DOWN THE VICTORIA NILE 
147 
though slight, was perceptible. They had lain themselves down with 
their clothes on; their toilet was therefore the more easily arranged, 
and they at once entered their canoe and gave orders to start. 
As they proceeded, the river gradually narrowed to about one 
hundred and eighty yards; and when the paddles ceased working, they 
could distinctly hear the roar of water. The roar of the fall was 
extremely loud, and after hard pulling for a couple of hours, during 
which time the velocity of the stream increased, they arrived at a few 
deserted fishing huts, at a point where the river made a slight turn. 
There was here a most extraordinary show of crocodiles; they lay like 
logs of timber close together, and upon one bank they counted twenty- 
seven of large size, and every basking-place was crowded in a similar 
manner. From the time that they had fairly entered the river, it had 
been confined by somewhat precipitous heights on either side, but at 
this point they were much higher and bolder. From the roar of the 
water there was reason to believe that the fall would be in sight if they 
turned the corner of the bend of the river; and he desired the boatmen 
to row as fast as they could. They objected to this at first, wishing to 
stop at the deserted village, and contending that, as this was to be the 
limit of their journey, further progress was impossible. “However,” 
he says, “I explained that I merely wished to see the fall, and they 
rowed immediately up the stream, which was now strong against us. 
Upon rounding the corner, a magnificent sight burst suddenly upon 
us. On either side of the river were beautifully wooded cliffs rising 
abruptly to a height of about 300 feet; rocks were jutting out from the 
intensely green foliage; and rushing through a gap that cleft the rock 
exactly before us, the river, contracted from a grand stream, was pent 
up in a narrow gorge of scarcely fifty yards in width; roaring furiously 
through the rock-bound pass, it plunged in one leap of about 120 feet 
perpendicular into a dark abyss below. 
“The fall of water was snow-white, which had a superb effect as 
it contrasted with the dark cliffs that walled the river, while the grace¬ 
ful palms of the tropics and wild plantains perfected the beauty of the 
view. This was the greatest waterfall of the Nile, and in honor of the 
distinguished President of the Royal Geographical Society, I named it 
the Murchison Falls, as the most important object throughout the 
entire course of the river.” 
