126 TAVETA AND MOUNTS KILIMANJARO AND MERU 



brighter for the wet. Still, after three hours' marching under 

 these conditions even we had had enough of it, so we halted 

 just where we happened to be. The thermometer registered 

 + 20° Centigrade, but we all gathered shivering round our cook, 

 who was this time more than half an hour before he could get 

 a fire. Our march had been along the left bank of the Kikaso 

 and across the two streams with troubled milky waters alluded 

 to in Baron von der Decken's travels ; and before we reached 

 them we passed one of the camping-places of the English 

 sportsmen, who had started a few weeks earlier intending to 

 explore the virgin hunting-grounds on the south of Mount 

 Meru, but, as related in Sir John C. Willoughby's ' East Africa 

 and its Big Game,' they heard such disquieting rumours at 

 Kikaso of the number of Masai in the neighbourhood that 

 they decided to turn back. I may add here that travellers are 

 often falsely informed, partly unintentionally, as there are 

 always many stories about of the approaching of the dreaded 

 Masai, and partly intentionally, the caravan people deceiving 

 them in the hope of preventing them from going farther. 



Hunting was anything but pleasant work in the swampy, 

 densely overgrown woods, and Count Teleki came home after 

 an afternoon expedition empty handed but in good spirits, as 

 he had seen a great quantity of big game, including four 

 rhinoceroses standing close together to leeward. He had not 

 got within range when a fifth rhinoceros rose up from the long 

 grass and made straight for him. This was exactly what he 

 wanted ; but it happened at rather an awkward moment, as he 

 was just tightening a shawl he was wearing on account of the 

 cold and damp. The rhinoceros was close upon him before 

 he could get his rifle in position ; but the charge took effect, 

 the animal whirled round once, and then disappeared in the 

 thicket. Count Teleki followed his track for some distance, 

 but abandoned it later, as he came in sight of a herd of twenty- 



