30 ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA chap. 



getting up among the hills, making it very unpleasant and 

 soaking some of my things. The path was perfectly awful ; 

 greasy to a degree ; overhung with dripping jungle, weighed 

 down with the wet ; and, being steep and sidelong, made it 

 very hard work for the porters. In consequence of the rain, 

 and partly also to get a guide, we camped early at the first 

 suitable place ; a nice open spot near a small wood with water 

 not far off. It is important in these hills to camp, if possible, 

 where firewood can be procured (which is not the case every- 

 where), as the climate is cool and damp and the nights very 

 cold and trying to the men without good fires, often bringing 

 on serious illnesses. On this occasion I put down in my diary 

 " cold and beastly." The natives here are great thieves, so 

 that it is necessary to keep a careful watch over everything, 

 and a good open space is desirable as camping ground for 

 safety. I secured a new guide and one of those who had 

 disappointed me turned up. 



The next morning was chilly, misty, and drizzling, and the 

 going abominably bad, but we started early in spite of it all. 

 By and by, though, the sun came out and made things more 

 cheerful and let us see about us. This must be a grand climate 

 and, I should think, perfectly healthy. The early mornings are 

 very cold, but lovely after the sun gets up ; the air crisp and 

 as clear as crystal. I walked to the top of a hill ahead and was 

 abundantly rewarded by a wonderfully extended view of the 

 country beyond for an immense distance right up to a range 

 I thought must overlook Baringo, as well as the Lorogis and 

 other mountains, with a peep of the Gwaso Nyiro River shining 

 between. Of Kenia (or Kilimara, as it is more correctly called) 

 — quite near, to the south-west by west — only the immensely 

 wide base and the extreme apex of precipitous black rock flecked 

 with snow were visible, all its snowfields being covered with 

 banks of cloud, below which appeared extensive forests on the 

 lower slopes, except those on the northern side, which are quite 

 bare. The general aspect of the country to the northward 



