HUNTING GORILLAS 201 
away armed only with sticks, its reputation for feroc- 
ity could not be great. On the other hand, the con- 
fidence in the animal’s harmlessness seemed to have 
been misplaced. But one fact did stand out. We 
were getting into the real gorilla country. That 
quickened the blood. The next day we went to the 
head of the lake. 
A Belgian administrator and his wife who were on 
the boat with us left us at Kissenyi at the northern 
end of Lake Kivu. They had a three weeks’ trek 
before them, over the mountains to their own home 
and the district over which the administrator had 
supervision. They had told us many stories of 
gorillas in their section of the country, of the gorillas 
becoming so aggressive that they had entered several 
villages and driven out the natives, and they had 
urged us to go with them, but we stuck to our original 
plan. 
Here at Kissenyi was another Beigian station and 
here we met Mrs. T. Alexander Barnes, the wife of a 
man whose directions we had received from Sir 
Charles Ross. Barnes himself was in the interior 
hunting gorillas for the British Museum. We sent 
a note to him because we did not want to interfere 
with his hunting, and in the meanwhile set to work 
to get our porters and guides ready. We decided it 
would be best for the women to stay at Kissenyi for 
the time being and for me to push on for the gorilla 
country. There were two reasons for this decision. 
Mrs. Bradley had a little touch of fever and it was 
not advisable for her to leave, and secondly, while I 
