300 
NOTE ON THE FORMER LEVEL 
From inquiries made, the same remark appears to be true 
of those which I have been unable to visit. 
In absence of expert investigation I formed the following 
conclusions : 
These caves have, at any rate, been mainly formed by the 
labour of man, and, though resulting from an industry some- 
what alien to the Lumbwa character, do not represent such a 
heavy task as might be imagined. For instance, Kibipiten, 
say fifty years ago, was only 25 yards long, now it is reported 
to take two and a half hours to search the end, though I was 
unable to verify this fact. I should say, however, that this 
represents a mile at the outside — this therefore means a 
progress of about 35 yards a year, but personally I should not 
think it likely that this cave is a mile long, since the task of 
removing a basket filled with rock this distance would occupy 
nearly a day. 
While crawling about in caves like these without any 
means of measurement one naturally forms totally erroneous 
ideas of distance — apart from the usual exaggeration of native 
reports. 
Again, the fact that these caves appear to be universally 
suffering from their roofs falling in, in the absence of any 
marked disturbance, hardly seems to point to their being of 
any great antiquity. 
It was most unfortunate that these phenomena coincided 
with the investigation. 
NOTE ON THE FORMER LEVEL OF THE 
VICTORIA NYANZA 
By Felix Oswald, D.Sc., F.G.S. 
In compliance with the Editor’s request, I am appending 
to his article the results of my observations indicating a higher 
level of the Victoria Nyanza within a recent geological period, 
together with their effect upon the question of the origin of 
the caves on Mount Elgon. 
