson as the great flock of flami- goes and flaps slowly away, Happily there are no crocodiles here, but hippos abound, and one may often catch glimpse of nose and eyes as they lie in the shadows basking in the sun, or at night, when they hear them crash ing through the reeds.
 It is only here and there that one can follow the waters edge; mostly the reeds are too thick and the ground too swampy for any but a waterbuck to pass. Along the outside, where the reeds meets the grass, are big flocks of flocks of Egyptian geese, which spend most of the day in sleep, but make noise enough in the evening and early morning. Here, too are, black ibises, wary as curlews; and sacred ibises in small parties of two and three, always busily searching for food, exploring every inch of ground. Prettier and more conf1ding are the great white her on and the smaller buffbacked heron, which hardly take the trouble to move as one approaches they like to feed among the herds of native cattle, often perching on the backs of the beasts as I have seen them do in Egypt Croaned l cranes, generally in pairs, stride con- ceitedly about within a dozen yards of US evidently of the law that protects them,
 Of big game, though there is plenty in the district, one does not see very much on the eatsern side of the lack. Here on the wide grassy flats on the lower slopes of the hills immense f1ocks of sheep and goats find pasture. At the time of our visit there were driven in every evening to the bona near our camp close upon 10000 bleating animals, | to the accompaniment of much shrill whistling from the boys who tend them Ugly savages are these Nasal boys clothed in little else than a long spear, and round their necks a string of beads or empty cartridge cases.
 It Is a pretty sight to see a herd of the graceful little Thomsons gazelle. | Qocally called Tommies) mingling with "a flock of sheep and goats, and follow ing with the others when the boys whistle, or even needing a prod With the spear point to make them move faster Whether they do it for amuse- ment or the sake of companlonship, or fors a better protection against their enemies, the proving lion and leop- ard, who shall say?
 Grants gazelle, a somewhat larger animal with beautifully curved horns, is found here too; but he is not so 1 tame as the former, and goes bounding away bouncing is almost the word-as l though his body were built of springs.
 A few numbering hartbeests, hideous \ red brutes with all the ugly features of the COW and of the donkey combined, l are seen here and there; they trot off until they are just out of range, then | turn around and treat us to an inane | stare.
 ! One morning we came suddenly over a low hill and walked into the midst of
 a herd of zebras. Off they went, fifty I or more of them, as fast as they could \ gallop, straight toward 0 newly strung wire fence Either they did not see it or they were too much frightened to ! turn aside; not one of them swerved, but all dashed through the fence, as though the wires were cobwebs, and so
 cfar as We see not one was damaged in \ the least. Zebras may be seen from the railway literally in thousands on the Athi Plains, near Nairobi, and again on the rolling grass lands be- | tween Naivasha and Nakuru,
 At the Government farm, few miles from Naivasha, experiments have been made in crossing zebras, but hitherto no very satisfactory hybrid has been
 produced. The pure bred is difficult to tame and of very little use as a beast
 of burden; but a strong hybrid, capable of resisting the many diseases of the
 country, would solve the horse problem ! or EdSJ GAlTlCd dilu WOulu ID luf LOWdTQ
 insuring the prosperity of the colony,
 Near the southeastern corner of the
 lake Is an island, the largest in the lake
 where we camped for time The voy.
 age of a mile or more from the main-
 land is made in the relics of boat
 which from it's appearance must have been brought here by the first explorers
 thirty years ago. It was never less
 than half full of water which kept two
 boys busy baling with buckets and the
 one and half broken paddles
 theratened every moment to be reduced
 to none at all. Half way across are
 two small islets; one favorlte breed
 ing place of herons and ibises which
 nest here in hundreds; the other appar- ently a playground of the hippos, tc
 judge from the tramped reds and the
 crashings and gruntng which issue