ii8 In the Heart of Africa 



new to such phenomena, we hardly observed the discomforts 

 attending our march. We became aware of them before long, 

 however, and the charm we had at first experienced was soon 

 dispelled. The stalks are overgrown with long lanceolate 

 leaves almost from the roots, which thicken up so much 

 towards the top that the sun's rays can scarcely penetrate 

 them. The ground remains so moist and slippery, in con- 

 sequence, that travelling is rendered exceedingly arduous. In 

 fact, after heavy rain, it is hardly possible to clamber up 

 and down the steep slopes, the soil is so soaked and slippery. 

 The safest way of reaching the valley is to set about it 

 in the same way as the ski-runner does when rushing down 

 to the bottom of a slope. Supported at the back by a long 

 alpenstock, which may be cut from any neighbouring bamboo 

 bush, and with feet placed parallel to each other, you travel 

 down the mountain side, on what is at best a cattle-track, with 

 horrible celerity. Herds of long-horned Watussi cattle, with 

 their drovers, are constantly encountered in the forests, for the 

 young bamboo shoots form the main nourishment of the beasts. 

 They are either driven along daily from the neighbouring village, 

 to graze there, or they remain for months at a time in the depths 

 of the forest, in kraals specially constructed for the purpose. 



After leaving the bamboo zone, on the 8th of September, 

 we met with a charming travelling companion in the person of 

 Rudolf Grauer, the Austrian explorer, with whom we were 

 destined to pass through many a joyful and sorrowful hour. 

 His name is familiar in connection with the earliest discovery 

 of the Ruwenzori chain of mountains. He had arrived at Bukoba 

 a few weeks before us with the intention of reaching Lake Kiwu 

 by a different route from the one we were intending to take. His 

 valuable collections, which were limited at first to ornithological 

 material, extended later to the mammals. In fact, he was 

 successful in securing twelve gorillas, which had been captured 

 by the natives in the marginal mountains of Lake Tanganyika. 



As Grauer was also contemplating pitching camp, we marched 

 on a little further over the jagged, difficult lava which covered 



