THROUGH THE PLEISTOCENE 17 



Soon after lunch we drew up at the little station of 

 Kapiti Plains, where our safari was awaiting us; "safari" 

 being the term employed throughout East Africa to denote 

 both the caravan with which one makes an expedition and 

 the expedition itself. Our aim being to cure and send home 

 specimens of all the common big game in addition to as 

 large a series as possible of the small mammals and birds 

 it was necessary to carry an elaborate apparatus of 

 naturalists' supplies; we had brought with us, for instance, 

 four tons of fine salt, as to cure the skins of the big beasts 

 is a herculean labor under the best conditions; we had 

 hundreds of traps for the small creatures; many boxes 

 of shot-gun cartridges in addition to the ordinary rifle 

 cartridges which alone would be necessary on a hunting 

 trip; and, in short, all the many impedimenta needed if 

 scientific work is to be properly done under modern con- 

 ditions. Few laymen have any idea of the expense and 

 pains which must be undergone in order to provide groups 

 of mounted big animals from far-off lands, such as we see 

 in museums like the National Museum in Washington 

 and the American Museum of Natural History in New 

 York. The modern naturalist must realize that in some of 

 its branches his profession, while more than ever a science, 

 has also become an art. So our preparations were neces- 

 sarily on a very large scale; and as we drew up at the station 

 the array of porters and of tents looked as if some small 

 military expedition was about to start. As a compliment, 

 which I much appreciated, a large American flag was float- 

 ing over my own tent; and in the front line, flanking this 

 tent on either hand, were other big tents for the members 

 of the party, with a dining tent and skinning tent; while be- 



