134 THE SEMLIKI VALLEY 



great Congo Forest, which overflows, so to speak, 

 the Congo- Nile watershed and extends eastward as 

 far as Ruwenzori. After passing through the forest, 

 the SemHki flows through country like that about its 

 first part ; this becomes flatter and more treeless as 

 Lake Albert is approached, until the river finally 

 loses itself in the vast papyrus swamps at the head of 

 that lake. The Semliki Valley is in no place of very 

 great width. To the east it is bounded throughout 

 the greater part of its length by the long ridge of 

 Ruwenzori, from which it is never many miles 

 distant, while farther north its eastern limit is formed 

 by the Lake Albert escarpment. Its western 

 boundary is made by the steep mountains which 

 flank the west side of Lake Albert Edward, and 

 then, as they run northwards, dwindle rapidly into 

 the low hills of Mboga, which form the almost im- 

 perceptible water-parting of the Nile and Congo. 

 From its left side the Semliki receives no tributaries 

 of any importance, while from the right there flow 

 into it several large mountain torrents which drain 

 the slopes of Ruwenzori. The highest peak of 

 Ruwenzori cannot be more than from fifteen to 

 twenty miles east of Fort Beni, but though we 

 stayed there for ten days we only saw the mountains 

 once, and then but for a few minutes ; they seemed 

 to rise to an incredible height, and looked like a 

 phantom range looming through the morning mists. 

 Thoueh our view was but short, there was time 

 enough to identify with certainty the highest peaks. 



