Chapter IV. 



patches of moss. In the hottoiu of the valley the soft, thick, 

 mossy carpet was strewn with violets and forget-me-nots, which 

 startle the Eurojiean traAcUer hy tlie unexpected familiarity of 

 their appearance. 



The day was hne, and the Duke of the Ahruzzi was far 

 too impatient to consent to stop at Buamba, close to the end 

 of the valley, nearly in sight of Bujongolo. They snatched a 

 morsel in haste, and started once more across the flowery 

 plateau in full sight of a graceful wateriall, framed in foliage 

 and flowers, falling from a steep point on the right side of the 

 valley. 



The way proceeded for a certain distance upon the left side 

 of the Mobuku, and then crossed again to the right at the foot 

 of the last rise. The valley is full of traces of the former 

 passage of glaciers, the rocks are worn smooth and streaked ; 

 there are moraine piles, boulders, etc., etc. 



One last climb up a steep slope some 600 feet high, over 

 mud and stone, brings the expedition to the right side of tlie 

 valley, where a heaji of blocks, siuTounded l)y tree heaths, 

 are overhung by a high rock which forms a shelter. This is 

 Bujongolo, a veritable eyrie, at a height of 12,461 feet, and 

 2,528 feet above Kichuchu. 



Tlie Prince and his companions reached this point about two 

 in the afternoon, leaving the caravan of porters far behind. 

 Most of the latter had stopped at the Buamba shelter, and only 

 a few with a small number of parcels rejoined the expedition 

 that evening. 



The place was rough and ^v\\(\. A cold and biting wind 

 blew off the glacier, and suggested surroundings very different 

 from those usually associated with Equatorial Africa. 



The members of the expedition were full of excitement and 



134 



