172 TAVETA AND MOUNTS KILIMANJARO AND MERU 



down from the uniformly grey sky in a steady but not parti- 

 cularly heavy stream, and even at the worst there was generally 

 a break from six or seven to nine or ten o'clock in the morning. 



We heard from Miriali, however, that it still rained nearly 

 every clay in the Kilimanjaro district, and we could see that it 

 was snowing heavily in the higher regions by the constant 

 change in the position of the snow-line, which had now come 

 down to about the height of 10,150 feet. We should have to 

 wait a few weeks at least before we could carry out our 

 Kilimanjaro plans, but we could use the delay for our pre- 

 parations for the further journey. To make running away 

 more difficult for the men we took their weapons away from 

 them as soon as we got back to camp, and we gave them two 

 days' holiday, which they used for building their huts. Then 

 work, of which there was plenty, was resumed. As already 

 stated, Count Teleki had left some of the goods at Mombasa and 

 Mawia, as he thought we should have more than we wanted. 

 Unforeseen circumstances had, however, thrown out our cal- 

 culations considerably. The various desertions and casualties 

 had reduced the number of porters, and we had not been 

 altogether right in our selection of stores : we had too much 

 of some things and not enough of others. 



With a view to getting a thoroughly accurate idea of the 

 state of our resources, we resolved to have every bale over- 

 hauled, and this task was confided to Qualla, with the guides 

 and Askari under him. Then we must make some more 

 naiberes and string some more beads in the orthodox w^ay. 

 Maktubu had brought with him some thousand fine needles, and 

 for thread quantities of the extraordinarily strong fibres of the 

 leaves of the Hyplicena thebaica were already prepared ; so that 

 the making of pombo, as the strings of beads are called, could 

 proceed merrily beneath the big shelter which had been specially 

 erected for the purpose. 



