70 In the Heart of Africa 



through the light ash-like foliage of the hagenia, which spread 

 over our table, to the nocturnal sky, from which the full moon 

 was shedding forth its rays as cool and clear as on a winter's 

 night at home. And no sounds around us except at times a 

 bush-buck giving tongue, and the chatter of the carriers, gossiping 

 and freezing round the fires like ourselves. Yes, freezing! I 

 often awakened during the night from sheer cold in spite of a 

 sleeping costume consisting of woollen stockings, under-clothing, 

 pyjamas, cloth cap, and two camel-hair blankets for a covering. 

 In the evening we drank grog made of tea and whisky to warm 

 us up a little. How joyfully we greeted the sun when he brought 

 us a little warmth — never more than fifteen or sixteen degrees 

 atmospheric temperature — and left us cold again when he sank 

 once more behind our camp hill at about four o'clock. When 

 Grawert and Kandt were in this part their washing water froze, 

 and when the latter was almost at the same spot at the same time 

 of year he saw the grass and the trees thickly covered with hoar 

 frost. And that was in an African virgin forest two degrees 

 south of the Equator! 



" Now let us turn our eyes away from the slightly elevated 

 camp quarters, from which we could obtain an extensive 

 panoramic view on one side — to the forest, and endeavour to 

 learn a little of its features. In comparing it with a German 

 forest of leafy trees two factors stand out clearly, namely, the 

 considerably greater variety and the entirely different ages of the 

 trees. From this it follows naturally that the colouring of the 

 leafy crowns is more diversified, though, generally speaking, 

 more sombre (saving, of course, the striking autumnal tints of the 

 German forest), and that the height of the trees is very different. 

 The impression of the closed-in canopy of foliage under which 

 each single tree disappears is missing ; the taller, fully grown 

 trees stand comparatively free, so that their crowns are either 

 quite separated or scarcely come into contact with each other. 

 Thus each one conveys a separate idea, as it were, and the 

 individuality of each tree stands out more sharply. Added to 

 this there is a peculiar characteristic, which is most apparent in 



