A Tiring Climb 



throbbed and my nights were sleepless. There 

 were no means of extracting it nearer than Mbarara, 

 and no dentist nearer than Nairobi, a matter of 

 five weeks' journey. I tried putting in carbolic acid 

 neat, and this relieved the pain temporarily; but I 

 burned my mouth and lips very badly, and swallow- 

 ing some one night, whilst half-mad with the torture, 

 was very ill for days. 



At last an occurrence relieved our stupendous 

 monotony. It was two months since our arrival, 

 and we agreed to climb up a very stiff hill for the 

 sake of the view, which extended beyond the Congo 

 camp. It was a most tiring climb, and once at the 

 top the haze precluded any distinct vision. We 

 nevertheless prolonged our walk round the top of 

 the hills, which, owing to their circular shape, 

 would lead us back eventually to the camp. I had 

 misgivings, as a scanty breakfast at seven o'clock 

 afforded small sustenance for a twelve-mile and hilly ' 

 undertaking of this sort. Well, we pushed on along 

 the ridge, making our own path. The view on the 

 farther side was very fine, consisting of wild, habit- 

 less "gubba," all hill and dale, well covered with 

 bamboo and undergrowth, with streams, lakes, and 

 waterfalls interveninsf. 



We soon began to speculate as to the presence 

 of game, and when, moving along to the head 

 of the next valley, we stopped to watch some 

 monkeys hopping about the trees, suddenly our 

 ears were deafened by the furious trumpeting of 

 male elephants, evidently quarrelling over a female. 



193 13 



