THE KONG MOUNTAINS. 137 



bears so strong a resemblance to Arthur's Seat 

 near Edinburgh, that Dr. Briggs and myself 

 were struck with the resemblance at the same 

 instant. On the eastern bank there are three 

 sides or lips of what appeared to me the re- 

 mains of an immense crater. The side facing the 

 north-west, which was that next to the river, had 

 fallen, and immediately before it stood one of 

 the most remarkably shaped sugar-loaf hills I 

 ever saw. It was a perfect cone about five 

 hundred feet high, surmounted by a curious 

 column of rock, which, on examining it through 

 a telescope. Dr. Briggs pronounced to be basalt. 

 It certainly had very much the appearance of 

 it, but the distance may have deceived us. 



The Kong Mountains lie in the direction of 

 about west-north-west and east-south-east, where 

 they are intersected by the Niger : they have 

 a remarkably bold outline, and, if we might 

 judge by those portions of them that abutted 

 on the river, appear to be composed principally 

 of granite. The channel between them is dan- 

 gerous, owing to large blocks of granite that 

 lie in the stream, producing eddies and shoals. 

 On one of these we ran aground about four in 

 the afternoon, but got off again in about half 



