TO THE ALBERT EDWARD NYANZA.
Description of the road from Bundegunda--We get a good view of the
twin peaks in the Ruwenzori range--March to Utinda--The Pasha’s
officers abuse the officer in command: which compels a severe
order--Kaibuga urges hostilities against Uhobo--Brush with the
enemy: Casati’s servant, Akili, killed--Description of the
Ruwenzori range as seen from Nboga--Mr. Jephson still an
invalid--The little stowaway named Tukabi--Captain Nelson examines
the Semliki for a suitable ferry--We reach the Semliki river:
description of the same--Uledi and Saat Tato swim across the river
for a canoe--A band of Wara Sura attack us--All safely ferried
across the river--In the Awamba forest--Our progress to
Baki-kundi--We come across a few Baundwé, forest aborigines--The
Egyptians and their followers--Conversation with Emin
Pasha--Unexplored parts of Africa--Abundance of food--Ruwenzori
from the spur of Ugarama--Two native women give us local
information--We find an old man at Batuma--At Bukoko we encounter
some Manyuema raiders: their explanation--From Bakokoro we arrive
at Mtarega, the foot of the Ruwenzori range--Lieut. Stairs with
some men explore the Mountains of the Moon--Report of Lieut.
Stairs’ experiences--The Semliki valley--The Rami-lulu valley--The
perfection of a tropical forest--Villages in the clearing of
Ulegga--Submission of a Ukonju chief--Local knowledge from our
friends the Wakonju--Description of the Wakonju tribe--The Semliki
river--View of Ruwenzori from Mtsora--We enter Muhamba, and next
day camp at Karimi--Capture of some fat cattle of Rukara’s--The
Zeriba of Rusessé--Our first view of Lake Albert Edward Nyanza.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 9.
Bundegunda.]
The road to the south, which we now pursued on moving from Bundegunda on
the 9th May, skirted the western base of that great bulk of mountain
land inhabited by the Balegga, and the Bandussuma of Mazamboni. It
crosses cultivated tracts devoted to beans and luxuriant sweet potatoes,
yams, colocassia, and sugar-cane; it is hedged thickly with glorious
plantains; it is flanked by humble villages, with cone roofs; it is
buried under miniature wildernesses of reedy cane; it dips down to
clear, limpid rillets, just escaped from the bosom of the tall mountains
soaring above; it winds in snaky curves over rich flats of pasture; it
runs close to the foot of steep slopes, and then starts off along
smoothly-descending spurs. About five miles off to the westward, or on
our right hand, the forest, black as night, keeps company with us. We
are seldom out of sight of the advancing capes and receding bays of the
dark, eternal mass. On our left, in intimate neighbourhood, rise the
mighty slopes, steeply receding upward into the greyish blue of an
uncertain sky, and far away, in solemn lines, like a colossal battalion
of mountains, is ranged the series between each of which are deep
ravines, narrow and far-reaching recessions, formed by
ceaselessly-murmuring streams.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 10.
Utinda.]
On the morning of this day, Ruwenzori came out from its mantle of clouds
and vapours, and showed its groups of peaks and spiny ridges resplendent
with shining white snow; the blue beyond was as that of ocean--a
purified and spotless translucence. Far to the west, like huge double
epaulettes, rose the twin peaks which I had seen in December, 1887, and
from the sunk ridge below the easternmost rose sharply the dominating
and unsurpassed heights of Ruwenzori proper, a congregation of hoary
heads, brilliant in white raiment; and away to the east extended a
roughened ridge, like a great vertebra--peak and saddle, isolated mount
and hollow, until it passed out of sight behind the distant extremities
of the range we were then skirting. And while in constant view of it, as
I sat up in the hide hammock suspended between two men, my plan of our
future route was sketched. For to the west of the twin peaks, Ruwenzori
range either dropped suddenly into a plain or sheered away S.S.W. What I
saw was either an angle of a mass or the western extremity. We would
aim for the base of the twin peaks, and pursue our course southerly to
lands unknown, along the base-line. The guides--for we had many
now--pointed with their spears vaguely, and cried out “Ukonju” and
(giving a little dab into the air with their spear-points) “Usongora,”
meaning that Ukonju was what we saw, and beyond it lay Usongora,
invisible.
After halting at Ujungwa we rose next day to march to Utinda, seven
miles off. The valley between the Balegga Mountains and the forest
seemed to narrow, and the path threatened to take us into troublous
depths of spear-grass brakes and fens nourishing reed-cane, when, after
crossing the Chai and Aturo streams, and several gushing rivulets, it
ran up a lengthy spur of the Balegga Mountains, and took us to a height
of 500 feet above the valley.
From this altitude we observed that we had narrowly escaped being buried
in the forest again, for it had advanced behind the spur right across
the valley, and occupied every inch of lowland. Within its sombre depths
the Chai and Aturo rivers and other streams united their currents to
form a respectable tributary of the Ituri river.
A little to our left, as we looked south, was a deep basin parted into
numerous small arable plots, appertaining to the district of Utinda.
Every ravine and hollow seemed choked by long, straggling plantations of
plantain and banana. The beans and Indian corn were late, for they were
not more than five inches high, while at Bundegunda the crops were quite
four feet high and in flower.
The Egyptians reached camp four hours after the advance guard, and the
officer in charge of the rear complained bitterly of the abuse that he
had received from the Pasha’s officers, some of them jeering at him,
making mouths, and daring him to drive them along, which compelled me to
issue the following order:--
“Whereas the Expedition must necessarily proceed slowly, and
shorten its marches, owing to the promise that we have given Selim
Bey, and to the fact that the Egyptians, the Soudanese and their
followers are as yet unaccustomed to hard travel and fatigue, and
to the fact that I, their guide, am physically too weak to endure
more than two or three hours’ exertion of any kind, the officers
will please exercise the greatest patience and forbearance, but
they must on no account forget the duties peculiar to the
rear-guard. They will permit no straggling by the wayside, no
looting of villages, no indiscriminate pillaging of plantations, no
marauding upon any excuse; and upon any insolence, whether from
Egyptian officer, private soldier, or follower, the officer in
charge will call his guard and bind the offender, and bring him to
me for punishment. If any violence is offered it must be met by
such violence as will instantly crush it.”
[Illustration: RUWENZORI, FROM KAVALLI’S.]
From the basin of Utinda we ascended past a few cones dominating a ridge
which enclosed it on the south and south-east, and, after surmounting
two other ridges separated by well-watered valleys, we arrived on the
airy upland of grassy Uhobo, 4,900 feet above sea-level. A little later
Kaibuga entered into our camp. This chief was of the Wahuma settled
among the Balegga, whose grounds overlooked the plain of Kavalli and the
south end of the Nyanza, and whose territory extended to the debouchure
of the Semliki. He urged active hostilities, as Uhobo belonged to Kabba
Rega. Naturally we smiled at this, as we had not seen the semblance of a
single enemy, though it is true that the Uhobo natives had disappeared
from view at our approach. At this instant a picquet signalled the
advance of a column of Kabba Rega’s people armed with guns, and two
companies of Zanzibaris were mustered by Lieutenant Stairs and Captain
Nelson, the latter of whom had so improved by the diet of Kavalli and
Mazamboni that he was fit for any work.
After proceeding about two miles they met the small party of the Pasha’s
people carrying the dead body of Captain Casati’s faithful servant
Okili, for whom Casati entertained deep affection. He had been shot
through the forehead by a rifle-ball. It appears that while the
Soudanese had been bathing in a stream south of Uhobo, the column of the
Wara Sura happened to be observed marching in a pretty disciplined
manner with two flags towards them, and a few minutes later would have
surprised them, but the whole party hastily dressed, and, snatching
their rifles, opened fire on them. Three of the enemy fell dead, and
Okili was shot by the fire that was returned. On the approach of the
Zanzibaris the Wara Sura fled, and were pursued for three miles, but no
further casualties occurred.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 12.
Mboga.]
A severe rainstorm, lasting seven hours, fell during the night, and in
the morning when marching to Mboga we were involved in cloud and mist.
As the day advanced, however, Ruwenzori thrust its immense body into
view far above the vapours rising from the low Semliki Valley, and every
now and then the topmost cones gathered the cloudy fleeces and veiled
their white heads from view. As we advanced nearer each day to the range
we were surprised that we were not able to discover so much snow as we
had seen at Kavalli, but on reflection it became evident that the line
of snow became obscured from view by an advanced ridge, which the nearer
we approached impeded the view the more. We observed also that the lofty
mountain range assumed the form of a crescent; Ajif Mountain forming the
northern end and the Twin Peak shoulder to the west the other end; and
further, that beyond Ajif, which I estimated at about 6,000 feet above
the sea, there was a steady and perceptible rise to the snow line, and
then a sudden uplift to the proud height of from 2,000 to 5,000 feet
higher, most of which was under snow.
This place of Mboga, were it in any other country than under the Equator
in Mid Africa, would afford a splendid view of this unique range. From
the Twin Peak angle and up to thirty miles N.N.E. of Ajif the whole of
it ought to be in sight in any other clime, but the mist escapes in
continuous series or strata from the valley beneath, and floats in
fleeting evanescent masses, quite obscuring every other minute the
entire outlines. Between this point and the Ruwenzori range lies the
deep sunken valley of the Semliki, from twelve to twenty-five miles
wide. From a point abreast of Mboga to the edge of the Lake the first
glance of it suggests a lake. Indeed, the officers supposed it to be the
Albert Lake, and the Soudanese women were immoderately joyous at the
sight, and relieved their feelings by shrill lu-lu-lus; but a binocular
revealed pale brown grass in its sere, with tiny bushes dotting the
plain. To our right, as we looked down the depth of 2,500 feet, there
was a dark tongue of acacia bushes deepening into blackness as the
forest, which we had left near the Chai River, usurped the entire
breadth of the valley.
Mr. Jephson was still an invalid, with a fever which varied from 102° to
105° temperature, ever since the 23rd of April, and at this time he was
in rather an anxious state of mind. Like myself, he was much shrunk, and
we both looked ill. We halted on the 13th to give rest to invalids and
the little children.
To Kiryama, on the 14th, a village situated near the mouth of a deep and
narrow valley, and which in old times, when Lake Albert covered the
grassy plain and must have been a somewhat picturesque inlet, we made a
continuous descent by declining spurs. The soil of the valley was
extremely rich, and a copious stream coursed through it to the Semliki.
We obtained, at brief intervals, glimpses of Ruwenzori; but had the mist
not been so tantalising it would not have been deemed an unwelcome view
that we should have had of the magnificent and imposing altitude of
15,500 feet above us.
In the camp of the immense caravan a little boy about eleven years old,
named Tukabi, was found. He was what is termed “a stowaway.” While we
were at Mazamboni, his father, a subject of Kavalli, had come to appeal
for help to recover him. He had attached himself to some Zanzibaris. The
boy was delivered up, and his father was charged to observe the young
truant carefully. He had disguised himself with some cloth to cover his
face, but as he passed my tent I recognised him. He was asked why he
deserted his father to join strangers who might be unkind to him.
“Because,” he answered, “I prefer my friend to my father.” “Does your
father beat you?” “No, but I wish to see the place where these guns come
from, and where the thunder medicine (gunpowder) is made.” It was the
first time in my experience that an African boy of such a tender age was
known to voluntarily abandon his parents. He was a singularly bright
little fellow, with very intelligent eyes, and belonged to the Wahuma
race.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 14.
Kiryama.]
Captain Nelson was despatched to proceed to the Semliki River with 80
rifles, to examine what opportunities there might be for crossing the
river. He returned after a brilliant march, and reported that the
Semliki at the ferry was about eighty or ninety yards wide, swift and
deep, with steep banks of from ten to twenty feet high, much subject to
undermining by the river; that the canoes had all been removed by
Ravidongo, the General of Kabba Rega, who was said to have gathered a
large force to oppose our crossing, and also that all the natives of
Uhobo, Mboga, and Kiryama districts, were collected across the Semliki
River with him, and that it was clear a stout resistance would be made,
as the opposite banks were carefully watched; that while they were
examining the river a volley had been fired at them, which was
fortunately harmless.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 17.
Awamba.]
After a two days’ rest at Kiryama we marched south across the grassy
plain to another ferry led by Kaibuga. That which some of us had assumed
to be a lake was very firm alluvium and lacustrine deposit, growing a
thin crop of innutritious grass, about 18 inches high. As we advanced up
the river it sensibly improved; and at the third hour from Kiryama an
acacia tree was seen; a little later there were five, then a dozen, wide
apart and stunted. At the fourth hour it was quite a thin forest on the
left side of the Semliki, while to the right it was a thick impervious
and umbrageous tropic forest, and suddenly we were on the bank of the
Semliki. At the point we touched the river it was sixty yards wide, with
between a four and five-knot current. A little below it widened into 100
yards, a fine, deep, and promising river. Up and down, and opposite,
there were broad signs of recent land falls. Its banks consisted of
sediment and gravelly débris which could offer no resistance to the
strong current when it surged against the base. It washed away great
masses from underneath. There was a continual falling of dissolving
lumps, as though it was so much snow; then a sudden fall of a two-ton
fragment of the superincumbent bank. It was a loopy, and twisting,
crooked stream, forming a wide-stretching S in every mile of its course,
and its water was of a whitey-brown colour, and weighted with sediment.
Out of a tumblerful of the liquid, a fourth of an inch of fine earth
would be deposited.
By a good aneroid the altitude of the bank, which was about twenty feet
above the river, was 2,388 feet above the sea. Lake Albert by the same
aneroid was 2,350 feet. There was a difference indicated of 38 feet. I
estimated that we were about thirty English miles from the lake.
As we arrived at the river a canoe was observed floating down rapidly.
The alarm had been given, probably, by some natives who had heard our
voices, and in their hurry to escape had either purposely cast off their
canoe, or had feared to be detained through the necessity of securing
it. The village of the Awamba, whence it had floated adrift, was in
sight. Men were sent up and down the banks to discover a canoe, and
Uledi--always Uledi--sent up soon the good news that he had found one.
The caravan proceeded in his direction, and camped in a large but
abandoned banana plantation. The canoe was across the river in a small
creek, opposite the camping place. By some method it was necessary to
obtain it, as one canoe at this time was priceless. The men with the
bill-hooks were ordered up to clear twenty yards of bush, and to leave a
thin screen between the sharpshooters and the river. Then three or four
volleys scoured the position around the canoe, and in the meantime the
bold Uledi and Saat Tato, the hunter, swam across, and when near the
vessel the firing ceased. In a few seconds they had cut the canoe loose,
and were in it, paddling across to our side with all energy. They had
gained the centre of the river when the archers rose up and shot the
hunter, and at the same time the rifles blazed across. But the canoe was
obtained, and Saat Tato, streaming with blood, was attended by Dr.
Parke. Fortunately, the broad-bladed arrow had struck the shoulder
blade, which saved the vitals. Both the brave fellows were rewarded with
$20 worth of cloth on the spot.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 18.
Awamba.]
At 5 P.M. Mr. Bonny performed signal service. He accepted the mission of
leading five Soudanese across the Semliki as the vanguard of the
Expedition. By sunset there were fifty rifles across the river.
[Illustration: ATTACK BY THE WANYORO AT SEMLIKI FERRY.]
On the 18th the ferriage was resumed at dawn. By noon two more canoes
had been discovered by scouts. Staits and Jephson were both very ill of
fever, and I was a prematurely old man of ninety in strength and
appearance and just able to walk at this time about one hundred yards.
Captain Nelson and Surgeon Parke therefore superintended the work of
transporting the Expedition across the Semliki. At two o’clock in the
afternoon, while the ferrying was briskly proceeding, a body of fifty of
the Wara Sura stole up to within 250 yards of the ferry, and fired a
volley at the canoes while in mid-river. Iron slugs and lead bullets
screamed over the heads of the passengers, and flew along the face of
the water, but fortunately there was no harm done. Notwithstanding our
admiration at their impudent audacity, a second volley might be more
effective, but Captain Nelson sprang from the river-side, and a hundred
rifles gathered around him and a chase began. We heard a good deal of
volleying, but the chase and retreat were so hot that not a bullet found
its purposed billet. However, the Wara Sura discovered that, whatever
our intentions might be, we were in strong force, and we understood that
they were capable of contriving mischief. In their hurried flight they
dropped several as well-made cartridges as could be prepared at
Woolwich; and here was a proof also what a nest of traitors there was in
the Equatorial Province, for all these articles were of course furnished
by the scores of deserters.
By night of the 18th, 669 people had been ferried across. At 3 o’clock
of the 19th, 1,168 men, women and children, 610 loads of baggage, 3
canoe loads of sheep and goats, and 235 head of cattle had been taken
across. The only loss sustained was a calf, which was drowned. It may he
imagined how pleased I was at the brilliant services, activity and care
shown by Captain Nelson and Dr. Parke.
A few hours later one of the Pasha’s followers was taken to the surgeon
with a fatal arrow-wound. It reminded me of the anxious times I
suffered, during the first eighteen months’ experiences with the equally
thoughtless Zanzibaris.
On the 20th the Expedition moved through the thick forest, along an
extremely sloughy path to a little village removed one and a half hours
from the river. We arrived just as the intolerable pests of gnats were
at their liveliest. They swarmed into the eyes, nostrils, and ears, in
myriads. We thought the uninhabited forest was preferable, but at 9
o’clock the minute tribes retired to rest, and ceased to vex us. There
was an odour of stale banana wine and ripe banana refuse, and these
probably had attracted the gnats. Two large troughs--equal in size to
small canoes--were stationed in the village, in which the natives
pressed the ripe fruit and manufactured their wine.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 20.
Awamba.]
For the first time we discovered that the Awamba, whose territory we
were now in, understood the art of drying bananas over wooden gratings,
for the purpose of making flour. We had often wondered, during our life
in the forest region, that natives did not appear to have discovered
what invaluable, nourishing, and easily digestible food they possessed
in the plantain and banana. All banana lands--Cuba, Brazil, West
Indies--seem to me to have been specially remiss on this point. If only
the virtues of the flour were publicly known, it is not to be doubted
but it would be largely consumed in Europe. For infants, persons of
delicate digestion, dyspeptics, and those suffering from temporary
derangements of the stomach, the flour, properly prepared, would be of
universal demand. During my two attacks of gastritis, a light gruel of
this, mixed with milk, was the only matter that could be digested.
On the 22nd we were obliged to march for six hours through quagmire and
reeking mud before we were enabled to find a resting-place. The dense
forest, while as purely tropical in its luxuriance as any we had
travelled, was more discomforting owing to its greater heat and
over-abundant moisture. The excessive humidity revealed itself in a
thin, opaque, damp haze just above us. In the tree-tops it had already
gathered into a mist; above them it was a cloud; so that between us and
sunshine we had clouds several miles in thickness, the thick, dark,
matted foliage of the forest, then thickening layers of mist, and
finally a haze of warm vapour. We therefore picked our way through
shallow pool and gluey black mud, under a perpetual dropping of
condensed vapour, and by a leaden light that would encourage thoughts of
suicide, while bodily distress was evinced by trickling rillets of
perspiration.
Emerging into a ruined village, the result of some late raid of the Wara
Sura, we threw looks towards Ruwenzori, but the old mountain had
disappeared under blue-black clouds that reminded one of brooding
tempests. The heights of Mboga were dimly visible, though they were
further from us than the stupendous mass behind which the thunder
muttered, and whence rain seemed imminent. We began to realize that we
were in the centre of a great fermenting vat, and that the exhalations
growing out of it concentrated themselves into clouds, and that the
latter hung in ever-thickening folds until they floated against the face
of Ruwenzori; that they languidly ascended the slants and clung to the
summits, until a draught of wind over the snow-crests blew them away and
cleared the view.
We passed through an extremely populous district the next day, and
travelled only two and a quarter hours to reach Baki Kundi. Flanking the
path were familiar features, such as several camps of pigmies, who were
here called Watwa.
The distance from the Semliki to these villages wherein we were now
encamped is 15½ English miles, which we had taken three days to travel,
and two days’ halt in consequence. But slow as this was, and supplied as
was the caravan with running streams of good water and unlimited
quantities of meat and grain, potatoes, plantains, and ripe fruit, the
misery of African travel had been realised to its depths. Mothers had
left their little children on the road, and one Egyptian soldier, named
Hamdan, had laid down by the wayside and stubbornly refused to move,
unwilling to pursue the journey of life further. He had no load to
carry, he was not sick, but he--what can be said? He belonged to the
donkey breed of humanity; he could not travel, but he could die, and the
rear-guard were obliged to leave him. This started a rumour through the
camp that the commander of the rear-guard had quietly despatched him.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 24.
Baki-Kundi.]
The 24th of May was a halt, and we availed ourselves of it to despatch
two companies to trace the paths, that I might obtain a general idea
which would best suit our purposes. One company took a road leading
slightly east of south, and suddenly came across a few Baundwe, whom we
knew for real forest aborigines. This was in itself a discovery, for we
had supposed we were still in Utuku, as the east side of the Semliki is
called, and which is under Kabba Rega’s rule. The language of the
Baundwe was new, but they understood a little Kinyoro, and by this means
we learned that Ruwenzori was known to them as Bugombowa, and that the
Watwa pigmies and the Wara Sura were their worst enemies, and that the
former were scattered through the woods to the W.S.W.
The other company travelled in a S. by W. direction, reached the thin
line of open country that divided the immediate base-line of Ruwenzori
from the forest. They spoke in raptures of the abundance of food, but
stated that the people were hostile and warlike. The arms of the men
were similar to those of other forest people, but the women were
distinguished for iron collars, to which were suspended small
phial-shaped pendants of hollow iron, besides those ending in fine
spiral coils at the extremities.
[Illustration: HOUSES ON THE EDGE OF THE FOREST.]
Another short march of two and a quarter hours brought us to a village
of thirty-nine round, conical huts, which possessed elaborate doorways,
here and there ornamented with triangles painted red and black. The
_Elais gunieensis_ palm was very numerous near the village.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 25.
Ugarama.]
On the next day we emerged out of the forest, and camped in the strip
of grass-land in the village of Ugarama, in N. lat. 0° 45′ 49″ and E.
long. 30° 14′ 45″. The path had led along the crests of a narrow, wooded
spur, with ravines 200 feet deep on either hand, buried by giant trees.
The grass-land here did not produce that short nutritive quality which
made Kavalli so pleasant, but was of gigantic spear-grasses, from 6 to
15 feet high.
The Egyptian Hamdan made his reappearance at this camp. Left to himself
he had probably discovered it hard to die alone in the lonely woods, and
had repented of his folly. By this time we had become fully sensible of
the difficulty we should meet each day while these people were under our
charge. Low as was my estimation of them before, it had descended far
below zero now. Words availed nothing, reason could not penetrate their
dense heads. Their custom was to rush at early dawn along the path, and
after an hour’s spurt sit down, dawdle, light a fire, and cook, and
smoke, and gossip; then, when the rear-guard came up to urge them along,
assume sour and discontented looks, and mutter to themselves of the
cruelty of the infidels. Almost every day complaints reached me from
them respecting Captain Nelson and Lieutenant Stairs. Either one or the
other was reported for being exacting and too peremptory. It was tedious
work to get them to comprehend that they were obeying orders; that their
sole anxiety was to save them from being killed by the natives, or from
losing their way; that the earlier they reached camp the better for
everybody; that marches of two or three hours would not kill a child
even; that while it was our duty to be careful of their lives, it was
also our duty to have some regard for the Zanzibaris, who, instead of
being two or three hours on the road were obliged to be ten hours, with
boxes on their heads; that it was my duty also to see that the white
officers were not worn out by being exposed to the rain, and mud, and
shivering damp, waiting on people who would not see the benefit of
walking four or five miles quickly to camp to enjoy twenty to twenty-one
hours’ rest out of the twenty-four. These whining people, who were
unable to walk empty-handed two and a half or three hours per day, were
yellow Egyptians; a man with a little black pigment in his skin seldom
complained, the extreme black and the extreme white never.
The Egyptians and their followers had such a number of infants and young
children that when the camp space was at all limited, as on a narrow
spur, sleep was scarcely possible. These wee creatures must have
possessed irascible natures, for such obstinate and persistent
caterwauling never tormented me before. The tiny blacks and sallow
yellows rivalled one another with force of lung until long past
midnight, then about 3 or 4 A.M. started afresh, woke everyone from
slumber, while grunts of discontent at the meeawing chorus would be
heard from every quarter.
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN.]
Our Zanzibaris concluded that though the people of Equatoria might be
excellent breeders, they were very poor soldiers. The Egyptians had been
so long accustomed to overawe the natives of the Province by their
numbers and superior arms, that now their number was somewhat reduced
and overmatched by natives, they appeared to be doubtful of reaching
peaceful countries; but they were so undisciplined, and yet so
imperious, they would speedily convert the most peaceful natives to
rancorous foes.
With the Pasha I had a conversation on this date, and I became fully
aware that, though polite, he yet smarted under resentment for the
explosion of April 5th. But the truth is that the explosion was
necessary and unavoidable. Our natures were diametrically opposed. So
long as there was no imperative action in prospect we should have been
both capable of fully enjoying one another’s society. He was learned and
industrious and a gentleman, and I could admire and appreciate his
merits. But the conditions of our existence prohibited a too prolonged
indulgence in these pleasures. We had not been commissioned to pass our
days in Equatoria in scientific talk, nor to hold a protracted
conversazione on Lake Albert. The time had come, as appointed, to begin
a forward movement. It was not effected without that episode in the
square at Kavalli. Now that we were on the journey I discovered to my
regret that there were other causes for friction. The Pasha was devoured
with a desire to augment his bird collections, and thought that, having
come so far to help him, we might “take it easy.” “But we are taking it
easy for manifold reasons. The little children, the large number of
women burdened with infants, the incapable Egyptians, the hope that
Selim Bey will overtake us, the feeble condition of Jephson and myself,
and Stairs is far from strong.” “Well, then, take it more easy.” “We
have done so; a mile and a half per day is surely easy going.” “Then be
easier still.” “Heavens, Pasha, do you wish us to stay here altogether?
Then let us make our wills, and resign ourselves to die with our work
undone.” The thunder was muttering again, as behind the dark clouds on
Ruwenzori, and another explosion was imminent.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 26.
Ugarama.]
I knew he was an ardent collector of birds and reptiles and insects, but
I did not know that it was a mania with him. He would slay every bird in
Africa; he would collect ugly reptiles, and every hideous insect; he
would gather every skull until we should become a travelling museum and
cemetery, if only carriers could be obtained. But then his people were
already developing those rabid ulcers, syphilis had weakened their
constitutions, a puncture of a thorn in the face grew into a horrid and
sloughy sore; they had pastured on vice and were reaping the
consequences. The camps soon became so filthy that they would breed a
pestilence, and we should soon become a moving sight to gods and men.
Carriers were dying--they were not well treated--and then, why then, we
could not move at all by-and-by. He was in Heaven when his secretary,
Rajab Effendi, brought him new species; he looked grateful when there
was to be a two days’ rest, sad when he heard we should march; and when
we should reach a nice place near Ruwenzori, we should stay a week, oh,
splendid!
Now, all this made me feel as if we were engaged in a most ungrateful
task. As long as life lasts, he will hold me in aversion, and his
friends, the Felkins, the Junkers, and Schweinfurths will listen to
querulous complaints, but they will never reflect that work in this
world must not consist entirely of the storage in museums of skulls, and
birds, and insects; that the continent of Africa was never meant by the
all-bounteous Creator to be merely a botanical reserve, or an
entomological museum.
Every man I saw, giant or dwarf, only deepened the belief that Africa
had other claims on man, and every feature of the glorious land only
impressed me the more that there was a crying need for immediate relief
and assistance from civilisation; that first of all, roads of iron must
be built, and that fire and water were essential agencies for transport,
more especially on this long-troubled continent than on any other.
Alas! alas! With this grand mountain range within a stone’s throw of our
camp--not yet outlined on my map--that other lake we heard so much about
from Kaibuga, our Mhuma chief, not yet discovered, the Semliki Valley,
with its treasures of woods and vegetable productions, not yet explored,
and the Semliki River, which was said to connect the upper with the
lower lake, not yet traced. To hear about wonderful salt lakes that
might supply the world with salt; of large-bodied Wazongora, and numbers
of amiable tribes; of the mysterious Wanyavingi, who were said to be
descended from white men; to be in the neighbourhood of colossal
mountains topped with snow, which I believed to be the lost Mountains of
the Moon; to be in a land which could boast of possessing the fabulous
fountains de la lune, a veritable land of marvel and mystery, a land of
pigmies and tall men reported from of old, and not feel a glad desire to
search into the truth of these sayings. He--the Maker who raised those
eternal mountains and tapestried their slopes with the mosses, and
lichens, and tender herbs, and divided them by myriads of watercourses
for the melted snow to run into the fruitful valley, and caused that
mighty, limitless forest to clothe it, and its foliage to shine with
unfading lustre--surely intended that it should be reserved until the
fulness of time for something higher than a nursery for birds and a
store-place for reptiles.
The abundance of food in this region was one of the most remarkable
features in it. Ten battalions would have needed no commissary to
provide their provisions. We had but to pluck and eat. Our scouts
reported that on every hand lay plantations abounding in the heaviest
clusters of fruit. The native granaries were full of red millet, the
huts were stored with Indian corn; in the neighbouring garden plots were
yams, sweet potatoes, colocassia, tobacco.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 27.
Ugarama.]
From the spur of Ugarama, where we halted on the 27th, we could see that
up to 8,000 feet of the slopes they were dotted with several scores of
cultivated plots, and that the crooked lines of ravines were green with
lengthy banana groves, and that upland and lowland teemed with
population and food, and other products. Through a glass we were able to
note that a thick forest covered the upper slopes and ridges, with an
elevation of 9,000 up to 12,000 feet; and that where there was no
cultivation the woods continued down to the base. The wild banana was
seen flourishing up to a lofty limit, and graced the slopes denuded of
trees, and towered over the tallest grass. The Ruwenzori peaks appeared
shrouded by leaden clouds, and the lower mountain ranges played at
hide-and-seek under the drifting and shifting masses of white vapour. By
aneroid, Ugarama is 2,994 feet; and by boiling point, 2,942 feet above
the sea. The immediate range, under whose lee the spur ran out to
Ugarama village, was, by triangulation, discovered to be of an altitude
of 9,147 feet.
Two women--light-complexioned and very pleasing--who were found in the
woods near the village, were able to speak the Kinyoro language. It was
from them we learned that we were in Ugarama, in the country of Awamba;
that Utuku was a name given to the open country up to the Mississi River
and the Lake; that the next district we should reach southerly was
Bukoko, where the principal Chief, Sibaliki, of the Awamba, lived; and
beyond Bukoko was Butama. That from Ugarama to the north extremity of
Bukonju or Ukonju, was one day’s march; that two days thence would take
us to Toro, but we should have to cross the mountains; that the king of
N. Ukonju was called Ruhandika; that the Wakonju formerly owned vast
herds of cattle, but the Wara Sura had swept the herds away. We were
also told that if we followed the base line of the big mountains, three
days’ march would enable us to reach a country of short grass, wherein
goats and sheep were plentiful, and wherein there were a few herds of
cattle; but the Wara Sura had raided so many times there that cattle
could not be kept. The enemies of the Awamba, who cut down the woods and
tilled the ground, were the vicious Watwa pigmies, who made their lives
miserable by robbing their plantations, and destroying small parties
while at work, or proceeding to market in adjoining districts, while
the Wara Sura devastated far and near, and they were in the service of
Kabba Rega.
When asked if they ever enjoyed days of sunshine and the snow mountains
could be seen clear and bright for three or four days, or a week, or a
month, they replied that they had never witnessed so much rain as at
this time; and they believed that we had purposely caused this in order
the more easily to detect people by the tracks along the paths. They
also said that at first they had taken us for Wara Sura; but the large
herd of cattle with us disproved that we had taken them from the Awamba,
for they possessed none. When we informed them that we had seized them
from people who acknowledged Kabba Rega as their chief, they said: “Oh,
if our people but knew that, they would bring you everything.” “Well,
then, you shall go and tell them that we are friends to everyone who
will not close the road. We are going to a far country, and, as we
cannot fly, we must use the path; but we never hurt those who do not
raise the spear and draw the bow.”
On the 28th we advanced five miles over a series of spurs, and across
deep ravines, continuous descents of 200 feet to ravines a few yards
across, and opposite ascensions, to a similar height. They were so steep
that we were either sliding, or climbing by means of the trees and
creepers depending from them; and all this under an unceasing, drizzly
rain. The rotting banana stalks and refuse of the fruit created a
sickening stench.
The next day’s march of four miles enabled us to reach Butama, after an
experience as opposite to the sloughs, mud, rock, descents and ascents
of the day before, as a fine path, broad enough for an European’s
wide-stepping feet, could well be in Africa. The sandy loam quickly
absorbed the rain; the rank reed-grass, except at rare intervals,
afforded a sufficient space between, and troops of elephants had tramped
the ground hard.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 29.
Butama.]
An old man, with white hair, and too feeble to flee, had awaited his
fate at Butama. On being questioned, he replied that the name of the
snow mountains that now were immediately above us at an appalling
height, was “Avirika, Aviruka, Avrika, Avruka, Avirika, and Avuruka!” so
he rang the changes by pressure of eager questions which he had excited
by its relation to Afrika. Upon the Watwa pigmies he was most severe. He
charged them with being exceedingly treacherous; that they were in the
habit of making friends with chiefs of rich districts by fraudful arts
and false professions, and, despite blood-brotherhood, and plighted
faith, of suddenly turning upon them and destroying them.
On the 30th we reached Bukoko in four hours’ easy travel, for we marched
over a smooth graduated terrace formed by the debris rolled down the
slopes of the snow mountain, and scoured by repeated falls of rain to a
gentle slope, luxuriant with reed-grass, and wonderfully prolific in
edibles, where cultivated. Here and there cropped out a monster boulder,
half imbedded in the loam and gravelly soil, which had rolled and
thundered wildly down when displaced by some landslip, or detached from
its resting-place by a torrential shower.
Bukoko was a large and powerful settlement and an important cluster of
villages; but it struck us as we entered it that it had been for several
days abandoned, probably as long ago as a month. Its groves seemed
endless and most thriving, and weighted with fruit, and tomatoes grew in
prodigious plenty.
The scouts, as usual, soon after stacking goods and arranging camp, set
out to explore, and in a short time met some people in cotton dresses
who were armed with guns, and who fired upon them. We heard the loud
boom of percussion muskets, and the sharper crack of rifles, and then
there was quiet. Presently the scouts returned to report, and they
brought me an Enfield rifle which had been thrown away by the defeated
band, two of the men were supposed to be fatally wounded, one was said
to be dead. They also brought with them a woman and a boy, who were
evidently natives of the country, and could say nothing intelligible.
[Sidenote: 1889.
May 30.
Bukoko.]
A company of seventy rifles was immediately despatched to reconnoitre
further, and in ten minutes there was quite a sustained fusillade, deep
booming of muskets against sharp volleys of Remingtons and Winchesters.
Soon after two of our men were carried to camp wounded, who reported
that the enemy were Wara Sura. The rifles appeared to have pressed the
strangers hard; the firing was getting more distant, but in an hour’s
time we had two more wounded, and a Zanzibari youth, and a Manyuema
youth killed, and almost immediately, as I thought of preparing a strong
reinforcement, Uledi and the rifles walked into camp accompanied by the
chiefs of the enemy, who turned out to be Manyuema raiders, the
followers of Kilonga-Longa!
Their story was that a band of fifty gunmen, accompanied by about 100
spearmen, had crossed the Ituri River, and pushing east had arrived
about twenty days ago near the edge of the forest, having crossed the
Semliki River, and had, with their usual tactics, commenced raiding when
they caught sight of some men with guns whom they guessed to be Wara
Sura, and had fired upon them. The strangers had fired in return and
killed one of them, wounded another mortally, and four others severely.
The rest had fled to their settlement, crying out, “We are finished,”
whereupon they had then sent men to be in ambush along the route, while
the community at the settlement was repairing its defences. On seeing
the head of the party coming along the road, they had fired, killing two
and wounding four slightly, but when their friends began to rain bullets
on them, they cried out “Who are you?” and were answered that they were
Stanley’s men, and firing at once ceased, and an acquaintance ever
disastrous to us was then renewed. Though we should have wished to have
had a legitimate excuse for annihilating one band of the unconscionable
raiders, we could not but accept their apologies for what had clearly
been an accident, and gifts were exchanged.
We were told that they had met gangs of the Wara Sura, but had met “bad
luck,” and only one small tusk of ivory rewarded their efforts. Ipoto,
according to them, was twenty days’ march through the forest from
Bukoko.
Ruwenzori was now known as Virika by the Awamba of this district.
Since emerging from the Awamba forest near Ugarama, we had journeyed
along a narrow strip, covered with prodigious growth of cane-grass
reaching as high as fifteen feet. From eminences it appears to be from
three to eight miles wide, separating the deep, dark forest. From the
immediate vicinity of the mountain, notwithstanding that the grass was
of the height and thickness of bamboo, the path was infinitely better,
and we had but to cross one or two ravines and watercourses during a
march. A feature of it was the parachute-shaped acacia, which in the
neighbourhood of the Nyanza was the only tree visible. Near the forest
line this tree disappears, and the vegetation, riotously luxuriant and
purely tropical, occupied the rest of the valley.
[Illustration: THE TALLEST PEAK OF RUWENZORI, FROM AWAMBA FOREST.]
The streams we had lately crossed were cold mountain torrents with
fairly wide beds, showing gravel, sand, cobble stones, specimens of the
rocks above, gneiss, porphyry, hornblende, sandstone, steatite,
hematite, and granite, with several pumice lumps. Three of the principal
rivers, called the Rami, Rubutu, and Singiri, were respectively of the
temperatures 68°, 62°, and 65° Fahrenheit.
[Sidenote: 1889.
June 2.
Banzombé.]
After a halt of two days at Bukoko we marched a distance of eight miles
to the village of Banzombé, situate on a narrow, level-topped spur
between two deep ravines, on the edge of the forest, which here had
crept up to the base-line of the snow mountains. As usual, Ruwenzori was
invisible, and I feared we should have little chance of photographing
it, or employ any of its lofty peaks to take bearings.
The vapours issuing from the Semliki Valley appeared to be weighed down
by pressure from above, judging by the long time required for a mass of
ascending vapour to each the summit. The smoke of the camp hung over us
like a fog until we were nearly blinded and suffocated.
Our cattle showed signs of fagging out. We now possessed 104 head, and
30 sheep and goats.
On the 3rd of June we reached the little village of Bakokoro, in N. Lat.
0° 37′, and here a Copt, one of four brothers, breathed his last. Three
considerable streams had been traversed during the short march of three
miles. The temperature of one was 62° Fahrenheit.
Unable to trace a path beyond Bakokoro, trending in the direction we
required, we halted on the 4th. Jephson was in a high fever; temperature
105°. Mr. Bonny was also suffering; Stairs had recovered. Captain Nelson
was robust and strong, and during these days was doing double duty to
endeavour to make up for the long months he had been invalided, from
October, 1887, to October, 1888.
Some plantains measured here were seventeen and a half inches in length,
and as thick as the fore-arm.
After a short march of two and a half hours, we arrived at Mtarega,
situated near the deep gorge of the Rami-Lulu river, as it issued from a
deep chasm in the mountains.
[Sidenote: 1889.
June 3.
Bakokoro.]
We had all we desired to possess at this camp. We were within 200 yards
from the foot of the Ruwenzori range. Paths were seen leading up the
steep slopes; a fine cool river was 200 feet below, rushing through the
gorge fresh from the snow tops, 61° Fahrenheit temperature. Bananas,
plantains, and yams, and corn and sugar-cane were in the plantations and
fields, 200 yards away. Now was the period of exploration, and to make
botanical collections. Accordingly I sounded the note to prepare to win
immortal renown by scaling the heights of the famous Mountains of the
Moon. My strength was so far recovered that I could walk 200 yards. Mr.
Jephson regretted to say that the fever had conquered and subdued his
sanguine spirit; Captain Nelson was sorry, but really, if there was any
practical use in climbing such ruthlessly tall mountains--and he took a
solemn look at them, and said, “No, thanks!” Surgeon Parke’s line was
amid suffering humanity; Mr. Bonny was in bad luck--an obstinate fever
had gripped him, and reduced his limbs to mere sticks. Captain Casati
smiled mournfully, and seemed to say, “Look at me, and imagine how far I
could go.” But the Pasha’s honour was at stake; he had at all times
expressed rapture at the very thought, and this was the critical period
in the march of the Expedition, and Stairs took a sly glance at the
grim, unconquered heights, and said, “I’ll go, like a shot.” It only
remained for me to advise him, to furnish him with instruments, to
compare his aneroids with a standard one in camp, and supply the men
with many anxious counsels to avoid the cold, and to beware of chills
after an ascent.
The night was an agreeable one. The altitude of the camp above the sea
was 3,860 feet, and a gentle, cool wind blew all night from the gap of
the Rumi-Lulu river. In the morning Stairs departed, and the Pasha
accompanied him. But, alas! the Pasha had to yield after a thousand
feet, and returned to camp, while Stairs held on his way. The following
is the report of his experiences:--
Expedition Camp,
_June 8th, 1889_.
SIR,--
Early on the morning of the 6th June, accompanied by some forty
Zanzibaris, we made a start from the Expedition Camp at the
foot-hills of the range, crossed the stream close to a camp, and
commenced the ascent of the mountain.
With me I had two aneroids, which together we had previously noted
and compared with a standard aneroid remaining in camp under your
immediate observation; also a Fahrenheit thermometer.
For the first 900 feet above camp the climbing was fairly good, and
our progress was greatly aided by a native track which led up to
some huts in the hills. These huts we found to be of the ordinary
circular type so common on the plain, but with the difference that
bamboo was largely used in their interior construction. Here we
found the food of the natives to be maize, bananas, and colocassia
roots. On moving away from these huts, we soon left behind us the
long rank grass, and entered a patch of low scrubby bush,
intermixed with bracken and thorns, making the journey more
difficult.
At 8.30 A.M. we came upon some more huts of the same type, and
found that the natives had decamped from them some days previously.
Here the barometer read 23·58 and 22·85; the thermometer 75° F. On
all sides of us we could see Dracænas, and here and there an
occasional tree-fern and palm: and, tangled in all shapes on either
side of the track, were masses of long bracken. The natives now
appeared at different hill-tops and points near by, and did their
best to frighten us back down the mountain, by shouting and blowing
horns. We, however, kept on our way up the slope, and in a short
time they disappeared and gave us very little further trouble.
Of the forest plains, stretching far away below us, we could see
nothing, owing to the thick haze; we were thus prevented from
seeing the hills to the west and north-west.
At 10 30 A.M., after some sharp climbing, we reached the last
settlement of the natives, the cultivation consisting of beans and
colocassias, but no bananas. Here the barometer read 22·36;
thermometer 84° F. Beyond this settlement was a rough track leading
up the spur to the forest; this we followed, but in many places, to
get along at all, we had to crawl on our hands and knees, so steep
were the slopes.
At 11 A.M. we reached this forest and found it to be one of
bamboos, at first open, and then getting denser as we ascended. We
had noticed a complete and sudden change in the air from that we
had just passed through. It became much cooler and more pure and
refreshing, and all went along at a faster rate and with lighter
hearts. Now that the Zanzibaris had come so far, they all appeared
anxious to ascend as high as possible, and began to chaff each
other as to who should bring down the biggest load of the “white
stuff” on the top of the mountain. At 12.40 P.M. we emerged from
the bamboos and sat down on a grassy spot to eat our lunch.
Barometers, 21·10 and 27·95/100. Thermometer, 70° F. Ahead of us,
and rising in one even slope, stood a peak, in altitude 1200 feet
higher than we were. This we now started to climb, and after going
up it a short distance, came upon the tree-heaths. Some of these
bushes must have been 20 feet high, and, as we had to cut our way
foot by foot through them, our progress was necessarily slow and
very fatiguing to those ahead.
At 3.15 P.M. we halted among the heaths for a few moments to regain
our breath. Here and there were patches of inferior bamboos, almost
every stem having holes in it, made by some boring insect and quite
destroying its usefulness. Under foot was a thick spongy carpet of
wet moss, and the heaths on all sides of us, we noticed, were
covered with “old man’s beard” (_Usnea_). We found great numbers of
blue violets and lichens, and from this spot I brought away some
specimens of plants for the Pasha to classify. A general feeling of
cold dampness prevailed: in spite of our exertions in climbing, we
all felt the cold mist very much. It is this continual mist
clinging to the hill-tops that no doubt causes all the vegetation
to be so heavily charged with moisture and makes the ground under
foot somewhat slippery.
Shortly after 4 P.M. we halted among some high heaths for camp.
Breaking down the largest bushes we made rough shelters for
ourselves, collected what firewood we could find, and in other ways
made ready for the night. Firewood, however, was scarce, owing to
the wood being so wet that it would not burn. In consequence of
this, the lightly-clad Zanzibaris felt the cold very much, though
the altitude was only about 8,500 feet. On turning in the
thermometer registered 60° F. From camp I got a view of the peaks
ahead, and it was now that I began to fear that we should not be
able to reach the snow. Ahead of us, lying directly in our path,
were three enormous ravines; at the bottom of at least two of these
there was dense bush. Over these we should have to travel and cut
our way through the bush. It would then resolve itself into a
question of time as to whether we could reach the summit or not. I
determined to go on in the morning, and see exactly what
difficulties lay before us, and if these could be surmounted in a
reasonable time, to go on as far as we possibly could.
[Illustration: S.W. TWIN CONES OF RUWENZORI, BY LIEUT. STAIRS.]
On the morning of the 7th, selecting some of the best men, and
sending the others down the mountain, we started off again upwards,
the climbing being similar to that we experienced yesterday
afternoon. The night had been bitterly cold, and some of the men
complained of fever, but all were in good spirits, and quite ready
to go on. About 10 A.M. we were stopped by the first of the ravines
mentioned above. On looking at this I saw that it would take a
long time to cross, and there were ahead of it still two others. We
now got our first glimpse of a snow peak, distance about two and a
half miles, and I judged it would take us still a day and a half to
reach this, the nearest snow. To attempt it, therefore, would only
end disastrously, unprovided as we were with food and some better
clothing for two of the men. I therefore decided to return,
trusting all the time that at some future camp a better opportunity
of making an ascent would present itself, and the summit be
reached. Across this ravine was a bare rocky peak, very clearly
defined and known to us as the south-west of the “Twin Cones.” The
upper part of this was devoid of vegetation, the steep beds of rock
only allowing a few grasses and heaths in one or two spots to
exist.
The greatest altitude reached by us, after being worked out and all
connections applied, was about 10,677 feet above the sea. The
altitude of the snow peak above this would probably be about 6,000
feet, making the mountain, say, 16,600 feet high. This, though, is
not the highest peak in the Ruwenzori cluster. With the aid of a
field-glass I could make out the form of the mountain-top
perfectly. The extreme top of the peak is crowned with an irregular
mass of jagged and precipitous rock, and has a distinct crater-like
form. I could see through a gap in the near side a corresponding
rim or edge on the farther of the same formation and altitude. From
this crown of rock, the big peak slopes to the eastward at a slope
of about 25° until shut out from view by an intervening peak; but
to the west the slope is much steeper. Of the snow, the greater
mass lay on that slope directly nearest us, covering the slope
wherever its inclination was not too great. The largest bed of snow
would cover a space measuring about 600 by 300 feet, and of such a
depth that in only two spots did the black rock crop out above its
surface. Smaller patches of snow extended well down into the
ravine; the height from the lowest snow to the summit of the peak
would be about 1200 feet or 1000 feet. To the E.N.E. our horizon
was bounded by the spur which, standing directly behind our main
camp, and mounting abruptly, takes a curve in a horizontal plane
and centres on to the snow peak. Again that spur which lay south of
us also radiated from the two highest peaks. This would seem to be
the general form of the mountain, namely, that the large spurs
radiate from the snow-peaks as a centre, and spread out to the
plains below. This formation on the west side of the mountain would
cause the streams to flow from the centre, and flow on, gradually
separating from each other until they reached the plains below.
Thence they turn to W.N.W., or trace their courses along the bottom
spurs of the range and run into the Semliki River, and on to the
Albert Nyanza. Of the second snow-peak, which we have seen on
former occasions, I could see nothing, owing to the “Twin Cones”
intervening. This peak is merely the termination, I should think,
of the snowy range we saw when at Kavalli, and has a greater
elevation, if so, than the peak we endeavoured to ascend. Many
things go to show that the existence of these peaks is due to
volcanic causes. The greatest proof that this is so lies in the
numbers of conical peaks clustering round the central mass on the
western side. These minor cones have been formed by the central
volcano getting blocked in its crater, owing to the pressure of its
gases not being sufficient to throw out the rock and lava from its
interior; and consequently the gases, seeking for weak spots, have
burst through the earth’s crust and thus been the means of forming
these minor cones that now exist. Of animal life on the mountain we
saw almost nothing. That game of some sort exists is plain from the
number of pitfalls we saw on the road-sides, and from the fact of
our finding small nooses in the natives’ huts, such as those used
for taking ground game.
We heard the cries of an ape in a ravine, and saw several dull,
greyish-brown birds like stonechats, but beyond these nothing.
We found blueberries and blackberries at an altitude of 10,000 feet
and over, and I have been able to hand over to the Pasha some
specimens for his collections, the generic names of which he has
kindly given me, and which are attached below. That I could not
manage to reach the snow and bring back some as evidence of our
work, I regret very much; but to have proceeded onwards to the
mountain under the conditions in which we were situated, I felt
would be worse than useless, and though all of us were keen and
ready to go on, I gave the order to return. I then read off the
large aneroid, and found the hand stood at 19·90. I set the
index-pin directly opposite to the hand, and we started down hill.
At 3 P.M. on the 7th, I reached you, it having taken four and a
half hours of marching from the “Twin Cones.”
I have the honour to be, &c.,
(Signed) W. G. STAIRS, Lieut. R.E.
P.S.--The following are the generic names of the plants collected
by me, as named by the Pasha:--
1. Clematis. 14. Sonchus. 27. Asplenium.
2. Viola. 15. Erica arborea. 28. Aspidium.
3. Hibiscus. 16. Landolphia. 29. Polypodium.
4. Impatiens. 17. Heliotropium. 30. Lycopodium.
5. Tephorsia. 18. Lantana. 31. Selaginella.
6. Elycina (?). 19. Mochosma. 32. Marchantia.
7. Rubus. 20. Lissochilus. 33. Parmelia.
8. Vaccinium. 21. Luzula. 34. Dracœna.
9. Begonia. 22. Carex. 35. Usnea.
10. Pencedanum. 23. Anthistiria. 36. Tree fern }
11. Gnaphalium. 24. Adiantum. 37. One fern } unknown.
12. Helichrysum. 25. Pellia. 38. One polypodium }
13. Senecio. 26. Pteris aquilina.
Might we have been able to obtain a view over the Semliki Valley we
should have enjoyed one of exceeding interest. But we were unable to see
more through the thick sluggish mist than that, wide as it may be, it is
covered with a deep forest. The mist soared over the whole in irregular
streams or in one heavy mass, which gave it the aspect of an inverted
sky. Sometimes for a brief period a faint image of endless woods loomed
out, but the mist streamed upward through the foliage as though a
multitude of great geysers emitted vapours of hot steam. In the
immediate foreground it was not difficult to distinguish elevations and
depressions, or round basin-like hollows filled with the light-green
forests of banana groves.
One of the Twin Cones was visible a few hundred yards from camp, and
after a careful measurement with alta-azimuth it was found to be 12,070
feet.
[Sidenote: 1889.
June 5.
Mtarego.]
After a halt of three days we struck camp, descended the precipitous
walls of the gorge of the Rami-lulu, and, traversing the narrow level,
shortly ascended up the equally wall-like slope on the other side,
discovering a fact which, but for the ascent and descent, we might not
have thought of, namely, that the Rami-lulu had channelled this deep
ditch through a terrace formed of the washings and scourings of soil off
the slopes. It was a débris, consisting of earth, rock, boulders, and
gravel, which had been washed down the gap and accompanied by landslips
of so great a magnitude as to have choked up the course of the river and
formed quite an extensive and elevated tract, but the Rami-lulu had
eventually furrowed and grooved itself deeply through, and so the great
bank of material lies cut in two, to the depth of 200 feet, sufficiently
instructive.
At early dawn a Madi chief was speared by a bold native. About a mile
from Mtarega the grassy strip to which we had clung in preference was
ended, the forest had marched across the breadth of the Semliki Valley,
and had absorbed the Ruwenzori slopes to a height of seven thousand feet
above us, and whether we would or no, we had to enter the doleful shades
again. But then the perfection of a tropical forest was around us. It
even eclipsed the Ituri Valley in the variety of plants and general
sappiness. There were clumps of palms, there were giant tree-ferns,
there were wild bananas, and tall, stately trees all coated with thick
green moss from top to root, impenetrable thickets of broad-leafed
plants, and beads of moisture everywhere, besides tiny rillets oozing
out every few yards from under the matted tangle of vivid green and
bedewed undergrowth. It was the best specimen of a tropical conservatory
I had ever seen. It could not be excelled if art had lent its aid to
improve nature. In every tree-fork and along the great horizontal
branches grew the loveliest ferns and lichens; the elephant ear by the
dozen, the orchids in close fellowship, and the bright green moss had
formed soft circular cushions about them, and on almost every fibre
there trembled a clear water-drop, and everything was bathed by a most
humid atmosphere. The reason of all this was not far to seek; there were
three hot-water springs, the temperature of which was 102°. This tract
of forest was also in the cosiest fold of the snow mountains, and
whatever heat a hot sun furnished on this place was long retained.
We camped in a dry spot in this forest, and the next day, after marching
a distance of six and a quarter miles, we emerged out of it into the
superb clearing of Ulegga, and sought shelter in a straggling village
within a bow-shot reach of the mountains. Banana groves clothed the
slopes and ran up the ravines, and were ranged along the base line, and
extended out in deep frondiose groves far into the Semliki Valley. There
were bananas everywhere; and there was no lack of tobacco, or of Indian
corn, or of two kinds of beans, or of yams, and colocassia.
We entered into this district suspicious and suspecting; the death of
the Madi chief had impressed us that we should not be too confident, and
that vigilance was necessary day and night. At the first village the
advance guard encountered men who unhesitatingly resented their
intrusion, and began hostilities, and this had created an impression
that an important effort would be made. Wherever we looked there were
villages, and if courage aided numbers the people were capable of an
obstinate resistance. So we pressed bands of armed men up to the
mountains, and the skirmishing was brisk, but at 4 P.M. Matyera, a Bari
interpreter among the Pasha’s followers, managed to get speech of a few
natives, and succeeded in inducing the chief to consent to peace. He
came in and said that he had come to throw himself at our feet to be
slain or saved. The trumpeters sounded to cease firing, and within two
minutes there was a dead silence.
This chief and his friends were the first representatives of Ukonju we
had seen, and the devoted mission of the chief instantly won our
sympathy and admiration. I was rather disappointed in their appearance,
however, though needlessly upon reflection. There is no reason, save a
fancy, why I should have expected those mountaineers familiar with
mountain altitudes to be lighter in complexion than the people in the
Semliki and Ituri Valley forests; but the truth is, they are much darker
than even the Zanzibaris. Supposing a people dwelt around a base line of
the Swiss Alps, and an irresistible army of Scandinavians swept up to
them, the aboriginal inhabitants would naturally take refuge up the
mountains, and in the same manner these dark-complexioned people of the
true negroid type found themselves unable to resist the invasions of the
Indo-African Wachwezi and the coppery-faced tribes of the forest, and
sought shelter in the hills, and recesses of the Equatorial Alps, and
round about them ebbed and flowed the paler tribes, and so the Wakonju
were confined to their mountains.
[Sidenote: 1889.
June 10.
Ulegga.]
During our march to Mtsora on the next day we crossed five streams,
which, descending from the mountains, flowed to the Semliki. One of
these was of considerable volume and called the Butahu River, the
temperature of which was 57° Fahrenheit.
At Mtsora we received in a short time a good local knowledge from the
Wakonju who were now our friends. I learned the following items of
interest.
We were told that a few miles north of here was an arm of the upper lake
which we had heard so much about, and which I discovered in January,
1876. They call it the Ingezi, which in Kinyoro, means river, swamp, or
small lake. The Ruweru, or lake, was two days’ march south.
They also called it the Nyanza; and when I asked its name, they replied,
Muta-Nzige, and some of them knew of three Muta-Nziges--the
“Muta-Nzige,” of Unyoro, the “Muta-Nzige,” of Usongora, the
“Muta-Nzige,” of Uganda.
As for Nyanzas, the number became perplexing. There is the Nyanza of
Unyoro, the Nyanza of Usongora; the Nyanza of Unyampaka; the Nyanza of
Toro; the Nyanza Semliki; the Nyanza Unyavingi; the Nyanza of Karagwé;
and the Nyanza of Uganda. So that a river of any importance feeding a
lake, becomes a Nyanza, a large bay becomes a Nyanza; a small lake, or a
greater, is known as a Nyanza, or Ruweru.
[Sidenote: 1889.
June 11.
Mtsora.]
Those semi-Ethiopic peoples who were known to us at Kavalli, as the
Wahuma, Waima, Wawitu, Wachwezi, were now called Waiyana, Wanyavingi,
Wasongora, and Wanyankori.
Ruwenzori, called already Bugombowa, Avirika, and Viruka, by the forest
tribes, became now known as the Ruwenzu-ru-ru, or Ruwenjura, according
as a native might be able to articulate.
The Butahu River separates Ulegga from Uringa.
The Wara-Sura were gathered under Rukara, a general of Kabba Rega, King
of Unyoro. Some of these ferocious raiders were said to be stationed at
the ferry of Waiyana, a few miles north of here. The Wakonju offered to
assist us to drive them out of the land.
We were told that Rukara’s headquarters were at Katwé, a town near the
Salt Lakes, which are somewhat to the south.
That on the western bank of the Semliki are the tribes Wakovi and
Wasoki, and that there are also Watwa pigmies.
We were informed that Usongora and Toro had submitted to Kabba Rega; but
the inhabitants of the lake islands refused to promise allegiance, and
it was said Kakuri, the chief, had applied to the Wanyavingi and
Wanyankori for assistance against Kabba Rega. We were promised the
submission of all the Wakonju and Wasangora if we entered into treaty or
agreement with them, and I accepted the offer.
The Wakonju people are round-headed, broad faced, and of medium size.
They affect circlets manufactured of calamus fibre, very slender, and
covering the ankles by hundreds. They also wear a large number on the
upper arm. The chiefs also are distinguished by heavy copper or brass
wristlets. The women’s neck decorations consist of heavy iron rings
coiled spirally at the ends. On the slopes of the mountain, I am told,
is found much fine crystal quartz.
At the entrance of almost every village in Ukonju may be seen a
miniature tent, with a very small doorway, before which the natives
place a banana or an egg. A tradition exists that Mikonju, the founder
of the tribe who first cleared the forest, and planted bananas,
initiated this custom to prevent theft. It is a tithe offered to the
fetish or spirit to remind it that they wish their banana groves, or the
eggs whence issue fowls, protected.
On the 12th of June I despatched Lieutenant Stairs, with sixty rifles
and a number of Wakonju guides, to proceed to the Semliki, and satisfy
all doubts about it; and on the next day he returned, having been
favourably received by the natives, who tendered their submission, and
accompanied our officer to the river explaining to him every matter of
interest. He found it forty-two yards wide, and ten feet deep, sunk
between banks of fifty and sixty feet high, and with a current of three
miles per hour. After tasting and looking at it, and questioning all the
natives who could impart information, he concluded that:--I. Because of
the unbroken appearance of the range westward, which has faced the
Ruwenzori range ever since leaving the Albert; II. Because of the
peculiar grey, muddy colour; III. Because of the peculiar flavour, which
is slightly saline, and “unsatisfying,” like that of the Albert Lake;
IV. Because of the unanimous statement of the natives that it flows a
little west of north, then north, then north-easterly to the Lake of
Unyoro, which is the Albert; V. Because of the positive assurance of one
native traveller, who is acquainted with the river along its course,
from its exit out of one lake to its entering into the other; the
Semliki river leaves the upper lake, takes a winding course, with a
strong inclination to the western range, when, after turning to the
north-east, it gradually draws nearer the Ruwenzori range, flows through
Awamba forest and Utuku into the Albert Nyanza.
From an anthill near Mtsora, I observed that from W.N.W., a mile away,
commenced a plain, which was a duplicate of that which had so deceived
the Egyptians, and caused them to hail it as their lake, and that it
extended southerly, and appeared as though it were the bed of a lake
from which the waters had recently receded. The Semliki, which had
drained it dry, was now from 50 to 60 feet below the crest of its banks.
The slopes, consisting of lacustrine deposits, grey loam, and sand,
could offer no resistance to a three-mile current, and if it were not
for certain reefs, formed by the bed-rock under the surface of the
lacustrine deposit, it is not to be doubted that such a river would soon
drain the upper lake. The forest ran across from side to side of the
valley, a dark barrier, in very opposite contrast to the bleached grass
which the nitrous old bed of the lake nourished.
[Sidenote: 1889.
June 12.
Mtsora.]
We had a magnificent view of Ruwenzori just before sunset one evening
during our halt in Mtsora. A large field of snow, and snow-peaks beyond
the foremost line, appeared in view. During the whole day our eyes had
rested on a long line of dark and solemn spurs, their summits buried in
leaden mist; but soon after 5 P.M. the upper extremities of those spurs
loomed up one after another, and a great line of mountain shoulders
stood out; then peak after peak struggled from behind night-black clouds
into sight, until at last the snowy range, immense and beautiful, a
perfect picture of beautiful and majestic desolateness, drew all eyes
and riveted attention, while every face seemed awed. The natives told us
that the meaning of the word Ruwenzori means the Rain-Maker, or Cloud
King.
On the 14th of June, escorted by a large following of Wakonju, we
marched four and a half hours, and entered Muhamba, in Usongora. Soon
after leaving Mtsora we had descended into the grassy plains, which had
been within a calculable period a portion of the bed of the lake we were
now approaching. About half way, we passed a respectable tributary of
the Semliki, called the Rwimi, which separates Ukonju from Usongora. One
of the streams we crossed soon after issued from a hot-spring.
[Sidenote: 1889.
June 15.
Karimi.]
[Illustration: RUWENZORI, FROM MTSORA.]
The next day, an hour’s march from Muhamba, we left the plain and
commenced the ascent of the mountains, as the range declining towards
the south forms a lengthened hilly promontory, dividing Usongora into
western and eastern divisions, lying on either side of it, and both
being in past times covered by the lake. After an ascent of about 1,500
feet, a world of hills rose before us, and a view worthy of memory would
have been obtained but for the eternal mist covering the grander ranges.
Still, it was a fascinating sight, and one that in the time to come will
be often painted and sketched and described. It reminded me greatly of
the lower Alps, as viewed from Berne, though these successive ranges of
African Alps are much higher; but the white-headed mountain kings rose
far above these even, and at this time were hidden in the murky clouds.
Having crossed the promontory, we descended 300 feet, and, crossing a
profound and narrow valley, camped at Karimi.
At 5.15 P.M. the mists and fogs were blown away from the crowns of
Ruwenzori, and for once we enjoyed the best view obtained yet, a
description of which must be referred to in another chapter. The
photographic apparatus was up in a short time, to perpetuate one of the
rarest sights in the world, of one of the grandest views that Africa can
furnish.
[Sidenote: 1889.
June 16.
Rusessé.]
On the 16th June, after a long march of four and three-quarter hours, we
arrived at the zeriba of Rusessé. We descended from Karimi about 700
feet to the plain of Eastern Usongora, and an hour later we came to
Ruverahi River, 40 feet wide, and a foot deep; an ice-cold stream, clear
as crystal and fresh from the snows. Ruwenzori was all the morning in
sight, a bright vision of mountain beauty and glory. As we approached
Rusessé a Msongora herdsman, in the employ of Rukara, the General of the
Wara-Sura, came across the plain, and informed us that he could direct
us to one of Rukara’s herds. We availed ourselves of his kind offices,
which he was performing as a patriot son of the soil tyrannised over and
devastated by Rukara; and fifty rifles were sent with him, and in
fifteen minutes we were in possession of a fine herd of twenty-five fat
cattle, which we drove without incident with our one hundred head to the
zeriba of Rusessé. From a bank of cattle-dung, so high as to be like a
great earthwork round about the village, we gained our first view of the
Albert Edward Nyanza, at a distance of three miles.