Page:The journal of the Royal Geographic Society of London. Volume 34, 1864. (IA s572id13663720).pdf/205

Rh full 2000 feet above us, though we both remarked several spots at which the snow lay at a far lower level. The easternmost peak showed very little snow, which was to be accounted for by its very precipitous sides, thus preventing the snow from clinging to the surface. The prospect was not very encouraging, except where, here and there, the strong breeze drove the clouds asunder; in other parts they collected in confused masses, and prevented us from getting a single glimpse over the Saddle, to the northwards, I now determined to retreat, and, amid deluges of rain, succeeded at 5·30 in reaching our late encampment. Up to midnight the bad weather continued, the wind blowing icy cold, though the thermometer never fell below 32·9° (Fahr.).

At sunrise we perceived that it had been snowing heavily, the snow lying, in fact, upon the spot we had reached the previous evening. The snow, however, at the lowest point considerably farther down, must have been of inconsiderable depth, for at 8 it had entirely disappeared under the influence of the sun. Two days more brought us back in safety to Mossi, after numerous delays caused by our losing the track.

The rock-specimens collected on the ascent are, 1, Volcanic slag; 2, Trachyte, with felspathic crystals injected; and 3, Basalt, with a few crystals of augite, and here and there a few fragments of olivine. The whole soil around consists of micaceous slate, which has been penetrated by volcanic rocks of ancient eruptions, by later molten rocks of similar nature, especially basalt, and (more rarely) trachyte, as described by Professor Rose of Berlin, after a careful inspection of the specimens I brought back. I saw no traces of fossil organic remains in the stratified rocks of this region.

My return journey led me back to Daffeta and Lake Jipé, whence I prosecuted my route over the Bura hills, and so by Endara to Mombas.

As to the various tribes of men I encountered, they seemed to me to differ greatly in speech and feature. In the limited territory visited by me, I found no fewer than eight distinct languages, having no dialectic affinities whatever. Of the various natives, the Wa-Massai and Wa-Ugono are the most powertfully-built people, but I never met with a man so tall as six feet. The Wa-Djagga, however, are the finest-looking race. A rule which prevails here that no young girl shall marry before she has completed her fifteenth year has doubtless much to do with this well-marked and distinctive superiority of physique.

I wish, here, to call attention to a very remarkable insect called the Donderobo. Through these flies I lost all my asses on my first journey. The Tsetse of South Africa, as is well-known, is dangerous only to cattle and horses; the sting of the Donderobo,