THE SMALLER FAUNA OF MOUNT ELGON 97 
A different experience was mine at Kisumu, where, on the 
very first night of tent -life in this Protectorate, two new 
hurricane lamps were the forfeit for the night’s rest. I had 
the greatest difficulty to get even to 10,000 feet on Elgon. 
The Kavirondo stoutly refused to move up beyond the escarp- 
ment at 7000 feet. I had up twenty-four carriers from Mumias 
to the escarpment cave. They refused to move a single load 
up the mountain, although I knew the track and had located 
the next camp. Eventually I had to make my four boys 
and cook take up only the absolute necessaries, carrying 
half a load myself. 
The cave at 9000 or 10,000 feet, where I lived for a short 
time, was not so pleasant as the escarpment cave ten or fifteen 
miles lower down the mountain. To begin with it was distinctly 
cold at that elevation. The cave was what can only be 
described as immense. There was a whole Masai village in 
just one corner of it. The huts remained, but the Masai had 
gone. A large waterfall, which poured its volumes in front 
of the cave, made an unceasing deafening noise, and was very 
annoying until one became used to it. This cave and water- 
fall have much similarity to the salt cave and waterfall on the 
escarpment, described by Sir H. H. Johnston. It is the home 
of myriads of bats. I made a great onslaught upon them. 
There are enormous ramifications of this cave. One ends in 
unfathomable water, another seemed to end in the roof, and 
others twist and turn in bewildering confusion. But I did 
not explore the whole of it. I had become nauseated with 
exploring caves. More than twenty down on the escarpment 
had completely taken the first excitement away. 
Perhaps a few words on my method of collecting may be of 
interest. When the tents are pitched on a fresh camping ground, 
I get out from forty to eighty traps of varying sizes and sorts. 
Traps for mice, for rats, for moles and for larger beasties, baited 
with porridge, bread or aniseed, I put them in different kinds 
of places, some in grass, some in the tree forest or bamboo 
forest, under rocks or amongst stones, by a swamp or stream 
or up a hill, at the base of a large tree or under a fallen tree, in 
the heather, amongst the flowering plants or in the thorny 
desert ; anywhere in fact that looks likely and where I can 
