VALLEYS ON RUWENZORI. 101 



that the snow peaks were still a long way to the 

 south-west, and from what I saw there I came to 

 the conclusion that there was probably a deep de- 

 pression in the chain. I tried to find a path along 

 the valley several times, but came to the conclusion 

 that there was none except those I followed, which 

 always turned up into the bamboos after a consider- 

 able distance. 



This valley is very different to any other which 

 I saw. Its most objectionable feature is the rain. 

 The natives said that it always rained every day ; 

 but this was injudicious, for during a fortnight's 

 stay I had two moderately fine days (this was the 

 dry season). In consequence probably of this, there 

 is extremely little cultivation in the valley, and 

 hence no paths. 



It is also in consequence of this that the whole 

 valley is covered with an extremely dense virgin 

 forest of a type much more like those in the Congo 

 basin than any others on the eastern side of Africa. 

 I have been extremely interested to find that many 

 of the forms I gathered there are species that occur 

 all down the Congo river and along the West Coast 

 of Africa, from Banana Point to Sierra Leone and 

 Senegal. 



There is a most exquisite waterfall just above 

 my camp (see Fig. 32, chap. xii.). A turbulent 

 mountain stream, the Wimi, springs down a 

 precipice of black schist. The photograph I 

 took does not, however, at all represent the ex- 



