Untrodden Paths 



o 



started off, and came up with him shortly before six o'clock in the 

 evening, tired out and hungry, whilst my fagged-out carriers did 

 not straggle in before eleven o'clock the same night." 



As the time I could allow for the surveying of the " White 

 Spot" — a territory of nearly 2,ocx) square kilometres — was 

 a comparatively short one, the two lieutenants had to work at a 

 fairly quick rate. In consequence of this, and particularly whilst 

 they were in the deeply fissured mountain country of the Kagera 

 district, the commissariat caravans were at times unable to dis- 

 cover their camp. Thus they were compelled every now and then 

 to put themselves, as well as their people, on half or one-third 

 rations. 



At Mount Ndama the position was a particularly critical 

 one. The following is a report that I received at that time 

 from Weiss : 



" Eight days earlier we had sent off express messengers beg- 

 ging for fresh stores, but no answer had been vouchsafed. Our 

 people's stock of vegetable food had been entirely consumed, and 

 we had already subsisted for two days solely on meat. As far 

 as the eye could see no habitation could be descried. Night after 

 night we lighted blazing piles of wood and fired off the last of 

 our stock of fire-balls to indicate the position of our camp to any 

 commissariat caravan which might possibly be searching for us. 

 But we never got an answer. As it was simply impossible to hold 

 out any longer under such conditions, we decided, with the 

 greatest reluctance, to abandon our interesting labours and to 

 proceed to the next village. 



"After journeying for about one and a half hours we suddenly 

 became aware of the head of an Askari gazing down from a 

 height. A moment later his whole body was visible. He was 

 followed by twenty carriers bearing the welcome provision loads. 

 We greeted them with wild cheers, our men setting up an ear- 

 deafening Babel of joyful cries. Our immediate troubles were 

 over, and we were enabled to carry on our work buoyed up with 

 fresh courage and strength. This commissariat caravan had 

 been wandering about the district for five days looking for us. 



