The Kilima-Njaro Expedition by Harry Johnston

To have retraced my steps to Maraṅu, now that my residence near the snow was at an end, would have been simply madness. I had made use of the Sultan as far as he could aid my mission, and now to re-enter his dominions and place myself voluntarily in his power would be nothing less than walking into a trap from which an exit could only be obtained by an enormous ransom. According to Čaga fashion I should simply be kept as a hostage till I had made good my promises and induced Sir John Kirk to satisfy the utmost demand of my greedy captor. Consequently I cared little for the unknown risks of a new road, provided I fell not again into the _cul-de-sac_ from which I had issued safely to ascend the mountain. Moreover, I wished to see something of the eastern flank of Kilima-njaro; so after much consultation of my map and discussion with my head-men I fixed on a track running round the base of Kimawenzi and descending to the plain through Rombo, past the crater-lake, Čala, and along the banks of the Lumi river, which flows through Taveita.

During the whole time of our stay on the upper slopes of Kilima-njaro our native guides from Maraṅu had remained with us, of course receiving pay for their employment. They always believed that we should return with them to their grasping Sultan, and I kept them in ignorance of my real plans, intending quietly to part company with them where our two roads diverged, and not forewarn them of my determination to avail myself of another route back to Taveita. Together we started, therefore, when all had been made ready; and leaving our alpine settlement with its grassy slopes and forests of arboreal heaths, we took the path running eastwards round the upper slopes of the mountain. Descending a few hundred feet we found ourselves in comparatively dense and luxuriant forest, with a rich undergrowth, contrasting strongly with the bleak, grassy steppes only a trifle higher in altitude. Further on we arrived at the old camping-place of our former upward journey, at a height of 9000 feet. Here we remained to rest and eat our midday meal, gathering up our energies for the rather critical task that lay before us; for, having resolved on no account to return to Maraṅu, we must now part company with the men who had hitherto led us, and, relying in future on our own powers of pathfinding, strike out an independent route to the desired goal. As my head-men were somewhat diffident of their own qualities in "fore-louping" (as the Boers call it in the south), I undertook to lead the caravan back to Taveita by compass and map. Accordingly, little heeding the cries and mocking laughter of our guides, we started confidently along a faintly-marked path running eastward. At first all went well, but soon the path died away, and not daring to stop or hesitate, I plunged boldly into the trackless bush. The men followed meekly, but the absence of any road rendered their progress very trying. After about an hour of struggling through the rank forest undergrowth, during which I keenly felt my responsibility, we emerged on a little open grassy patch. Here all, uninvited, put down their loads, and very free criticism on our mode of travel was uttered. To add to our disagreeables, incessant rain had been falling since two o'clock. Whilst stopping here to rest and hold a consultation, like a despotic monarch who feels his power threatened and seeks to appease his subjects by granting them a constitution, I invited all the men to take part in our deliberations, and suggest the best course to be followed. At this juncture the native guides arrived, having followed in our footsteps, anxious to see the result of our self-guidance. Wishing to transfer my responsibility to other shoulders, I offered them a present of cloth if they would lead us through the trackless forest to the precincts of Rombo; whence I knew we could find our way unaided to Taveita. They consented, and once more we entered the dusky woods, following a zigzag course by means of the rough paths which elephants had just made. Often the long-stemmed flowers, and crushed, stained grass would be slowly rising up again erect from the prostrate position into which they had been trampled by the feet of the cumbrous proboscidians, and their smoking dung would bestrew the track, showing how recently these lords of the forest had preceded us. Indeed, from time to time they would make their presence known by sonorous trumpeting, but as they were quite aware of our proximity they took good care to conceal their huge bodies. The undergrowth was so dense that you might have touched an elephant in your gropings before you saw him; but above this dense tangle of six or seven feet in height rose the straight smooth trunks of superb trees; indeed, the timber I saw here was exceptionally fine.