i68 THE SNOWFIELDS AND GLACIERS OF KENYA part ii 



the path, leaving the porters to follow as soon as it had become 

 less cold. We made a desperate effort to get out of the forests, 

 but when night fell we were still within them, and the bamboos 

 as thick as ever. We were so exhausted that, when the order 

 to camp was given, we, all lay down where we stood ; and it 

 was not till some time afterwards that we could rouse ourselves 

 to light fires and prepare food. So far the work had been 

 simply miserable. We had not once seen or felt the sun 

 since we left the meadows of Laikipia. We had never once 

 seen more than 20 yards ahead, and it was only rarely that 

 we could see up to the tree tops. The natural history had 

 also been disappointing. Of vegetation there was enough and 

 to spare ; but the species were few, and the plants so sodden 

 with moisture that I could not press them ; the bamboos were 

 especially irritating, for I could not find a single flower or 

 fruit, and thus it has been impossible to determine the genus 

 to which they belong. Many animals were not to be expected, 

 and we only saw one pack of monkeys, some red-breasted 

 birds rather larger than robins, many slugs and snails, and a 

 {q.\n insects. At night we heard the shrill cry of a cony 

 {Procavia shoana, Gigl.), of which I found a skull. 



On the morning of the fourth day, however, there came a 

 welcome change. While cutting a way through the bamboos 

 we suddenly stumbled upon a block of lava (andesite). I was 

 delighted to see it, for I had not previously seen as much 

 as a pebble since we left Laikipia. As I examined it, my 

 interest was roused ; for its grooved and rounded surface 

 suggested that it had been carried to its present position by 

 ice. The denseness of the jungle, however, prevented any 

 further evidences being obtained here, and I was accordingly 

 all the more delighted when shortly afterwards we entered a 

 clearing, and through the mist dimly discerned a high rocky 

 ridge a little distance above us. With a cheer we hurried 

 forward. The bamboos became smaller and scarcer, and were 

 soon left behind. The forests gave place to scattered clumps 

 of trees, and the rank undergrowth to a firm rich turf ; the 

 long monotonous slope broke up into a belt of undulating 

 ground, which, with its numerous swampy, mossy hollows, 

 its irregularly scattered boulders, and its stiff, greasy clay, 

 reminded me of a glacial moraine. The men threw down their 



