1903. | HIS JOURNEY TO UGANDA. 7 
The Masindi road now made straight for a high conical hill, 
from the shoulder of which we had this part of Africa laid out 
as a map before us. To the south, the Budonga Forest; to the 
west, the north end of Lake Albert, with the valley of the White 
Nile extending northwards; and immediately below, from east to 
west, the valley of the Victoria Nile. Descending from terrace to 
terrace, we at length arrived at the village of Fajao, just below 
the Mur chison Falls, on the 22nd of August. 
This wonderful gorge has been described by Baker, Vandeleur, 
and others, and their descriptions are no exaggeration. One looks 
down on the swirling, surging water, that, leaving the base of the 
falls, sweeps round the hill on which the old fort used to stand, 
with a feeling of utter amazement at the vast numbers of leaping 
fishes, crocodiles, and hippopotami that have found their way 
into this cul-de-sac of the Nile system. 
Here I continued my work with more success than on Lake 
Albert, the commonest fishes being Alestes baremose, A. macro- 
lepidotus, Lates niloticus, Clarias lazera, Tilapia xiblir. 
The natives here use enormous wattle-traps, which they set in 
certain fixed spots, usually out of the main force of the current, 
and often catch very large fish in them. 
On August 29th I started again, as this is a most unhealthy 
place ; many of my men were on the sick-list, and food was getting 
scarce. 
Once out of the gorge of the Victoria Nile, we came into open 
rolling savannah country of grass and Borassus-palms, baobabs, 
and scrubby acacias. Then crossing several rivers with difficulty, 
we arrived at Wadelai on September Ist. 
During this stage of the journey I noticed several birds not seen 
in this part of Africa before : there was Corvinella affinis, Parus 
leucopterus, and several species of Capitonidie, all reminding me, 
as did the landscape, of the Gambia on the West Coast. Here 
also were Melittophagus bullockoides, Macrony croceus, Urolestes 
equatorialis, Telephonus and Crateropus. 
From Wadelai I sent my porters on to Nimule, about 100 miles 
distant, taking my loads and servants down the river by boat. 
After a few days’ work at Wadelai, we started down the river 
on the 8th of September. The scenery on this part of the Nile is 
very charming, the hills in many places coming right down to the 
waters edge. Here one sees the process of the er rowth of the sud 
in every stage. Beginning with the floating separate plants of 
Pistia Bae. the seeds of, first a small floating rush, then of 
the “oom soof” grass, settle on and gradually bind together this 
carpet of separate plants into a floating island of grass. So 
abundant are these floating islands that often we appeared to be 
stationary, even when moving at 5 or 6 miles an hour, for all the 
visible banks were moving too. Once, however, the mass lodges 
against the stationary papyrus, it quickly becomes overgrown by 
this, and is converted into permanent swd. 
Fishing villages are numerous on this part of the Nile. The 
