The Kilima-Njaro expedition : a record of scientific exploration in eastern…
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"The Kilima-Njaro expedition" by Harry Johnston is a scientific travelogue and exploration account written in the late 19th century. It chronicles a British-led expedition to the Kilimanjaro region of East Africa, combining natural history, geography, linguistics, and commerce with a practical narrative of travel, encounters with local rulers, and attempts to reach the mountain’s upper slopes. The opening of the book sets its purpose and context: a dedication to Sir John Kirk,
a preface pledging to add to African knowledge, and a note explaining the phonetic spelling used for African names. The first chapter introduces Kilimanjaro’s geology, scale, and scientific appeal, outlines the expedition’s backing by British learned societies, and reviews earlier sightings and visits (Rebmann, Krapf, von der Decken, Charles New, Thomson, Fischer), before explaining why the author himself had to handle most collecting. The next chapter paints Zanzibar and its politics through a vivid portrait of Sir John Kirk’s influence, the suppression of the slave trade, the British Consulate, Sultan Barghash’s court, and the city’s streets, harbour, and flora. At the start of the journey proper, the author travels to Mombasa, suffers fever from a night in harbour, recruits porters, details the caravan’s trade goods (cloth, beads, wire, cowries, powder), and criticizes unreliable local carriers compared with Zanzibaris. Early marches inland bring a test of authority with recalcitrant porters, moonlit camps, observations of abundant wildflowers, and the rigours of waterless stretches—relieved, at a low ebb, by a single restorative glass of champagne—before the caravan presses on toward Maungu. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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| Author | Johnston, Harry, 1858-1927 |
|---|---|
| Contributor | Weller, Edward, 1819-1884 |
| Contributor | Baker, John Gilbert, 1834-1920 |
| Contributor | Bell, F. J. (Francis Jeffrey), 1855-1924 |
| Contributor | Godman, Frederick Du Cane, 1834-1919 |
| Contributor | Miers, Edward J. (Edward John), 1851-1930 |
| Contributor | Oliver, Daniel, 1830-1916 |
| Contributor | Shelley, G. E. (George Ernest), 1840-1910 |
| Contributor | Thomas, Oldfield, 1858-1929 |
| Contributor | Waterhouse, Charles Owen, 1843-1917 |
| LoC No. | 06011721 |
| Title | The Kilima-Njaro expedition : a record of scientific exploration in eastern equatorial Africa, and a general description of the natural history, languages, and commerce of the Kilima-njaro district |
| Original Publication | London: K. Paul, Trench, and Co., 1886. |
| Contents | Introductory -- Sir John Kirk at home -- The start: Mombasa to Taita -- Taita to Kilima-Njaro -- Arrival at Mandara's court -- My first settlement on Kilima-Njaro -- "Halcyon days" -- Troublous times -- An anxious period -- A trip to Taveita -- A first ascent -- A move to Maraṅu -- A second ascent -- Through the forests of Kimawenzi and the country of Rombo -- Lake Jipé and the road to Gonǰa -- Gonǰa to London -- Climate, geology, botany, &c. -- [Appendix to chapter XVII: Enumeration of the plants collected by Mr. H.H. Johnston on the Kilima-Njaro expedition, 1884 / by Professor Oliver, F.R.S., and Mr. J.G. Baker] -- Zoology -- [Appendices to chapter XVIII: Note on a nematoid worm (Gordius verrucosus) obtained by Mr. H.H. Johnston on Kilima-Njaro / by F. Jeffrey Bell; Description of a new variety of river-crab of the Genus Thelphusa, from Kilima-Njaro / by E.J. Miers; A list of the Lepidoptera collected by Mr. H.H. Johnston during his recent expedition to Kilima-Njaro / by F.D. Godman; On the insects collected on Kilima-Njaro by Mr. H.H. Johnston / by Chas. O. Waterhouse; List of birds collected or observed on Kilima-Njaro and its vicinity / by Captain G.E. Shelley and Mr. H.H. Johnston; List of mammals obtained and observed on Mount Kilima-Njaro and its vicinity / by Oldfield Thomas, with a few additional notes by the author] -- Anthropology -- The languages of the Kilima-Njaro district: Masai; The Bantu languages of Kilima-Njaro -- The commercial prospects of eastern equatorial Africa. |
| Credits | Richard Tonsing, Peter Becker, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | DT: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Africa |
| Subject | Tanzania -- Description and travel |
| Subject | Johnston, Harry, 1858-1927 -- Travel -- Tanzania |
| Subject | Natural history -- Tanzania -- Kilimanjaro, Mount |
| Subject | Kilimanjaro, Mount (Tanzania) -- Description and travel |
| Subject | Scientific expeditions -- Tanzania -- Kilimanjaro, Mount |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 78816 |
| Release Date | Jun 5, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 587 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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