112 THE PLAINS OF RUISAMBA 



rising ground, we could see it in its various stages 

 from the papyrus belt surrounding Lake Ruisamba 

 through broad meadows of salt grass, where only a 

 few euphorbias grew, to thickets of euphorbia and 

 acacias, then a more or less uniform wood of acacias 

 with occasional euphorbias, and furthest of all from 

 the water a dense forest of various trees growing in 

 the sheltered valleys. About the middle of May the 

 acacias began to flower, and in a couple of days the 

 whole country-side was a mass of white-blossoming 

 trees, which from a little distance looked exactly like 

 hawthorns, and the air was laden with delicious 

 scents. 



Soon after we were settled at Muhokya we 

 thought of calling- upon our nearest neighbour, the 

 Belgian in command of the Congo post Kasindi, at 

 the north end of Lake Albert Edward, and incident- 

 ally of gathering information about the Semliki 

 Valley and the west side of Ruwenzori, which 

 we proposed to visit later. Accordingly, Woosnam 

 and I set off early one morning in April by the 

 light of a waning moon, and were already well on 

 our way when the sun rose. A few miles from 

 Muhokya we came to Kikarongo, a circular lake, 

 once a crater, about half a mile wide. The water is 

 slightly salt, and is greatly appreciated by the 

 hippos, who come here in large parties from Lake 

 Ruisamba to bathe. The lake is shallow for a few 

 yards only, and then deepens rapidly, so the hippos, 

 who do not like deep water, never go very far 



