Kilima Njaro — Second Attempt, 431 
prints in the sand, and coming to the rocky region, 
steered our course by the smoke which rose from the 
fires of our people. Reaching our party, they looked 
at us enquiringly, as much as to say, Well, what 
success ?" Tofiki threw down the burden of snow, 
saying, " There's the white stuff ; look at it ; Kibo is 
beaten at last When I took the snow and began 
crunching it, as if it were the greatest delicacy, the 
men looked at each other as much as to say, " What 
uganga is the Mzungu up to now ?" while some said. 
Who ever saw a man eating stones before ?" Mtema 
stared and gaped, looked first at the snow and then 
at me, but remained dumb with astonishment. Lu- 
ma (eat) yourself," I said. He looked afraid, but 
after a while, putting it to his mouth, he instantly 
shouted, " Mringa ! mringa ! (water ! water !) Let us 
take it to the mange ! " " Yes," said my guide, and 
I shall take some to the coast, where I shall sell it 
for medicine ! Everybody will want a piece of the 
white stuff that came from Kilima Njaro!" I told 
them it would melt before we could reach Moche, but 
they smiled incredulously, saying, " Who ever heard 
of stones melting.^" It was broken up and put into 
one of the calabashes. Tofiki and I were feeling all 
right again now ; no sooner had we entered the lower 
stratum of the atmosphere than our strength returned 
to us, and we felt quite new men. 
Now for our rush down the mountain. Down, 
down, over steeps we should never have thought of 
ascending, we hurried at headlong and almost dan- 
gerous speed till we reached the forest, where, " in 
thick shelter of black shades embowered," again we 
spent another night. We did not get much sleep, for 
