sician. It was impossible to trust him to the care of
negroes while he was in his helpless condition; so
I sent George to accompany him as far as the mission
station at Kibwezi. A journey from Daitcho to
Kibwezi would require at least a period of six weeks’
duration, and that time I proposed to spend in resting
from my labours and in a study of the Masai
lanogu agOe.
For the quick transportation of Lieutenant von
Hohnel twenty-five men were needed. To this number
I decided to add eighteen porters, who, from sickness
and other causes, had proved unfit for further
travel in the interior. Should George succeed in
bringing back the twenty-five able-bodied men from
Kibwezi, I should then have at my disposal 112
thoroughly hardened, more or less disciplined, and
experienced men; a force which I deemed sufficient
for a prolongation of my journey into the interior.
With Lieutenant von Hohnel I went over the plans,
and we both came to the conclusion that it would
be possible for me, if attended by good fortune, to
reach either Kismayu (proceeding to that point via
Reschatt and the Juba River) or, under specially favourable
circumstances, the Red Sea at Berbera. Deprived
of the skilled assistance of Lieutenant von
Hohnel, the difficulties would be greatly enhanced,
and the scientific results of such a journey would be
small in the extreme; nevertheless, I could not for a
moment permit myself to consider the expedition as
ended.
The difficulties and disappointments, which up to
this time had dogged our footsteps at every turn,
more as a spur to increased effort, than as an
inducement to “ throw up the sponge.” Our expedition
had been carefully planned, and its preparations
had been made with such care and forethought as
Lieutenant von Hohnel and I had been able to bestow
upon the subject. Far from unsatisfactory were
the results we had already
achieved; but, nevertheless,
I could not bring myself
to admit that they were
commensurate with the
N a t i v e V i l l a g e . W a l l a n d G a t e w a y .
idea which had induced us to undertake the journey,
or with the pains and suffering we had undergone in
their accomplishment.
When Lieutenant von Hohnel was first wounded,
it required four men to carry him, but at this time
he was so wasted by his sufferings that two were
sufficient to bear him as quickly as the rate of caraserved