HOSTILE NATIVES 141 



direction which corresponds almost exactly with the 

 line of the edge of the great forest. A wave, so to 

 speak, of the great Congo-Semliki Forest, thirty or 

 more miles wide, flows across the Semliki Valley 

 towards Ruwenzori, becoming narrower as it 

 approaches the mountains, and for a few miles 

 flows up the slopes and becomes continuous with 

 the mountain forest. Near the river the population 

 is very scanty, and the few huts which we passed 

 were deserted ; but as we came closer to the 

 mountains the land looked more fertile, and the 

 population was correspondingly greater. The sight 

 of our armed and uniformed guard was too much for 

 the unhappy people, who fled from their villages 

 and collected in crowds on the hill-tops, where they 

 waved their spears and shouted defiance from a safe 

 distance. In one village they seemed disposed to 

 dispute our passage, but a couple of shots hred 

 over their heads sent them off to join their fellows 

 on the high ground. It was rather disconcerting to 

 see one gentleman, not a dozen yards from me, 

 taking a careful aim with bow and arrow ; luckily 

 I saw him before his preparations were complete, 

 and he disappeared like a shadow in the long grass. 

 Arrived near the foot-hills of Ruwenzori, we 

 camped in the only available open space in the 

 forest that could be found, which happened to be 

 a field of ripening beans. The inhabitants of the 

 neighbouring huts had all fled, with the exception 

 of an aged man and woman, who were promptly 



