The Taming of Kilimanjaro

The Taming of Kilimanjaro

February 19th 1896, Day 37

Supper was tense at base camp today. We have to decide whether we were going to continue our planned route to the summit or have a go at a direct assault on the North face. One of the native guides had suggested the North face alternative as a quicker route, but it was to be far more dangerous as I was to discover yesterday when I lead an advance party for preliminary reconnaissance.

The ground was much more rocky and steep. Very early on I was able to sense that this climb could be to tough for some of the weaker, less British members of the party. The loose soil was treacherous and getting a good footing was so difficult that at one stage I was nearly tipped out of my sedan chair. Hedges, my manservant, was finding his brogues to be of little use on this surface and he began to slither towards some jagged rocks. But by a stroke of luck one of those damn gallant native chappies blocked his path and was sent to a gruesome death instead. It was then that I noticed that not only was this native chap our guide - he had many of our provisions with him. This was very serious. Not only would we need to find our own trail back without a guide, we were also right out of claret.

I noted the position of the sun in the sky and realised that night, with all it’s bitter cold and other dangers, would be upon us in less than four hours. We began our precarious descent. We prayed for good fortune and, a gruelling twenty minutes later, we had covered the few hundred yards back to base camp, just in time for afternoon tea.

We are falling behind schedule. “Time is of the essence. We must not waste a second”. This was the message I tried to get to through to the rest of the party during afternoon cricket. After port and cigars we decided to abandon the North face option and proceed with plan A.

Another guide had said that some of the locals like to climb the rocks and they have created all kinds of wondrous implements that can be struck into rock to give a firm footing, or even for tying ropes or vines to which will allow vertical climbing. I rejected this heresy outright. Charles Darwin may think that man descended from the apes, but surely even he would admit that we have evolved so we no longer have to climb like them. No I say.

You may recall that on leaving England I promised Queen Victoria that not only would I scale this giant peak, I would claim my trail in the name of England and it will be fit for the Queen.

That is why I intend to scale Kilimanjaro by cutting steps out of the very rock itself. I, of course, do none of the labouring work myself. I am of more value doing behind the scenes work such as shooting any big game in the area, or writing this diary after luncheon. I have numerous coarse fellows to do that work for me. Some are natives, but I also was allowed to acquire several others on temporary release from Newgate Prison - they came as part of an attractively priced package which also allowed me use of Mr Figgers and Mr Black, who were in charge of discipline at the prison. But even with Messrs Figgers & Black motivating the workers with whips, progress is slow.

The steps themselves are coming along quite nicely but we are losing time on the banisters. We may regain some time once work on the ornamental balustrade at the start of the staircase is complete, but we are already experiencing hold-ups in trying to fit the carpet.

Whenever the good lady wife and I stroll out along the 93 yards so far completed, I try to imagine how it will look when the other eight miles is finished. It will be a lasting monument to the perseverance of the ruling classes, and I often think in a hundred year’s time how glad the world will be that Kenya is British.

To-morrow.....how I plan to be the first Englishman on the moon, using an ingenious series of pulleys and levers.