298 NOTES ON SALT CAVES IN LUMBWA DISTRICT 
Bagau Salt Cave . 
This cave is situated near the top of the escarpment which 
rises from the Nyando River on its left bank between Lumbwa 
and Fort Ternan stations. 
Its entrance is under a waterfall on the Sambula stream. 
It is difficult to arrive at even an approximate idea of its age, 
though the natives agree that it is not of any great antiquity. 
Its origin is attributed to game being noticed nibbling 
at the face of the rock ; probably cattle followed their example, 
until men, realising that they gained some benefit from the 
practice, began to dig the stuff and to feed their stock with it. 
Till some four years ago, the cave was free from rocks 
falling ; now, owing to the number of fatal accidents which 
have occurred, digging is confined to the entrance only. 
The accompanying diagram will probably give a clearer 
idea of the formation of the cave than a description. 
The tree near the entrance should be noticed — it is evidently 
of no great age yet, as evidently since it was of mature growth 
the action of the waterfall has removed all the soil from its 
base which was above the level of the roof of the entrance to 
the cave. 
The height of the entrance is only 4 feet, but rises to over 
8 feet almost at once, and a cave of very irregular shape, of 
an average width of about 40 feet, is disclosed. This continues 
for 150 yards, when the floor suddenly rises, and the cave 
bifurcates into two branches. 
About 50 yards further along each of these branches the 
passage was stopped by huge slabs of rocks which had fallen 
down from above. 
A considerable fall of rock had occurred the night before 
I entered, and many more slabs appeared to be on the verge 
of falling, and as a space of only some 18 inches was left, further 
progress was impossible. 
The nature of the walls varies — at the entrance the rock 
strata are not well defined, and fine-grained white and red ash, 
called Ngelel and Ngebirir by the Lumbwa, is found in patches. 
Further on, however, the strata become uniform — there 
are thin bands of black basalt lying in horizontal lines with 
Ngebirir between each strata at distances of about a foot. 
