A SECOND ASCENT. 
269 
its hurried descent. At this altitude of nearly 13,000 
feet bees and wasps were still to be seen—their very 
presence, too, seemed to account for the vivid colours 
of the flora—and bright little sunbirds darted from 
bush to bush, gleaning their repast of honey. 3 
As we ascended on the further side of the stream- 
valley we came to some strange boulders or smoothed 
masses of rock. They had been eaten away under¬ 
neath into small caverns, large enough for a man to 
creep into. I went inside several, but detected 
nothing whatever resembling either past or present 
animal occupation. The last fern I saw on Kilima¬ 
njaro, 4 as I went upwards, I picked from under a 
sheltered shelf of one of these caverns. Beyond and 
about these huge slabs of rock the ground became 
pappy and boggy with water, in fact some three or 
four small springs issued from about the rocks, and 
seemed to have done their work in carving the cave- 
like hollows within. Putting down my hand to gather 
a small plant by the roots, I was surprised to find the 
water warm. At first I fancied it an illusion, and 
called to one of the men to try, when he also exclaimed 
at the unexpected warmth. Then getting out my 
thermometer I found the temperature of the trick¬ 
ling mud—for it was little else in this bog—to be 
91° Fahr. 
Mounting high above the rivulet the scenery 
became much harsher. Vegetation only grew in 
dwarfed patches as we passed the altitude of 13,000 
feet, and the ground was covered with boulders, more 
or less big, apparently lying in utter confusion, and 
3 These were of two new species : Nedarinia Johnstoni and Cinny- 
sis mediocris. Vide Chapter XVIII., “ Birds.” 
4 Aspidium acideatum. 
