Untrodden Paths 41 



Everyone had kept in good health with the exception of Dr. 

 von Raven, who had suffered from a relapse of fever. Greatly to 

 my relief, however, I heard that he had so far recovered that, 

 a few days before, he had been able to make a little trip to 

 northern Kissaka. 



Schubotz was not altogether so satisfied with the results of 

 research in Lake Mohasi as he had perhaps expected to be. Apart 

 from an abundance of the microscopic organisms known as 

 plankton, the lake had furnished but little noteworthy material. 

 I will give a short extract or two from Schubotz's own account 

 of his investigations as well as from a report by Dr. Mildbraed, 

 who writes rather more contentedly : 



" The west end of Lake Mohasi terminates in a papyrus 

 swamp, and therefore promised rich spoils for zoological 

 treasure-hunters. We were all the more keenly disillusioned to 

 find the fauna far more meagre in character in this great water 

 basin — the first we had explored in Africa — than we had been 

 led to suppose in Germany. In spite of the luxurious vegetation 

 at this part of the lake, the most diligent search was needed 

 before we found a few sponges and polypi attached to some 

 characeous plants. Our dredging experiments, too, which were 

 beset with difficulties in consequence of the inadequate craft, led 

 to sparse results — a scanty show of mussels and snails — in com- 

 parison with the pains taken. In pursuing these investigations 

 we* glided out on to the lake in our little folding boat, threw the 

 dredge into the water, and, summoning all our efforts together, 

 drew it to land. 



"On the other hand, the search for plankton, instituted at 

 different spots of the lake, and conducted at different depths, 

 yielded rich material, composed in the main of diminutive 

 Crustacea (copepoda and cladocera). The rotatoria were less 

 numerous. 



" Crocodiles are not found in Lake Mohasi, nor in any other 

 lake in Ruanda. Had we believed the natives, we should have 

 thought the same about hippopotami, but we were undeceived in 

 * I frequently accompanied Schubotz on these excursions. 



