142 THE WEST SIDE OF RUWENZORI 



secured by the Belgian with halters round their 

 necks, for no apparent reason that we could elicit 

 from him. These miserable old people travelled 

 with us for a day or two, and were then liberated. 

 That night at the bean-camp was memorable for one 

 of the heaviest thunderstorms I can remember, 

 accompanied by a deluge of rain, and for the 

 nocturnal attentions of the natives. So soon as it 

 became dark, there began a chorus of yells and a 

 symphony (or rather a kakophony) performed on 

 drums and whistles and war-horns, which lasted at 

 intervals until daylight. Now they were on one 

 side of the camp and now on another, and often so 

 close that they must have been within a few yards 

 of the sentries ; but the darkness was so intense 

 that it was impossible to see them, and the rain so 

 damped their ardour that they did not summon up 

 courage enough to attack us. It was not a very 

 propitious beginning to an expedition which had 

 designs on the lives and liberties of nothing bigger 

 than birds and butterflies. 



The point for which we were aiming was the 

 valley of the Butagu, the river which drains the 

 waters from the highest peaks of Ruwenzori, and 

 is the biggest river on the west side of the range. 

 Owing to an error, we went too far to the north and 

 crossed the Russirubi,* another big stream whose 

 valley has never yet been explored. Though we 



* So called in Dr. Stuhlmann's map. The natives, whom 

 we questioned, called the river ' Paka.' 



