NO. I 



THE WHITE RHINOCEROS HELLER 



3 



the Lado Enclave. Special arrangements were made by Colonel 

 Roosevelt for obtaining these specimens, in fact, the whole interest in 

 the Nile trip centered in the quest of these rare ungulates. 



The preparations for the rhinoceros hunt were made at the port of 

 Butiaba, on the northeast shore of the Albert Nyanza. Boats were 

 employed for the journey as far as Nimule, the lower limit of navi- 

 gation on that part of the Nile known as the Bahr-el-Jebel. The 

 fleet which was to carry us down the river to the haunts of the 

 rhinoceros consisted of a small steam launch, the Kenia, a large 

 open sloop-rigged boat, the James Martin, a smaller sail boat, the 

 Kisingiri, and two row boats. A comparatively few men were 

 needed to assist in the rhinoceros hunt as our movements were to be 

 limited to the immediate vicinity of the Nile. The few men needed 

 for transport and the preparation of the skins sailed with the fleet in 

 the smaller boats, but the great bulk of the safari porters were sent 

 overland along the east bank of the river to Nimule to await our 

 arrival there. 



At 10 o'clock on the morning of January 7 our preparations for 

 embarkation were complete, and we steamed out of the protection of 

 the long sandspit of Butiaba into the teeth of a strong head wind. 

 The little launch Kenia towed all of the boats at the beginning 

 of the voyage through the rough sea which had been kicked up by 

 the wind. The wind dropped somewhat after we had been out a 

 few hours and swung around to our stern, giving us a fair breeze. 

 Sail was then hoisted on the James Martin and connection with 

 the launch severed. Henceforward the boats made independent prog- 

 ress on the lake and down the broad waters of the sluggish Nile. 



During the slow progress of the early part of the voyage we had 

 ample opportunity to observe the landscape beyond the distant lake 

 shore. The Albert Nyanza lies in a deep, gigantic rift valley at an 

 elevation of approximately 2,200 feet above sea level. The whole 

 eastern shore is a rugged precipitous wall of mountains which rises 

 directly from the water's edge. Beyond, the hills rise tier upon tier to 

 the crests of the mountains forming the Congo-Nile watershed. The 

 summits of the Congo ranges appeared very lofty and dim on the 

 distant horizon, but their height is not great, not exceeding 5,000 feet 

 above the surface of the lake. The country nearest to us showed a 

 scattered growth of thorn trees and bushes, with a few dark patches 

 of dense forest on the lowland bordering the lake shore. The snow- 

 capped peaks of Ruwenzori, the fabled mountains of the moon of the 

 early geographers, were not visible at this distance. We were now 



