48 
THE KILIMA-NJAR 0 EXPEDITION. 
which the first stage of the journey might be made, 
for several tidal creeks extend inland from Mombasa 
for a distance of nearly twenty miles. My men jour¬ 
neyed by land, and we all met again in the vicinity of 
the mission station of ftabai. After one night spent 
with Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield at Jomvu, and a pleasant 
rest with the Shaws at Kisolutini, I was at length 
launched alone into the wilderness, rather relieved than 
otherwise at my unaccustomed solitude. My party 
consisted of one hundred and twenty men. 
The first day’s tramp into the interior was very 
trying. Owing to the scarcity of water, I had resolved 
to make a long march to a place called Gora, at a dis¬ 
tance of about thirty miles from my starting-point. I 
gave my caravan a little start ahead of me, and followed 
leisurely in a hammock, feeling at first too weak from 
fever to be able to go on foot. In fact, what with 
anterior weakness and a blazing sun, I felt in such a 
stupid condition that I hoped, during the first day of 
my travels, to be allowed to journey peacefully without 
undue exercise of energy. But it was not to be, and 
perhaps fortunately so, since there is nothing that 
dispels the languidness of fever so speedily as the 
necessity for vigorous action. After some hours’ easy 
jog-trot in my net-hammock, I came up with the bulk 
of my caravan, and found all the men reclining in the 
pleasant shade of a leafy wood. The Zanzibaris rose 
somewhat apologetically, and with a show of respect, 
but the men of Rabai and Mombasa merely looked at 
me with stolid unconcern, and several yawned un¬ 
restrainedly in my face when I questioned them as 
to the cause of this prolonged halt. The headman of 
these Christian—save the mark !—porters then in¬ 
formed me that his men considered the walk to Gora 
