438 THROUGH AFRICA FROM THE CAPE TO CAIRO. 



after losing '2 stone in herculean efforts, never e\'en saw one, and gave 

 it up in disgust. 



Of tlie four main peaks of the eastern mass of volcanoes, all of 

 which are extinct, the highest I have described as Mount Eyres, after 

 Mrs. Eyres, of Dumbleton Hall, Evesham, Sharp's sister, without 

 whose help and encouragement we should have failed to bring our trip 

 to a satisfactory conclusion. The other high peak 1 have described as 

 Mount Kandt, after the distinguished German scientist, who is making 

 a most elaborate stud}- of the whole region. Nearly every morning 

 there was snow on these two peaks, and the height of Mount Ej^res 

 must be nearly 13,000 feet (?), as during my elephant hunting, when I 

 explored all the northwest face, my aneroid registered on one occasion 

 more than 11,000 feet. Leaving the elephant, I made a rapid tour to 

 establish the identity of iVIf umbiro, which is conspicuousl}^ marked on 

 most maps, with the height added, and 1 ascertained for certain Avhat 

 I had been led by the Germans to suspect, namely, that Mfumlnro lias 

 nevei- existed outside the imagination of the British statesman. Mf um- 

 biro. it will be remem})crod. was accepted by us from the Germans as 

 a counterpoise to Kilimanjaro, which we gave to them in our usual 

 open-handed manner in the boundarj^ agreement between British East 

 Africa and German East Africa. The forests of these volcanoes area 

 branch of the great Aruwimi forest, and the home of numbers of pyg- 

 mies, who hunt the elephant and search for bees, trading the meat and 

 honey with the AVaruanda for grain, spear and arrowheads, and knives; 

 while the Waruanda Ijuy their hows and arrows complete, the dwarfs' 

 work being much superior to their own. 



AVhen making the circuit of the two active volcanoes, T had an un- 

 pleasant ex})t'iience with a tribe of cannibals called the Baleka, who 

 made what had lately l^een a delightful and thriving district most 

 undesirably warm. Their superfluous attentions and the a])sence of 

 food prevented me from exploring two small lakes that 1 saw to the 

 west, and from determining whether the large stream, which T could 

 see issuing from the southern lake, flowed into Kivu or down the other 

 side of the watershed direct into one of the tributaries of the Kongo. 

 Four da3's' continual marching, during which I and m}^ ten boys suf- 

 fered much fi'om hunger, took us out of the countr}" in time to warn 

 Sharp, who was coming round the south of Mount Gotzen to meet me 

 with the rest of the caravan. Joining forces again, we returned 

 through the pass once more, and started down the Ruchuru, or, as it is 

 here called, the Kako Valle3\ The Kako rises on the north slopes of 

 the volcanoes, and, becoming farther north the Ruchuru, flows into the 

 Albert Edward Lake; hence its headwaters are the true source of the 

 Albert Nile. Curioush^ enough, the source of the Victoria Nile is only 

 40 miles south of this, the headwaters of the Nyavalongo, which is the 

 uiain tributary of the Kagera, the main feeder of the Victoria Lake, 



