Tsavo; Nairobi, the strangest
mixture of the twentieth centuries A.D. and B.C.; Mombasa with
its wild, barbaric passionate ebb and flow of life, of colour, of
throbbing sound, the great lions of the Kapiti Plains, the Thirst
of the Loieta, the Masai spearmen, the long chase for the greater
kudu; the wonderful, high unknown country beyond the Narossara
and other affairs will there be detailed. If the reader of this
volume happens to want more, there he will find it.
APPENDIX I
Most people are very much interested in how hot it gets in such
tropics as we traversed. Unfortunately it is very difficult to
tell them. Temperature tables have very little to do with the
matter, for humidity varies greatly. On the Serengetti at lower
reaches of the Guaso Nyero I have seen it above 110 degrees. It
was hot, to be sure, but not exhaustingly so. On the other hand,
at 90 or 95 degrees the low coast belt I have had the sweat run
from me literally in streams; so that a muddy spot formed
wherever I stood still. In the highlands, moreover, the nights
were often extremely cold. I have recorded night temperatures as
low as 40 at 7000 feet of elevation; and noon temperatures as low
65.
Of more importance than the actual or sensible temperature of the
air is the power of the sun's rays. At all times of year this is
practically constant; for the orb merely swings a few degrees
north and south of the equator, and the extreme difference in
time between its risings or settings is not more than twenty minutes.
This power is also practically constant whatever the temperature
of the air and is dangerous even on a cloudy day, when the heat
waves are effectually screened off, but when the actinic rays are
as active as ever. For this reason the protection of helmet and
spine pad should never be omitted, no matter what the condition
of the weather, between nine o'clock and four. A very brief
exposure is likely to prove fatal. It should be added that some
people stand these actinic rays better than others.
Such being the case, mere temperature tables could have little
interest to the general reader. I append a few statistics,
selected from many, and illustrative of the different conditions.
Locality. Elevation 6am noon 8pm Apparent conditions
Coast - - 80 90 76 Very hot and sticky
Isiola River 2900 65 94 84 Hot but not exhausting
Tans River 3350 68 98 79 Hot but not exhausting
Near Meru 5450 62 80 70 Very pleasant
Serengetti Plains 2200 78 106 86 Hot and humid
Narossara River 5450 54 89 69 Very pleasant
Narossara Mts. 7400 42 80 50 Chilly
Narossara Mts. 6450 40 62 52 Cold
APPENDIX II
GAME ANIMALS COLLECTED
Lion Bush pig Grant's gazelle
Serval cat Baboon Thompson's gazelle
Cheetah Colobus Gerenuk gazelle
Black-backed jackal Hippopotamus Coke's hartebeests
Silver jackal Rhinoceros Jackson's hartebeests
Striped hyena Crocodile Neuman's hartebeests
Spotted hyena Python Chandler's reedbuck
Fennec fox Ward's zebra Bohur reedbuck
Honey badger Grevy's zebra Beisa ox
Aardewolf Notata gazelle Fringe-eared oryx
Wart-hog Roberts' gazelle Duiker
Waterbuck Klipspringer Harvey's duiker
Sing-sing Dik-dik Greater kudu
Oribi (3 varieties) Wildebeeste Lesser kudu
Eland Roosevelt's wildebeests Sable antelope
Roan antelope Buffalo
Bushbuck Topi
Total, fifty-four kinds
GAME BIRDS COLLECTED
Marabout Gadwall Lesser bustard
Egret European stork Guinea fowl
Glossy ibis Quail Giant guinea fowl
Egyptian goose Sand grouse Green pigeon
White goose Francolin Blue pigeon
English snipe Spur fowl Dove (2 species)
Mallard duck Greater bustard
Total, twenty-two kinds
APPENDIX III
For the benefit of the sportsman and gun crank who want plain
facts and no flapdoodle, the following statistics are offered.
