122 
In the Heart of Africa 
The support he had afforded us, the solicitous care with which 
he had smoothed our way, the circumspection with which he had 
provided for our commissariat, had conduced in no small degree 
to lighten our laborious task and to promote the success of our 
expedition. 
Soon after, we paid a visit to the mission station at Ruasa, 
which impressed us as being very well cared for, cleanly kept 
and tastefully laid out. We were received in a very friendly 
manner and treated to such excellent dishes and beverages that 
it needed some little effort to make our way back to the camp 
along by the pretty falls of the Mkunga. 
Knecht having returned to Kissenji, we turned to the north 
with the purpose of fixing some settled quarters on the high- 
lying saddle between the volcanoes of Sabinjo and Mgahinga. 
We followed a long upward inclining road. The temperature, 
which had been high at the start, sank gradually as we ascended. 
Ever since noon a pelting rain had been pouring down, which 
turned the path into a mountain torrent, and at the finish it 
grew so cold that we were well-nigh frozen. 
As we did not know where Weidemann—^who had marched 
here with reserve stores direct from Kissenji—had pitched his 
camp, a patrol was despatched to search, and to advise us by 
signal gun when the camp was sighted. The rest of us, when 
we had reached the thickly wooded saddle, crowded together, 
black and white alike, around a smouldering fire until the 
appointed signal relieved our suspense. A further march of 
half an hour brought us to our destination. 
Weidemann had been encamped for two days in a forest 
glade, and had already had the foresight to erect a protecting 
banda (roofing) of bamboo, which proved of great service to 
us, for during the following days the thermometer never 
indicated more than 13 degrees Celsius, even at the warmest 
hour of the day, and sank at night to one degree or even to 
freezing point. In addition to this a cutting wind whistled 
through the valley, chilling us to the marrow, and one night 
even swept Wiese’s tent away. We were at an elevation of 2,600 
