New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-12-10


- month, shooting
" \ lonely land il was were trav-
ersing; for all that vast region "i
British East Africa lying to the south and west oil ,e
Southern Nasal and Kcricho BomaS was lorDlu''"
ro,nd 70 white men, which might not be entered on
eny nrctcxt cxccpt on a special written permit ISSUED
nv the Governor permit had been fortunate enough
TO obtain. Trcspass therein without permit was 70
court heavy fines and imprisonment. 49,
The section had at the time never been crossed by
white men except by the Ango-Gcrman BOUNDARY
Survey Commission although few outlaws ol one sou
or another, chiefly ivory poachcrS, were know" 10 ~
lurking along the slopes OF the krn liighahS ana INC
valley Of the Kuja River, far to the west.
Indeed il was empty Of blacks OF whites, was the
lower end Of the great Rift Valley, perhaps on account
of the deadly fcvcrs there prevalent through inc rams
or Of the enormous numbers Of lion, buffalo, ana rIo
that literally crowd its junglcs; but more probably Dc
cause the Sotik the Lumbwa, and the hIsli I.'l ',
richer pasuragc and less hazard Tor thelr HOOKS anu
herds atop Of the AIau Escarpmcnt FOR "hoIc
month we had even seen no DIachS' except "'' "''a
(portcrs Of our safari.
Thus when. toward evening, made camp high up
among the cuphorbia and mimosa thckcts that cover
the craqqv slopes Of the valley Of the Ngan hltl KVe
along which we had been ascending we were none 700
pleasantly surprised to the thin column Of smoke OF
a campfire rising from recess OF the jungle i'" nun
dred yards below us near to the stream
THERE. at the time a newly discovered ncghborn8
camp was far more likely TO hold hostile than trend
" folk \ scant six months earlier, and only thice
months before we had left the last ouposa OF Brush
authority the entire Sotik and klsn country had b''h
adarnc with war and the Government had icIt none '""
certain how completely had accomplished the paeic'-
ton Of the warning blacks. We already within the
southern edge Of the zone Of recent disturbance 81
what had happened outside Our narrow daily hori-
zon we were totally ignorant For aught we knew, the
wild sword and spear men Of the cscarpIncnt might
AGAIN be raging round the slender garsons Of the hc-
icho and Kisi Bomas plagng burning killing, through
the settlements to the north Of the BoinaS.
Caution was necessary. The ncighbonng camp must
be investigated before presence was discovered
before we could safely permit the lighting Of our night
camphrcs.
Leaving nv mate with the portcrs, to guard the out
fit started stalk Of our ncghbors camp, taking with
me my mates Somai g'nbcarcr and mine
It was a task Of Undesirable difficulty, not"lth-
standing the short distance to be covered for the jungle
was so nearly mpcncrablc that silent advance was ut
terv impossible except along winding game trails, tun-
ncs archcd low with thornv bush, often for long dis
tances untraverabe save hands and knees, creep
ING sinking along Them like the lion and leopard that
prey upon the buck that made them.
Thus. turning hithcr and yon, guided only by occa-
siona gimpscs Of landmarks on the farther slope q" the
valley that we had carefully marked down before
starting it was nearing ngh,all when, approaching up
wind our nostrs caught the Of smoke that told
of near approach
Then caution was rcdoublcd. Hands carefully re-
moved dry twigs. Feet fell softly as leopard S..
Bodies bent below withcrcd branches curved and
twisted in avoidance Of noisy clutching by the horny
boughs OF the wait-abit
It was nervous work, the more uncanny that, while
native camps are rarely ever silent by night little more
than by day, one group Of Unsuitable guttons after
another rising to gorge themselves about the fires, our