146 In the Heart of Africa 



negotiate as the moss-covered ground and the vegetation are 

 always dripping wet. The shrubs attain a height of three 

 metres, and their branches close in together so thickly that it 

 is difficult to see the sky. Thus the ground hardly ever 

 thoroughly dries up. We met with a good many more or less 

 deep gullies, along the bottom of which ice-cold streams flowed, 

 and these we had to scramble through. Whoever tried to gain 

 a hold by catching on to the senecio bushes, pulled them out 

 and began to slip, which was all the more unpleasant as the 

 moss beds on the sloping surfaces would not bear a man's 

 weight. It took us two full hours to reach the rocks at the 

 peak although we had believed them to be quite close at hand. 



On the top we found a deep chasm which led down into the 

 rocks. We followed this, going over shingle till we struck hard 

 frozen snow. This was rather too much for our " boys." They 

 tiptoed over the cold subsoil uttering the most singular sounds. 

 Finally, they sat down, crowded closely together, on a mass 

 of rock and " would have nothing more to do with it." 



All around us there rose steep smooth walls of rock. It 

 was soon evident, therefore, that an ascent to the summit was 

 out of the question unless we had mountaineering outfits, or 

 made a careful investigation of the northern side. To accom- 

 plish this object we would have been compelled to stay up in 

 that frosty region several days longer, and for this we were 

 not adequately equipped. We had no rope of sufficient length 

 to make such an ascent possible. In addition we were unable 

 to light any fire in our kitchen, everything being in a soaked 

 condition. Our followers were almost frozen and so pinched 

 with the cold that they could hardly move their numbed fingers. 

 In Kirschstein's judgment nothing of geological importance 

 would be gained by the ascent, and from a sporting point of 

 view we were not justified in endangering the health of our 

 carriers. We therefore resolved to remain in camp till the next 

 morning, to see if we could essay the climb in clearer weather. 

 If it proved to be foggy we intended to set out on the return 

 march. 



