merican Museum of History for some time and who
was with us on the Mount Elgon trip to help Mr. Akeley with the
preparation of the group, started off with a lot of porters laden with
salt for preserving the skins. It was his plan to go direct to the main
Roosevelt camp, get a guide, and then push on to the elephant camp,
where he hoped to arrive by ten o'clock at night. He would then be in
time to help with the skinning, which we expected would be continued
throughout the entire night. Kermit stopped at his own camp and gave
Clark a guide for the rest of the journey, after which he went to bed.

At eleven o'clock the sound of firing was heard some place off in the
darkness. The night guard of the Roosevelt camp, rightly construing it
to be a signal, answered it with a shot, and, guided by the latter,
Clark and his party of salt-laden porters once more appeared. They had
traveled in a circle for three hours and were hopelessly lost. Kermit
was routed out and again supplied more guides--also a compass and also
the direction to follow. Unfortunately he made a mistake and said
northwest instead of southeast--otherwise his directions were perfect.

For three hours more Clark and his porters went bumping through the
night, stumbling through the long grass and falling into hidden holes.
The porters began to be mutinous and the guides were thoroughly and
hopelessly lost. It was then that they one and all laid down in the tall
grass, made a fire to keep the lions and leopards away, and slept
soundly until daylight. Even then the situation was little better, for
the guides were still at sea. About the time that Clark decided, to
return to the river, miles away, and take a fresh start, he fired a shot
in the forlorn hope of getting a response from some section of the
compass. A distant shot came in answer and he pushed on and soon came up
with the colonel and Tarlton returning home after a night in the
temporary elephant camp. The colonel gave him full directions and at
nine o'clock the relief party arrived at their destination.

In the meantime we, Mrs. Akeley, Stephenson and myself, had left our
camp on the river at six-fifteen, gone to the Roosevelt camp, and with
Kermit guiding us proceeded on across country toward the elephant camp.
On our way we also met the colonel and Tarlton, the former immensely
pleased with the outcome of the hunt and full of enthusiasm about the
adventure with the elephants. But the most remarkable th