Early History of the Uasin Gishu

 A few notes on the early history of the Uasin Gishu from the Kenya Scrapbook by A.C. Hoey.

*** PART 1:  (This piece was written about 1956 for a church magazine)

Few people had heard of the Uasin Gishu Plateau prior to the year 1900, and the first reference I can find is that made by Major JR MacDonald RE who headed a survey party in the years 1891 1894, exploring a route for a railway to be built from Mombasa to Uganda. In his book "Soldiering and Surveying in British East Africa" he specially refers to the rolling downs and beautiful grass country of the Uasin Gishu when he was making his way from Naivasha to Mumias. 

It was in 1905 that I met in Naivasha a very nice Afrikander by the name of Van Breda who was keen on taking up land in the southernmost part of Uasin Gishu Plateau, near the Elgeyo Escarpment. It was about this time, having heard of the wonderful shooting to be obtained in the Uasin Gishu, that I made a safari. I had considerable difficulty in obtaining permission to enter the area, the Nandi were causing a good deal of trouble, and Government was engaged in sending a punitive expedition against them, for constantly murdering railway personnel employed on maintenance of the railway line near Fort Ternan.

After the Nandi subdued I was allowed to proceed on my shooting safari, and it would be most impossible for me to describe the vast quantities of game I encountered in Uasin Gishu plateau, and of almost every species. Jackson's Hartebeeste roamed over the country in vast herds of about three to five hundred strong. Eland in herds of two hundred or more, and Zebra literally by the thousand, to say nothing of the numerous Lions and some very fine Elephants which used to travel between the Elgeyo Forest and Mount Elgon.

At that time, I made my standing camp at Lake Sergoit, and often I would spend the day on Sergoit Rock with my glasses watching the vast herds of game below me. It was on one of these occasions that I turned my glasses in the direction of the Burnt Forest and there I saw a white streak in the Forest. At first it looked lite river, which of course I realised was impossible, then I thought it might be smoke, but it gradually became much too defined in shape and eventually after some hours I could see it was moving it turned out to be the first Afrikaans trek into the Plateau and these were all the tents of the wagons following one another which was being cut for the 'making of the first road.

The next day I went and met the big trek and there I met a grand old man, Van Rensburg, and many other splendid fellows who have since passed away who were the first to open up the country and to prove that a living could be made off the land.

A fine man was Arnoldi who afterwards in World War I formed "Arnoldi Scouts" and who performed wonderful war service and who, I believe, was killed in action. A prominent Afrikander was Mr. Cloete who had the enterprise and the means to bring up from South Africa a large number of horses, mares, and a valuable herd of Afrikander cattle, but diseases took their toll and very considerable losses were incurred, and it was soon proved without doubt that no imported stock could survive in the district without efficient dipping and fencing.