portion of the Melindi district, and my march northwards to
the Witu country now lay, as far as the Tana river, through
entirely uncultivated and unproductive, land. Next day,
February 14, I started at 5.30 a.m., my first proposed halt
being Lake Krawa, fifteen miles to the north-west of Marereni.
The sandy nature of the soil only extends inland for a
width of about 300 yards, after which you emerge once more
upon the grey loamy soil of the bush. Immediately after
leaving the sea-shore the country is open— grass glades and
scattered low bush. This being the hot season, the country
presented a bare and dried-up appearance, as many of the
bush-trees, being deciduous, were now leafless.
Half-an-hour after leaving Marereni I came-upon a small
swamp, which, though flooded in wet weather, was now dry.
These places, though called “ swamps,” show no sign whatever
of dried-up mud ; on the contrary, the bottom is, quite level
and usually carpeted with a growth of fresh green grass, a
marked contrast to their bumt-up surroundings.
Half-an-hour beyond this, and about three miles from
Marereni, a second swamp or water-hole was passed, with
character similar to the first. Large euphorbias were now
noticeable in the bush, and the appearance of the country
improved, the bush becoming, thicker and the trees growing
closer together— the former chiefly thorny in character, and
containing many mimosas with spear-pointed seeds. After
passing the first swamp the soil became very sandy (white
sand), and marching was heavy work.
A t 6.50, an hour and twenty minutes after my departure
from Marereni, I came upon a third and larger swamp, which
remains filled with water till the end of December, and water
still lay in a hole 2 feet from the surface. The area of this
swamp was large, probably 150 by 50 yards.
Want of water being the great drawback to the settlement
of this portion of the country, it struck me that sinking wells
to ascertain whether a permanent supply was obtainable, was
an experiment well worth attempting.
The lay of the land here is very flat, with fairly thick bush
and open grass spaces. Further on, after crossing a large
open plain all grass (now dry), with scattered clumps of