CHAPTER IT. 
Preparation and Departure of the Expedition from Italy. 
From Naples to Entebbe. 
Choice of Season—Objects of the Expedition—Organization of the Expedi¬ 
tion—departure from Xaples—Mombasa—Lieutenant E. AVinspeare falls ill—- 
The Uganda Railway—The Tableland of Athi—Rift Valley—Port Florence— 
Kisumu Market—On the Winifred —The Gulf of Kavirondo—Sunset on 
Lake Victoria—Steaming upon the Equator—The Islands—Sleeping Sickness— 
The Archipelago of Sesse—Arrival at Entebbe. 
Of all the difficulties with which 
most of the predecessors of the 
Duke of the Abruzzi had had 
to contend in the exploration of 
Ruwenzori, the gravest had been 
the obstinate bad weather, the 
nearly incessant rain, and, in the 
brief intervals, the dense mist 
which shrouded the whole region. 
These untoward conditions gave the utmost importance to 
the decision as to which season seemed likely to be the 
least unfavourable. Judging indeed by the reports of former 
expeditions which had set forth in nearly every month of the 
25 
