CHAPTER THREE 



HORNS AND THORNS 



AN old book presented me by JafTer contained many 

 -Ta. interesting, and some amusing, experiences con- 

 nected with the early history of the East Coast. A 

 description was given of the elaborate preparations 

 made by a German captain who hoped to cross Africa 

 from east to west by motor car. The time was about 

 1904, and he started with great ado from Dar es Salam. 

 The report then goes on to say that he traveled "some 

 forty miles westward, overcoming great difficulties" 

 until "all four cyUnders on the motor broke down." 

 It seems that this major calamity put an end to the 

 expedition, nor could I find any record of further 

 attempts to cross from east to west. 



Early on the morning of September 26, 1928, the 

 members of the Colorado African Expedition met in 

 the Httle dining room of the Palace Hotel, Mombasa, 

 for an early" breakfast. On this day we planned at 

 last to push off "into the blue," this being a phrase 

 commonly used in East Africa to signify "the remote 

 and wild places." There had been many last-minute 

 preparations, including the hiring of two black boys. 

 Mike had insisted that none of the boys from the coast 

 were worth having on safari, so we were managing with 

 these two until reaching Nairobi. 



We had also hired a driver for the Baron's new truck 

 and had given him instructions to bring it to the court- 



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