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UNNAMED [with JOHN JAMES, PETER DAWSON, HARRY DAVIES] : c1940s ORIGINAL HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT BOOK OF A FASCINATING AND ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY TAKEN BY FOUR PROPER ENGLISHMEN AND THEIR ETHIOPIAN SERVANTS THROUGH EAST AFRICA BY LAND, SEA AND AIR

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. On offer is a short and fascinating travel journey through East Africa, undertaken in the 1940s. It is a detailed, account of four Englishmen (John James, Peter Dawson, Harry Davies, and the unnamed author) and two Ethiopian servants (brothers, named Datchee and Bouwee) who take a journey from Cairo, Egypt to Durban, South Africa, travelling by horseback, punts, canoes, and aeroplane. Chances are that the trip was undertaken during the second half of the 1940s, as there is no mention of the war that consumed the world in the first half of the decade. The first page of the book contains an index, which shows that the diary consists of six chapters: 1- Preparation for the journey; 2 - From Cairo to Wadi; 3 - From Wadi to Khartoum; 4 - From Khartoum to Lake Rudolf; 5 - Through the jungle; 6 - Back to the world. The index also shows on which page in the book these chapters begin. The first chapter begins: “John James, Peter Dawson, Harry Davies and myself had been working on the Persian oil field for six years and we wanted a holiday. Peter Dawson proposed to go on a travel holiday from Cairo to the Zambesi and we all agreed. We set off by boat on May 16th and arrived at Cairo on May 17th.” The preparation for the journey consists of their trouble in finding ‘suitable servants’ in Cairo. They eventually find Datchee and Bouwee. They also buy their tents, sheets, and other assorted travelling gear. “It had taken us five days to get everything ready but we had enjoyed every one of them. We went to our hotel for the last night for in the morning we were going to start our journey.” The second chapter consists of their travel to Wadi, in what is now Sudan. They cross through Giza, travel on a punt down the Nile river, where they meet and exchange food with ‘the natives.’ They travel down the Nile for a few days, having great difficulty crossing the Aswan Low Dam, having to carry their punts quite a while to come to the other side. In Wadi, they get in touch “with a British officer who warned us of the hard work that was coming & entreated us to trek across land but we decided to carry on as we were. We started out from Wadi alright but soon `struck’ the second cataract. Here the punts had to be carried round & the provision boat unloaded. This was a great waste of time & we were able to sail fifteen miles that day.” It takes twenty days to reach Khartoum. “One day we had quite a thrill when a hungry lion stepped in our path. We quickly got our rifles, all had a shot & all missed. This made the lion more furious & had not Jack intervened and shot it through the heart we should not have been alive to tell the tale. We each took some of its skin as a memento.” They rest for three days in Khartoum. And from there they abandon their boats, and begin the trek to Lake Rudolf. They follow a caravan route along the Blue Nile. the author’s friend John James sprains his ankle but they “managed to find a French doctor who rubbed it with oils and bandaged it up tightly.” Going forward, “our greatest handicap...was the tributaries that had to be crossed.” “Not long after we were over the first tributary, we encountered linos. But horses had been trained for this and when they say the lions they laid down that for us to shoot over them. One lion dashed at Tommy and we all shot at it. We killed it all right but it fell on Tommy’s back legs and were three hours before we could get it off.” When they reach Lake Rudolf, the author writes, “our first job was to make friends with the natives which we easily did by giving them a few beads. We were very fortunate in being able to speak to them through Bouwee and Datchee…. Bouwee and Datchee asked them to make us six canoes and one raft for the horses and the food. They all worked like horses for the next few days, and at last got them finished. Three of them came with us to propel the raft.” Crossing Lake Rudolf proves difficult especially at night. “We had a watch as usual but had a very uncomfortable night. Frequently during the night we were awakened by shots from the rifles which had to be fired to scare some animals that were coming too near the camp. They cross the lake in twenty days and reach Port Victoria and continue on foot through the jungle of present-day Tanzania. “We arrived at the source of the Luangwa [River] thirty days after we had set out from Mwanza and decided to make that our destination...” On their journey ‘back to the world’ they decide to sell their horses and return by boat, through rivers and tributaries, back to Cairo. They sell the horses to an English missionary. “It was very good going on the river. WE were sailing with the current and with wind at our backs. In this manner were able to do forty miles per day.” They then part with their trusted partners. “It took us nine days to reach Chinde where we had to part with Bouwee & Datchee. We offered them five pounds each but they would not take it, all they wanted was the canoes which we gladly gave them and said goodbye. We waited a day at Chinde for a boat to Durban. At Durban we took an aeroplane to Khartoum where we reclaimed the punts and sailed down the river. We visited the Pyramids and then returned to work.” The cover of the book is a light brown patterned paper. It is in good condition, showing very little age or wear. The author’s handwriting is in an easily legible script written in black ink. The author of the diary is not stated. No precise dates provided but the trip took several months. The book is 26 pages long, in which 23 have writing in them, as well as numbered pages.. Manuscript. Book Condition: Good

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