New-York tribune., 1909-07-18
In Camp for Christmas

nN the twentv-fOurth we moved ten miles up the
~ steeplv rising valley of the Ngari kItl to camp
q thousand feet higher (three thousand feet on a
small tributary, the Ngari NyirO. our first stage on
the ascent of the Mau At this camp we enjoyed a
delightfully."- cool temperature, and 1t was indeed a
great relief from fortnight in the hot lowandS,
where barring sleeping hours were constantly
streaming with sweat. Near the head of this valley
dwells a small tribe of Lolita Nasal who disOwn ale
glance Lenani and besides the of their tiockS
and herds, contrary Nasal tradition and habits,
till the soil and eat its produce
Here high UP on the foothills of the Mau, we spent
our Christmas Eve rather a silent one, for me l
know a very sad one. each filed with longlngs tor
those he loves best.
Christmas day we sent our donkey loads and
twenty porterS on to the summit, under our head
man. ourselves remaining in camp TO finish curing
trophies for heavy rain had fallen the night be
fore and their drying unfinished. For me It was
lazy day, the first real rest the start spent al
ternately making diary notes, doing. and reading
the latest New York papers my latestD. OF dates
from November to s. which till then had not had
time to open.-paperS with the first news | have
read other than a three-lne Reuter- despatch, OF
the result of elections and stating that President
Roosevelt has delayed his sailing date for Mombasa
until March 2f. This would bring HIM there the end
of April, still really month too early; for the big
rains usually do not stop before the end OF May
Up to the Heights of the Mau
THE mor.in= of the twenty-SXth were of Al
daylight for the ascent of the Mau, over Outram
Pass. the only accessible point known for nearly
hundred miles north Of the border. The buttresSng
foothills and higher slopes OF the range that to
offer easy access to the summit prove on trial 70 he
only comparatively isolated upifts either hopclcsSly
precpitous the far side or leading TO downright
irnpassable cliffs above. While guide TO the I'm
perial Boundary Survey four years ago Dutram
discovered this pass and there in the coun-
try ONLY two men besides himself who know II.
BY desperate hard work drenched within 10y per
sTiratiOn and without by the sOuuing grass and
foliage we reached the summit SIX thousand FIVE
hundred feet an ascent from camp OF thirty
five hundred feet III three hours. Three -tOuTths
OF the way the thorn scrub the mountainsidc was
dense that progress was possible only afoot up
winding rhinO trails steep and shut by CreeUcrs
that one could not ride Then got up OF the
Jungle into a more open big timber country OF less
steep slope where occasionally we could for a tc"
lust here lost first donkey, of characteristic
tsetse fly sIckness-and lucky were II 50 far
only onel
lust before arriving at the summit the real KEY to
the pass was reached lofty knfeblade ridge scarcely
eight feet wide strewn with granite bOuldcrs. which
connected the buttress had asCendcd with the
upper escarpTnent. On either side this ridge fell
away almost IcrrcudiCularIv for probably twenty
five hundred feet and along rode for the several
hundred wards OF Its length, 50 tagged that did
not mind chances OF a mule stumble that might
easily toss and beast over the edge; for often
the scattered boulderS compelled riding along lis
very lip. Unfortunately heavy banks OF cloud lay
fifteen hundred thousand feet below
either side and deprived us Of what a clear day
must be a most magnificent view to north south.
and east.
The summit reached we crossed a superb belt OF
big timber hardwood trunks five six feet through.
rising sixty 10 eighty feet straight as spear shaft
and without a limb and then began a rapid descent
through the richest wild grassed country have
seen; green sweet, JUICY, and such thick mat that
one could not walk a half-nile through it without
exhaustion.
At five thousand four hundred feet we campcd on
a high bench above the head waters Of the Ngari
Xiii, which a few miles away drops to the arid
eastern plains through impossible gorge, all too
tired to engage III the usual evening shoot.