SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XV. No. 361 



people are described as being very warlike, and that no country, 

 not even Uganda, could equal it in numbers or strength. The 

 late queen has been succeeded by her son, Kigeri, who now 

 governs. 



Since the commencement of our march homewards from our 

 camp at Kavalli, we have undergone remarkable vicissitudes of 

 climate. From the temperate and enjoyable climate of the region 

 west of Lake Albert, we descended to the hot-house atmosphere of 

 the Semliki valley, at nearly 3,000 feet lower level. Night and day 

 were equally oppressively warm and close, and one or two of us 

 suffered greatly in consequence. The movement from the Semliki 

 valley to the plains north of Lake Albert brought us to a dry but a 

 hot land. The ground was baked hard ; the grass was scorched ; 

 the sun, but for the everlasting thick haze, would have been intol- 

 erable ; in addition to which, the water — except that from the 

 Ruwenzori streams — was atrocious, and charged with nitre and 

 organic corruption. The ascent to the eastern plateau was marked 

 by an increase of cold and many an evil consequence, — fevers, 

 colds, catarrhs, dysenteries, and paralysis. Several times we as- 

 cended to over 6,000 feet above the sea, to be punished with agues, 

 which prostrated black and white by scores. In the early morn- 

 ings, at this altitude, hoar-frost was common. Blackberries were 

 common along the path in North-West Ankori, 5,200 feet above 

 the sea-level. ' 



On entering Uzinya, south-west corner of Lake Victoria, the 

 health of all began to improve, and fevers became less common. 



I have jotted these few remarks down very hastily. Whether it 

 is from lack of wholesome food or not, I confess to feeling it an 

 immense labor to sit down and write upon any subject. I do not 

 agree with Shakspeare when he says — 



" Fat paunches have lean pates ; and dainty bits 

 Make rich the ribs, but bankrupt quite the wits." 

 In our case, and I speak for all our officers as well as myself, 

 " dainty bits " just now would brighten up our wits, for we sus- 

 pect that our wits have strongly sympathized with the bodies' 

 pains. 



That you may know what the upper regions of Ruwenzori are 

 like, I send you Lieut. Stairs's account of his ascent to a height -of 

 nearly 11,000 feet, 



[Lieut. Stairs's account, written from Expedition Camp, June 8, 1889.] 



I have the honor to present you with the following account of 

 an attempt made by me to reach the snow-capped peaks of Ruan- 

 zori : — 



Early on the morning of the 6th of June, accompanied by some 

 forty Zanzibaris, we made a start from the expedition's camp at 

 the foothills of the range, crossed the stream close to camp, and 

 commenced the ascent of the mountain. 



With me I had two aneroids, which together we had previously 

 noted and compared with a standard aneroid remaining in camp 

 under your immediate observation ; also a Fahrenheit thermome- 

 ter. 



For the first 900 feet above camp the climbing was fairly good, 

 and our progress was greatly aided by a native track which led up 

 to some huts on the hills. These huts we found to be of the or- 

 dinary circular type so common on the plains, but with the differ- 

 ence that bamboo was largely used in their interior construction. 

 Here we found the food of the natives to be maize, bananas, and 

 colocasia roots. On moving away from these huts, we soon left 

 behind us the long rank grass, and entered a patch of low scrubby 

 bush, intermixed with bracken and thorns, making the journey 

 more difficult. 



At 8.30 A.M. we came upon some more huts of the same type, 

 and found that the natives had decamped from them some days 

 previously. Here the barometer read 23".58 and 22".S5 ; the 

 thermometer, 75° F. On all sides of us we could see Draccenas, 

 and here and there an occasional tree-fern and Mwab palm ; and 

 tangled in all shapes, on either side of the track, were masses of 

 long bracken. The natives now appeared at different hill-tops and 

 points near by, and did their best to frighten us back down the 

 mountain by shouting and blowing horns. We, however, kept on 

 our way up the slope, and in a short time they disappeared, and 

 give us very little further trouble. 



Of the forest plains, stretching far away below us, we could 

 see nothing, owing to the thick haze that then obscured every 

 thing. We were thus prevented from seeing the hills to the west 

 and north-west. 



At 10.30 A.M., after some sharp climbing, we reached the last 

 settlement of the natives, which consisted of beans and colocasias, 

 but no bananas. Here the barometer read 22".36 ; thermometer, 

 84° F. Beyond this settlement was a rough track leading up the 

 spur to the forest. This we followed ; but in many places, to get 

 along at all, we had to crawl on our hands and knees, so steep 

 were the slopes. 



At 1 1 A. if. we reached this forest, and found it to be one of 

 bamboos, at first open, and then getting denser as we ascended. 

 We now noticed a complete and sudden change in the air from 

 that we had just passed through. It became much cooler and 

 more pure and refreshing, and all went along at a faster rate and 

 with lighter hearts. Now that the Zanzibaris had come so far, 

 they all appeared anxious to ascend as high as possible, and began 

 to chaff each other as to who should bring down the biggest load 

 of the " white stuff " on the top of the mountain. 



At 12.40 P.M. we emerged from the bamboos, and sat down on a 

 grassy spot to eat our lunch: barometers, 2i".io and 27^=^"; 

 thermometer, 70*^ F. Ahead of us, and rising in one even slope, 

 stood a peak, in altitude 1,200 feet higher than we were. This we 

 now started to climb, and, after going up it a short distance, came 

 upon the tree heaths. Some of these bushes must have been 20 

 feet high ; and, as we had to cut our way foot by foot through 

 them, our progress was necessarily slow, and very fatiguing to 

 those ahead. 



At 3.15 we halted among the heaths for a few moments to re- 

 gain our breath. Here and there were patches of inferior bam- 

 boos, almost every stem having holes in it, made by some boring 

 insect, and quite destroying its usefulness. Under foot was a 

 thick spongy carpet of wet moss, and the heaths on all sides of us 

 we noticed were covered with Old Man's Beard. We found great 

 numbers of blue violets and lichens, and from this spot I brought 

 away some specimens of plants for the Pacha to classify. A gen- 

 eral feeling of cold dampness prevailed. In spite of our exertions 

 in climbing, we all felt the cold mist very much. It is this contin- 

 ual mist clinging to the hill-tops that no doubt causes all the vege- 

 tation to be so heavily charged with moisture, and makes the 

 ground under foot so wet and sloppy. 



Shortly after 4 P.M. we halted among some high heaths for 

 camp. Breaking down the largest bushes, we made rough shelters 

 for ourselves, collected what firewood we co.uld pick up, and in 

 other ways made ready for the night. Firewood, however, was 

 scarce, owing to the wood being so wet that it would not burn. 

 In consequence of this, the lightly clad Zanzibaris felt the cold very 

 much, though the altitude was only about 8,500 feet. On turning 

 in, the thermometer registered 60° F. From camp I got a view of 

 the peaks ahead, and it was now that I began to fear we should 

 not be able to reach the snow. Ahead of us, lying directly in our 

 path, were three enormous ravines. At the bottoms of at least 

 two of these there was dense bush. Over these we should have to 

 travel, and cut our way through the bush. It then would resolve 

 itself into a question of time as to whether we could reach the 

 summit or not. I determined to go on in the morning, and see 

 exactly what difficulties lay before us, and, if these could be 

 surmounted in a reasonable time, to go on as far as we possibly 

 could. 



On the morning of the 7th, selecting some of the best men, and 

 sending the others down the mountain, we started off again up- 

 wards, the climbing being similar to that we experienced yesterday 

 afternoon. The night had been bitterly cold, and some of the men 

 complained of fever ; but all were in good spirits, and quite ready 

 to go on. About 10 A.M. we were stopped by the first of the 

 ravines mentioned above. On looking at this, I saw that it would 

 take a long time to cross, and there were ahead of it still two 

 others. We now got our first glimpse of a snow-peak, distant 

 about two and a half miles, and I judged it would take us still a 

 day and a half to reach this the nearest snow. To attempt it, 

 therefore, would only end disastrously, unprovided as we were 

 with food, and some better clothing for at least two of the men. 



