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feet in circumference. The baobab are believed by [illegible]
to be among the oldest trees in the world. They look old
and are so unlike any other tree that they seem
survivals of a past age like the hippos and rhinos
They are not tall tress. The bark is smooth and greasy
looking there is a conspicious absence of small branchs
The inside is fibrous and unlike [illegible] trees. The pods give give an [extract?]
which is pure cream of tartar and makes refreshing
drink There was quite a grove of these trees which
are certainly among the curios of Africa I bought
a photograph of the largest for a shilling. It was interesting
to sit in its shade among absolute solitude with birds
singing and no sound of human beings, and to
realize that I was in Central Africa where no white
man had ever stepped before 1855. five years before
I was born. The trees abound in monkeys small
gray ones and there are many baboons there also,
but alas they hid themselves when I appeared.
We walked home in the cool of the evening
reaching the hotel | p. 104 |