and I descended, and attempted, by
the light of lanterns, to sort out twenty safari boys strange to us, and
miscellaneous camp stores. We did not entirely succeed. Three men were
carried on down the line, and the fly to our tent was never seen again.
The train disappeared. Our boys, shivering, crept into corners. We took
possession of the dak-bungalow maintained by the railroad for just such
travellers as ourselves. It was simply a high stone room, with three
iron beds, and a corner so cemented that one could pour pails of water
over one's self without wetting the whole place. The beds were supplied
with mosquito canopies and strong wire springs. Over these we spread our
own bedding, and thankfully resumed our slumbers.
The morning discovered to us Voi as the station, the district
commissioner's house on a distant side hill, and a fairly extensive East
Indian bazaar. The keepers of the latter traded with the natives.
Immediately about the station grew some flat shady trees. All else was
dense thorn scrub pressing close about the town. Opposite were the tall,
rounded mountains.
Nevertheless, in spite of its appearance, Voi has its importance in the
scheme of things. From it, crossing the great Serengetti desert, runs
the track to Kilimanjaro and that part of German East Africa. The
Germans have as yet no railroad; so they must perforce patronize the
British line thus far, and then trek across.
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