236 SAFARI 



syces ahead to a base camp near the foot of the 

 mountain m early January. On the 14th I sent 

 fifteen more. And the fohowing day we set out 

 with our faithfiil Willys-Knight trucks and Osa's new 

 "Six" for our climb. 



On the 1 6th we reached Chogoria Mission, on the 

 slopes of the mountain. There we talked over our 

 plans with Dr. Irwine and his wife who were staying 

 at the station. On the same afternoon we continued 

 on up the ascent for about five miles more. Near 

 our camp we found two Swiss aviators who were 

 flying from Switzerland to the Cape. Their machine 

 had broken down near Jinga on the Lake and they 

 took time for a climb while repairs were being made. 



On the 1 7th we signed on about fifty Meru porters 

 with the help of Dr. Irwine. Our assistant, John 

 Wilshusen, went into Meru for blankets, as we had 

 to give every one two. We had to get "Gee" in 

 petrol tins to take the place of meat. To supply my 

 Nairobi boys and the Meru porters I had to buy 

 nearly a hundred and ninety blankets. 



Early in the morning of the i8th we set out. We 

 climbed continually up through most beautiful 

 forests with rhino, elephant and buffalo spoor every- 

 where, but we did not see any animals. The boys 

 had to rest every thirty minutes for the grade was 

 very steep. At 5 o'clock we camped at the edge 

 of a bamboo forest in a most beautiful clearing which 



