Through Unknown African Countries: The First Expedition from Somaliland to Lake Lamu

A. Donaldson Smith was an American medical doctor and amateur big-game hunter who, in 1894-95, undertook an 18-month expedition from Berbera, Somalia (then British Somaliland) to Lake Turkana (then Lake Rudolf) in Kenya. He explored the headwaters of the Shabeelle River in Ethiopia and, on his return journey, descended the Tana River to the Kenyan coast. This book is his account of the expedition. Its appendices contain detailed descriptions and illustrations of the fishes, spiders and scorpions, moths, geological specimens, fossils, plants, and ethnographic objects collected on the expedition. Also included are maps of the expedition's route, glossaries of words collected from several African tribes, and his correspondence with Emperor Menelek, from whom he sought permission to travel through southern Ethiopia. Lake Turkana National Park in Kenya is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.