CHAP. II 



TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



73 



We sent back in these canoes five worthless porters, our 

 letters for Europe, the specimens we had up to that time 

 collected, photographic plates we had used, and our third 

 headman with four trustworthy companions. The latter 

 were sent to endeavour to enlist fresh recruits from the 

 coast, and procure some things we found to be abso- 

 lutely necessary for the well-being of the caravan, which 

 we had neglected to procure at an earlier date. We 

 calculated that, as these men had the current with them 

 to the coast, they should be able to transact our busi- 

 ness and return in five weeks. This period Lieutenant 

 von Hohnel and I decided to spend in a journey to the 

 north. We intended to follow the Mackenzie River to 

 its source, which at that time was supposed to be Lake 

 Lorian. We also hoped to fall in with the Rendile, as 

 Lieutenant von Hohnel had heard at Kismayu that 

 they often pastured their flocks and herds in the neigh- 

 bourhood of this lake. In order that we might cover 

 ground as quickly as possible, we took with us but 

 eighty picked men, with food for thirty days, trusting 

 to find on the road sufficient game to supply us with 

 provisions, should we be gone for a longer period of 

 time. 



George we left at Hameye. The place seemed healthy 

 for both man and beast. The camels were sorely in 

 need of rest, as was also the case with most of the 

 donkeys. Many of the men, too, seemed suffering from 

 fatigue, and there was much work to be done, such as 

 training the oxen to carry loads, and making up in 

 proper parcels the goods which up to this point had 

 been transported in the canoes. Food was cheap here, 

 and we concluded that, if ever there was a place where 



