Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-10


TN giles and swamps through which the
W river steals, furtively the python
~ it harbors to union with Lake Ma
AA tron had been Camped for
Y month"; shooting.
A lonely land it was trav-
ersing; for all that vast region of
British East Africa lying to the south and west of the
Southern Nasal and Kericho Bomas forbidden
ground to white men, which might not be entered on
any pretext except special written permit issued
by the Governor-ap permit had been fortunate enough
to obtain. Trespass therein without permit to
court heavy fines and imprisonment
The section had at the time been crossed by
white men except by the Anglo-German Boundary
Survey Commission, although few outlaws of sort
another, chiefly ivory poachers, were known to be
lurking along the slopes of the Ks Highlands and the
valley of the Kuja River far to the west
Indeed, it empty of blacks of whites, was the
lower end of the great Rift Valley perhaps account
of the deadly fevers there prevalent through the rans
or of the enormous numbers of Hon. buffalo, and rhno
that literally crowd its junges but probably be-
cause the Sotik, the Lumbwa, and the Kis find far
richer pasurage and less hazard for their focks and
herds atop of the A1au Escarpment. For whole
month had even no blacks except the 1odbdgdSI
(porters) of safari
Thus when toward evening" made camp high up
among the euphorbia and mmosa thickets that cover
the craggy slopes of the valley of the Nga Xiii River
along which we had been ascending, none too
pleasantly surprised the thin column of smoke of
campfire rising from of the jungle few hun
dred yards below us, near to the stream.
THERE, at the time newly discovered neighborng
camp was far more likely to hold hostile than friend
ly folk A scant six months earlier, and only three
months before had left the last outposts of British
authority the entire Sok and Kisn country had been
a1ame with war, and the Government had felt none too
certain how completely it had accomplished the pacifca
ton of the warning blacks We already within the
southern edge of the of recent disturbance Of
what had happened outside narrow daily hOr1-
zon totally ignorant. For aught we knew, the
wild sword and spear men of the escarpment might
again raging round the slender garsons of the Ker
cho and Kisii Bomas, pllagng, burning killing through
the settlements to the north of the Bonas.
Caution was necessary. The neghbOrlng camp must
be investigated before presence was discovered,
before we could safely permit the lighting of night
camphres
Leaving my mate with the porters, to guard the out
fit started stalk of neighbors camp, taking with
me my mates Sonlali gunbearer and mine.
1t was a task of Undesirable difficulty notwith-
standing the short distance be covered for the jungle
nearly impenetrable that silent advance ut
tery impossible except along winding game trails, tun
nes arched low with thOrny bush often for long dis
tances untraversable on hands and knees creep
ing, sinking along them like the lion and leopard that
prey upon the buck that made them.
Thus, turning hither and yon, guided only by occa
siona gimpses of landmarks the farther slope of the
valley that had carefully marked down before
starting it nearing nghtfa when, approaching up
wind nostrils caught the of smoke that told
of near approach.
Then caution was redoubled. Hands carefully
moved dry twigs. Feet fell softly as a leopard's.
Bodies bent below withered branches, curved and
twisted in avoidance of noisy cuching by the thorny
boughs of the wat-a-bit.
1t work, the uncanny that, while
native camps rarely silent, by night little
than by day, group of Unsuitable gluttons after
another rising to gorge themselves about the fires our