"Francis Hall's letters are among the earliest colonial record of daily life in British East Africa. In 1893 Hall commanded Fort Smith near present day Nairobi with orders to build a road to Kibwezi, to re-supply caravans between the coast and Uganda and to keep the peace between the Kikuyu and the Maasai. His was a hard life in difficult, dangerous conditions and every day was an adventure. He was gored by a rhino, mauled by a leopard and survived bush surgery and frequent bouts of malaria." "While on leave in England, he married Bee Russell, a colleague's sister, and they set up house together in Fort Smith. As the railway line from Mombasa inched closer, so the early European settlers started to arrive. But the railway was to change everything, and when Nairobi suddenly appeared on their doorstep at the turn of the century, Fort Smith became redundant. The government moved the Halls to Machakos and then back to Kikuyuland to Mbirri to establish a new fort." "Six months later Francis Hall was dead from blackwater fever aged 40. Mbirri was named Fort Hall in his memory and today the town is called Muranga. This book is a unique account of the life of an early colonial administrator and settler. It is part adventure story, part love story and a true story."--BOOK JACKET.