In the Heart of Africa 
ii8 
new to such phenomena, we hardly observed the discomforts 
attending our march. We became aware of them before long, 
however, and the charm we had at first experienced was soon 
dispelled. The stalks are overgrown with long lanceolate 
leaves almost from the roots, which thicken up so much 
towards the top that the sun’s rays can scarcely penetrate 
them. The ground remains so moist and slippery, in con¬ 
sequence, that travelling is rendered exceedingly arduous. In 
fact, after heavy rain, it is hardly possible to clamber up 
and down the steep slopes, the soil is so soaked and slippery. 
The safest way of reaching the valley is to set about it 
in the same way as the ski-runner does when rushing down 
to the bottom of a slope. Supported at the back by a long 
alpenstock, which may be cut from any neighbouring bamboo 
bush, and with feet placed parallel to each other, you travel 
down the mountain side, on what is at best a cattle-track, with 
horrible celerity. Herds of long-horned Watussi cattle, with 
their drovers, are constantly encountered in the forests, for the 
young bamboo shoots form the main nourishment of the beasts. 
They are either driven along daily from the neighbouring village, 
to graze there, or they remain for months at a time in the depths 
of the forest, in kraals specially constructed for the purpose. 
After leaving the bamboo zone, on the 8th of September, 
we met with a charming travelling companion in the person of 
Rudolf Grauer, the Austrian explorer, with whom we were 
destined to pass through many a joyful and sorrowful hour. 
His name is familiar in connection with the earliest discovery 
of the Ruwenzori chain of mountains. He had arrived at Bukoba 
a few weeks before us with the intention of reaching Lake Kiwu 
by a different route from the one we were intending to take. His 
valuable collections, which were limited at first to ornithological 
material, extended later to the mammals. In fact, he was 
successful in securing twelve gorillas, which had been captured 
by the natives in the marginal mountains of Lake Tanganjika. 
As Grauer was also contemplating pitching camp, we marched 
on a little further over the jagged, difficult lava which covered 
