4 > 
IN AFRICA 
the five months that elapsed before I actually set 
forth, I went about my daily work with a mind half 
dazed with the delicious consciousness that I was 
soon to become a lion hunter. I feared that modern 
methods might have taken away much of the old- 
time romance of the sport, but I felt certain that 
there was still to be something left in the way of 
excitement and adventure. 
The succeeding pages of this book contain the 
chronicle of the nine delightful months that fol¬ 
lowed my departure from America. 
In the middle of August Mr. Stephenson and I 
arrived in London. Mr. Akeley had ordered most 
of our equipment by letter, but there still remained 
many things to be done, and for a week or more we 
were busy from morning till night. 
It is amazing how much stuff is required to out¬ 
fit a party of four people for an African shooting 
expedition of several months’ duration. First in 
importance come the rifles, then the tents and camp 
equipment, then the clothes and boots, then the 
medical supplies, and finally the food. Perhaps the 
food might be put first in importance, but just now, 
after a hearty dinner, it seems to be the least im¬ 
portant detail. 
Many men outfitting for an African campaign 
among wild animals secure their outfits in London. 
It is there, in modest little shops, that one gets the 
weapons that are known to sportsmen from one end 
of the world to the other—weapons designed ex¬ 
pressly for the requirements of African shooting, 
