CHAPTER XX. 
R00SEVE1.T A Skii,]?ul and Untiring Hunter—Ott tor tht 
SoTiK District—T wo Days and a Hatt in tht Scorching 
Sun—Htars His Prowess as a Lion Kitter toed in Song 
AND Sketch—In Search oe a White Rhinoceros. 
'^HE Kijabe camp was astir at an early hour on the morning of 
^ June 5, and the work of loading the camp effects on the backs 
of the sturdy porters required several hours. As fast as the men 
were loaded they set out for the west. By one o’clock the caravan 
was well under way for the several weeks stay in the Lumbwa 
district. 
Chief among the necessities for such a journey was a sufficient 
supply of water. The caravan started with a supply of one hundred 
and twenty-five gallons of water as part of the cargo, which was 
intended to last the members of the party during their two days 
march across the great “ thirst-belt ” of the western part of the 
protectorate. 
The ex-President and his caravan received a royal send-off, the 
natives singing and cheering as East Africans rarely do. There 
was general sorrow expressed at the departure of Bwana Thumba, 
and the best wishes were volunteered for his success in the proposed 
hunt for elephants. 
The trip to Sotik was fully as interesting, though perhaps more 
arduous, than any previously undertaken by Colonel Roosevelt, since 
his arrival in Africa. For two days and a half the march was 
through an almost impassable wilderness, under the scorching rays 
of a burning hot sun, while the wonderful African light, noted for 
its powerful effect upon human eyesight would have blinded them 
had they not taken precaution to guard against it. 
The heat of the day was so intense that it was unendurable, 
and consequently much of the journey had to be made by night 
travel. Although decidedly more comfortable from a physical point 
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