EAST AFRICAN MAMMALS IN NATIONAL MUSEUM. 13 



BRIEF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE COLLECTION. 



In addition to minor accessions, often of great value, the bulk of 

 the material in the East African mammal collections has been gath- 

 ered by special zoological exploring expeditions, organized by patrons 

 of the museum or by the Smithsonian Institution itself. 



The first important mammal collection to reach the museum from 

 eastern Africa was made by Dr. W. L. Abbott on his journey to 

 Momit Kilimanjaro, 1887-1890, and was presented by him to the 

 museum. It contained about 170 specimens, which were reported 

 upon in 1892 by Dr. F. W. True.^ Five new species were described 

 at this time from Doctor Abbott's collection, one of which (Cep'halop'hus 

 spadix) has only recently been rediscovered. 



Doctor Abbott left Zanzibar in the last days of November, 1887, and 

 marched from Saadani, on the coast, to Kidudwe, about 90 miles 

 mland, where he remained about five weeks. A side trip of two 

 marches was made from here into the Nguru Mountains. He returned 

 to Zanzibar in January, 1888. In February, 1888, he marched from 

 Pangani, German East Africa, up the valley of the Ruva River (Pan- 

 gani River) to Taveta. From Taveta numerous expeditions about 

 the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro (Chaga), to Aruchu-wa-chini, and 

 about the plains east of Kilimanjaro were made. A march down to 

 the coast at Mombasa was made during the last days of January, 

 1889, and the next month he returned to Taveta. Trips were again 

 made into Aruchu-wa-chini and to southeastern Chaga, and he then 

 marched from Taveta northward to Kimangelia and to a swamp some 

 50 miles north of Kilimanjaro. The retm-n to Taveta was made by 

 way of the Kyulu Mountains (Ongolea Mountains on some maps). 

 This was followed by a six months' stay in and about Moschi, in 

 Chaga, south of Kilimanjaro, and the return to Mombasa in Feb-, 

 ruary, 1890. Altogether, many hundreds of miles of marches were 

 made in the neighborhood of Kilimanjaro, and large collections of 

 birds and other material, as well as of mammals, were made. The 

 birds have been reported upon by Dr. H. C. Oberholser.^ 



In 1893 Doctor True published a short paper ^ describing a small 

 collection of mammals made by Wilham Astor (Lanier and Lieut. 

 Ludwig von Hohnel on the Tana River. This material was presented 

 to the United States National Museimi by the collectors. 



Durmg the summer of 1908, while on a sporting trip to the Guas 

 Ngishu and Laikipia Plateaus, British East Africa, ^Ir. John Jay 

 White preserved specimens of large mammals, about 30 in number, 

 which he presented to the Museum. These were reported upon by 



1 Proe. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 15, pp. 445-480. 1892. 



= Birds collected by Dr. W. L. Abbott in the Kilimanjaro region, East Africa, Vroc. V. S. Nat. Mus.. 

 \ ol. 28, pp. 823-936. 1905. 

 • rroc. V. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 10, pp. 601-603. 1S93 



