Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/169

 tast ■lopplng-place," Mr. Jolin^toii sutd, "and round- iog an un>usp«c[«d and deep mvinc, I arrived close to the base of a small peak, which had been a con- Uniul and useful point to aim at during Uie whole journey from iny Btalion. I was now on Ihe cenlral connecling ridge of Kilimanjaro, and could see a little on both itdes, though the misty Blate of llie atteosphere prevented my gelling any gootl view ot the countrj. This ridge, which from betiiw looka so timple and straight, is la reality dotted u-ith s«Teral small monticules, and cut up into many minor ridg«s, the general direction of which is, on the sonthem side, from nortb-east to south-west. , To the eastward I could see the greater part o( ^JElraawenzi rising gramll; with its JAgged penks and K«BU>olh glissades ot golden sand. Westward 1 still of the chain still remained obstinately hidden, and I vas at a loss as to how best to approuch bis awful crown of snow. At length, and it was an sudden anil so fleeting that I had no time to fully (ahe in the majesty of the snowy dome of KIbd, (he clouds ■iipMled. and 1 looked on a bla/^ of snow so blind- K.fag white under the brief flicker of sunlight, that I "could Be« little detail. Since sunrise that morning I bad caught no glimpse of K'M, and now it was sud- denly presented to me with unusual and slartling nearness. But before I could get out my sketch- book, and sharpen my chalk pencil, the clouds had once more hidden every thing; indeed, had enclosed me In a kind of London fog, very depressing In cbaracCer, for the decrease in light was rather alarm- ing to one who felt himself alone and cut off at a point nearly as hi){h as the summit of Mont lilanc. However, knowing now the direction of my goal, I roM from the clammy ditones, and, clutching up my ikelch-book "with benumbed liands, began once more to Mcend vreslwards. Seeing but a few yards in front of me, choked with mist, I raaile but slow prog- ress; nevertheless. I continually mounted along a gently sloping hummocky ridge, where the spaces In between the masses of rock were filled with fine yellowish sand. There were also fragments of stone strewn about, and some of these I put into my kuap- •ack. Tbe slabs of rock were »o slippery with the driiillng mist, that I very often nearly lost my footr ing. and 1 thuught with ■ shudder what a sprained ankle would mean here. However, though reMection told me it would be belter to return in my followers, and recommence (he climb to-morrow, I still slrug- n with stupid persistency ; anil at leugtli, after ler steeper ascent than usual up the now ■noolher and sharper ridge, I suddenly encountered It lying at my very feet, and nearly plunged liead- ' ■ ) a great rift filled with snow that here a cut across the ridge and Interrupt It. The tt cleared a little In a partial manner, and I ir to my left the black rock sloping gently to i] gulf of pnow so vast and deep that its llinils e concealed by fog. Above me a line of snow I jiut dffcerulble, and altogether the prospect !■ such a gloomy one, with Its all-surrounding cur- tnof aotohre cloud, and it< uninhabited wastes ot
 * 1ooked viUnlj in tbi- plled-up clouds; for the monarch

�� ��snow and rock, that my henrt sank within me at my loneliness. Nevertheless, 1 thought, -only a little farther, and perhaps I may ascend above the clouds, and stand gazing down Into the crater of Kiliman- jaro from lis snowy rim.' So. turning momentarily northwards, I rounded the rift of snow, and once more dragged myself, now breathless and panting, and with achln° limbs, along the slippery ridge of bare rock which went ever mounting upwards. I continued this for nearly an hour, and then dropped exhausted on the ground, overcome with what I sup- pose was an ordinary attack of mountain sickness. I was miserably eold, the driving mist having wetteit me to the skin. Yet the temperature recorded bere was above freezing-point, being 35° P. 1 boiled my tbemionieter, and the agreeable warmth of the apirit-lamp put life Into my benumbed hands. .The mercury rose to 183.8°. This observation, when properly computed, and with the correction added for the temperature of the intermediate air, gives a height of ie,315 feet as the highest point I attaihed on Kilimanjaro. I thus came wltbiii a little more than 2,000 feet of the summit, which is usually esti- mated lo reacli an altitude of 18.800 feet."

He made other ascents duriug the month he was In high altitudes. The footprints and other traces of buffaloes were seen up to 14,000 feet ; but he never caugbt sight of one of the creatures, nor did he see any of the big antelope, which also wander up to the snow-Jlne. At a height of 13,000 feet he saw three elephants, and at night the shrill trumpeting of these animals could be heard round the statiou.

Ou Oct. 13 he found himself, most unwillingly, obliged to leave the elevated settlement and return lo Tareita. The relatively great cold they had expe* rieoced had reacted very unfavorably on his men's bealtli, and be feared that a longer delay might render them quite imfllted to carry burdens. He intended, however, to make his return journey entirely through a new and hitherto untraver»ed country, and this project somewhat consoled him tor leaving the summit ot Kilimanjaro still unconquered.

Their downward journey, part of the way through trackless bush and clenae dank forest, was not with- out adventure and some reward in scenery of great beauty. The average elevaliou of this country was between 8.000 and 7,000 feet, and the temperature consequently almost cool, ranging from J3° at night to 70« in the mid-day warmth. After some four hours' walking from their camp, they crossed the long ridge that marked the southern flank of Klma- wenzl, and began to deKend the eastern slope of the mountain. Soon they emerged on a kind of heath- like country, and then looked forth on a splendid view Ktretciiing from Mwika to the mountains of Bura and Ukambani (the Kiulu range), with Jipe on one hand and the river Tzavo on the other. After some enjoyable excursions from his settlement at 'I'avelta, finding that his funds would not support the expedition beyond the end of November, he made a rapid journey to the coast by way of Pare, Usambara, and the Rutu River to Pangani. At Zan- zibar, finding (here were no fresh funds to enable

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