30 In the Heart of Africa 



Mount Mpungu. Kirschstein remained behind in order to pro- 

 ceed with his geological investigations at Mount Oregero. As, 

 however, we only sported one cook between the two of us, and as 

 I hoped to reach von Wiese's hospitable quarters the same 

 evening, the cook and his kitchen remained behind with Kirsch- 

 stein. After an eight hours' march, during which I stopped 

 occasionally for an hour or more to take observations, I reached 

 the Kakitumbe opposite Mount Mpungu. Here I commenced a 

 fruitless search for Wiese, but neither the alarm shots of my 

 Askari nor the ascending fireballs brought any return signal. 



" Utterly exhausted and incapable of continuing the march, I 

 encamped with my thirty men. It was ten o'clock at night. In 

 fond expectation of Wiese's flesh-pots, I had eaten nothing since 

 midday. Endeavouring to appease my grumbling interior with a 

 final cigar and a cognac, I wrapped myself in a blanket and fell 

 asleep. Early next morning, before daybreak, we were up and 

 off again. First we had to cross the Kakitumbe over a peculiar 

 bridge ; the natives had felled the biggest tree grov,'ing on the 

 banks in such a manner that it lay across the water with its crown 

 on the further side. Surely one needed the agile shoeless feet of 

 a nigger in order to pass safely over the narrow bridge, bearing 

 fifty or sixty pounds' weight on one's head ! 



"Arrived at Mount Mpungu, I found a newly constructed 

 trigonometrical signal, but, alas! no living beings. In vain I 

 searched for a note of some sort bearing on the absence of the 

 amiable constructor. In the meantime the noonday hour had 

 crept along. I took all the required measurements from the 

 mountain top. As I considered a further search for Wiese to be 

 hopeless, I was on the point of marching back to Oregoro, when 

 my men directed my attention to a few dark specks on the bound- 

 less expanse of straw-yellow grass steppe. By the aid of my 

 Voigtland glass I was soon able to make out an Askari patrol, 

 who, upon our firing an alarm shot, crossed over to us. The men 

 had been hunting three days for me with a letter from Wiese. I 

 learnt his whereabouts from them ; he had proceeded further 

 south, and camped with the Sultan Katreia. I immediately 



