Cameos Old and New Book

Just came across a lovely bit, as Kingsley laments people's over-reliance on water filters to protect them from the many diseases rampant in Africa:

"A good filter is a very fine thing for clearing drinking water of hippopotami, crocodiles, water snakes, catfish, etc., and I dare say it will stop back sixty per cent. of the live or dead African natives that may be in it; but if you think it is going to stop back the microbe of marsh fever--my good sir, you are mistaken."

Roughly contemporary with that other great woman explorer, Isabella Bird, Mary Kingsley is a very different kind of explorer. She was not a missionary or humanitarian; her travels in Africa were scientific in nature and purpose. But she displays the same can-do attitude about the many trials and struggles she faces. Her prejudices and outlook are very much the product of her time, but she exhibits a genuine appreciation for the black Africans she spent time with. She trusted herself with a group of cannibals to escort her for some of her journeys, and she liked them better than several other tribes.

Most enjoyable was her droll sense of dry humor; I didn't notice it much until about a third of the way into the book, and then it was a delight (see example above). She feels impelled (as Bird often did) to relate facts and figures regarding commerce and trade or geographical facts--boring. She's at her best when describing her own adventures or giving information about the various religious practices of the peoples she encountered.