AND THE VICTORIA NYANZA 



59 



The native iiilial)itaiits of" ^^'est Elgon are a wild-looking and savage 

 race, among which some .stunted individuals recall irresistibly the facial 

 features of the Pygmies of the Congo Forest, whom they closely resemble 

 in their low stature. 



The scenery up the Shiruko (Siroko) Valley is really very fine, with 

 the enormous precipitous ridge of ]\Iuhasa to the south and Ghonyi to 

 the north. The foot-hills up this Alpine valley are much cultivated by 

 the natives, and are glistening green with bananas. Higher up, however. 



50. THE HIGHEST POINT OE THE CRATER lUM (14,200 FEET) 



the immense sombre forests of junipers. Tvichodadvs, and other trees 

 of Abyssinian or Cape affinities begin, and clothe the ascent to the crater 

 wall, itself bare of trees except arboreal groundsels. 



The scenery along the north face of Elgon is much the same. Below 

 the great wall of the crater the mountain side is increasingly furrowed as 

 the streams cut their valleys throusfh the densely forested slopes. Then 

 at 8,000 and 9,000 feet will come abrupt descents showing steps of naked 

 gleaming granite or quartz. These crumble away again into foot-hills of 

 fertile soil, which would be covered by rich tropical vegetation were not 

 the place of this bush and forest taken for the most part by plantations 



