I Am Very Glad To Say That
The Whole Of This Country On The South Side Of
The Railway As
Far as the boundary of German
East Africa, from the Tsavo River on the east
to the Kedong Valley on
The west, is now a
strictly protected Game Reserve; and so long,
as this huge expanse is thus maintained as a
sanctuary, there can be no danger of any of
these species becoming extinct.
While crossing this dry expanse, the greatest
difficulty I had to contend with was the provision
of sufficient water for the three thousand
workmen employed about railhead, for not a drop
could be obtained on the way, nor could we
hope for any until we had got to the other side
of the plain and had reached the Athi River,
which could not be accomplished under a couple
of months. As we progressed onwards into the
waterless belt, this became a very serious matter
indeed, as any breakdown in the supply would
have had the most disastrous consequences among
so large a body of men working all day under
the blazing sun of a tropical climate. Every
day two trainloads of water in great tanks were
brought up from the last stream we had passed,
which, of course, daily fell further to the rear.
This was a source of considerable delay, for the
line was blocked all the time the water was being
pumped into the tanks, and consequently no
material for construction could come through;
and a good deal of time was also wasted, when
the trains returned to railhead, in distributing
the water to the workmen, who often quarrelled
and fought in their eagerness to get at it.
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