( cxvi ) 



" As regards the war — we are not very near the Germans 

 here, and all is quiet. It's probable that things are happening 

 in G.E.A. and B.E.A., but we hear nothing of it. 



"February 1916, Kigezi, S.W. Uganda. 

 " Well, now to get on with the real object of the letter — 

 to give you an idea of Kigezi, where I now am, and very 

 delighted to be ! You know, of course, all about the well- 

 known Rift Valley in B.E.A. ; but perhaps do not know (as 

 I did not) of the other that runs down the W. edge of Uganda, 

 and contains the chain of lakes from Tanganyika up to Albert 

 Nyanza. The part I am concerned with is in the far S.W. 

 corner of Uganda, and I am at Kigezi itself, only about three 

 hours' journey from the Congo border to the W. and the 

 German border on the S., and about a day's march from the 

 N. of Lake Kivu. Longitude 29° 45' E., Latitude 1° 15' S. 

 The rift here is, I suppose, some forty miles across, and is 

 bounded on each side by much crumpled ranges of hills, running 

 up to 8000 feet, the floor of the valley being about 6000 feet. 

 The post where I am is just at the foot of the E. border of the 

 valley, and I have seen the hills of the W. border. The whole 

 country is excessively volcanic. Rising out of the valley 

 floor are innumerable little hills of a few hundred feet high, 

 quite often showing very typical craters on their tops, and 

 usually conical in shape — very obviously volcanic. There is 

 lava everywhere, and the floor of the valley is practically 

 nothing else. The great feature of this district north of L. 

 Kivu is a group of giant volcanoes, from ten to nearly sixteen 

 thousand feet high — from my present post (known as Kigezi 

 itself) we have an uninterrupted view of four, and can see the 

 tops of two others. The nearest one is a perfect cone — black 

 lava without much vegetation. Further away are others of 

 older date, showing many rifts and cracks, and with very 

 jagged summits — they have obviously suffered much in 

 successive eruptions. The one furthest away often has a 

 deposit of snow on its top ; it has never been climbed yet. I 

 suppose it must be very difficult. I believe that further west 

 there are not so many volcanoes dotted about over the valley 

 floor ; it is here called the Rutchuru plain, and is great game 



