The forest manager told me he was labouring under the greatest of disadvantages in his efforts to raise new trees. He said he had to fight not only the natives, but also the monkeys, baboons, and other wild animals. The woods are full of monkeys, among them a dog-faced baboon which grows as big as a ten-year-old boy. This creature barks like a dog and acts like a devil. It watches the planting, then sneaks in at night and digs up the trees. If seeds are put in, it digs them up and bites them in two, and if the trees should sprout it pulls the sprouts out of the ground and breaks them up and throws them away. As a result, the nurseries have to be watched all the time by men with guns in their hands. If the men have no guns the baboons will jump for the nearest tree and grin from the branches, only to return to their devastating work as soon as the watchmen go away. If guns are brought out, the animals realize their danger and run for their lives. These monkeys also dig up the Indian corn planted by the Kikuyus, and are said to be far worse than crows and blackbirds combined. At one of the stations between Naivasha and the Escarpment I saw a half-dozen Nandi, including two women. The men were almost naked, save that they wore cloaks of monkey skins with the fur on and strips of cowskin about the waist. The women had on waist cloths and blankets of cowhides tanned with the hair on. These blankets were fastened over one shoulder, leaving the arms and half of the breasts bare. The Nandi were walking along the railroad track, and were closely watched by the station agents, for they are great thieves, and the British have had trouble with them because they steal the bolts and rivets which hold the rails to the ties, and even climb the telegraph poles after the wire. The native men are crazy for iron. They can use the bolts and rivets for slingshots to brain their enemies. All the iron they have had in the past has come from digging up the ore and smelting it, so you can imagine how delightful it is to a Nandi warrior to pick up a fine, death-dealing iron bolt all ready for his sling. The Nandi live northwest of Naivasha, on a plateau which contains iron deposits, and they make a business of mining and smelting. Since the railroad has been built, they have come down from time to time and raided the tracks, and the British have had several little fights with them to drive them off.