An ivory trader in North Kenia

A first-person account of an early 20th-century East African trading expedition, detailing preparations, the logistics of leading a safari, travel across Kikuyu into northern Kenya and Galla lands, and efforts to procure ivory from nomadic Rendili and Burkeneji peoples. The narrative blends episodic travel scenes — river crossings, floods, wildlife encounters, skirmishes, and loss of photographs — with practical trading episodes, negotiations, and interactions with local leaders and porters. Observational ethnographic notes describe customs, languages, and material culture encountered, while recurrent themes include the hardships of overland commerce, the moral and practical complexities of ivory trade, and the dangers and unpredictability of the landscape.