EXPLORATION OF THE KIBALI 333 



rolls away range on range in grand confusion, their steep 

 sides darkened with, trees, save where they are scarred by 

 clefts and sharp angles of bare rock. And below in the 

 deep valleys, the courses of innumerable streams are revealed 

 by their coverings of tropical green. From here, where I 

 climbed to a height of 4000 ft,, far away to the eastward I 

 saw for the first time the grey blur of the hills of the Nile. 



It would have been an utter impossibility with my 

 reduced numbers to traverse a country of this character 

 where there are no roads of any kind (setting aside the 

 hostility of the natives) so I returned to my camp on the 

 Ira, determined to shoot the rapids behind me. 



The next morning broke gloriously fine, which made 

 our hearts feel lighter for the task in front of us. I placed 

 Jose at the rudder, and Umuru and Audelai in the bow, 

 as they were the best watermen. For the first 200 yards 

 we kept to the left bank, and then had to cross to shoot 

 the rapid itself. There was a large volume of water, pound- 

 ing and surging over the rocks. In a second the boat was 

 sucked into the vortex of the rapid with the water pouring 

 into the bow ; for a moment she hung and swerved to the 

 left, but the impetus behind freed her from the rocks, and 

 the next moment we were in smooth water. 



When we had got our breath we unloaded and drew the 

 boat out of the water, and found a new hole in one of the 

 bow-sections. 



The successful shooting of the rapids, however, had an 

 exhilarating eSact and the men were in excellent spirits, 

 so m half an hour the hole was mended, and the boat ready 

 for a fresh start. There was one more rapid to pass, and 



