Jan., 1908. Annual Report of the Director. 131 



personal servants were engaged, licenses procured, and on October 

 14th, we boarded a train on the Uganda Railway and on the following 

 day arrived at Nairobi, 327 miles inland. October 18th, we began 

 active operations in the field, within twenty-five miles of Nairobi, 

 on the Athi Plains. Two and a half months were spent in this region, 

 and in the number of specimens collected, this was the most productive 

 period of the entire trip. On December 30th we moved our camp, by 

 rail, to Kijabe, forty-four miles up the line, for the purpose of securing 

 a series of Cape Buffalo. A month spent here resulted in obtaining 

 only a single specimen of Buffalo and a fair number of other specimens, 

 among which were a series of Colobus Monkeys and a Rhinosceros. 

 The following month (February) was spent at Lake Elementeita, 

 fifty miles northwest of Kijabi, and this proved a reasonably profitable 

 month. About March 8th the outfit was again moved by rail to Molo, 

 484 miles from the coast, where we went into camp some twelve 

 miles south of the railway. Our stay here was made exceedingly un- 

 pleasant by the incessant cold rains, and failure, again, to secure 

 Buffalo contributed to our discomfiture. We were fairly recom- 

 pensed, however, for the time spent, by the addition to our collections 

 of a series of Topi, a series of Jackson's Harteebest, a very fine male 

 lion, and a number of smaller mammals. Early in April we returned 

 coastwards to Voi, 100 miles inland from Mombasa. We had post- 

 poned our visit to Voi until the last because of the unhealthfulness 

 of the region, and the two weeks spent there resulted in a meagre 

 showing of material collected, owing to fever attacking two of our 

 party, as well as a large number of the employed natives. The 

 caravan was discharged at the close of our work at this place, and 

 we returned to Nairobi, and proceeded to pack the collections for 

 shipment. Messers. Shaw-Kennedy and Heller made preparations 

 to return home at this time. The work of packing the collections 

 occupied five weeks, the lack of proper facilities making it a tedious 

 task; fifty barrels that had been ordered from London proved use- 

 less, and obliged us to resort to the use of old oil casks obtained from 

 the Railway Company. About May 1st, upon receipt of instructions 

 from the Museum authorities, application was made for permission 

 to cross the Tana River in quest of Buffalo, which was granted, on 

 the understanding that we were not to avail ourselves of the privilege 

 until July. It was therefore decided to employ the intervening time 

 in collecting accessory material for some of the groups, specimens for 

 which had been previously secured. Accordingly, about June 1st, we 



