126 A VISIT TO THE VICTORIA LAKE.

old lay gathered there; the throat of one was deeply gashed to the very spine, the head of another had been smashed by a heavy blow, and every day, nay, every hour, people pass these corpses, themselves perchance only too soon to meet a like fate.

About half-way to the lake a marsh was situated, which had probably been formed by the overflowing of the lake and by rain. It evidently was to have been bridged over, but as the round logs which had been thrown down for that purpose turned over when stepped upon, it was preferable to wade through the mud. As soon as the adjacent hills were crossed, the lake became visible for the first time; it appeared to be raised above its usual level on account of the thick layer of for which hung over it. Glimpses of it were frequently obtained between fields and gardens, but we had still more than three and a half miles to march, up hill and down dale, through banana groves, until, after wading through two brooks and climbing a steep hill, the ground suddenly sloped down, and we reached the shores of the lake after a rapid march of four hours.

Usavara, which is the name of both this place and the district surrounding it, consists, hke most villages in Uganda, of huts and zeribas surrounded by banana groves. The steep shore, which for about forty feet is absolutely bare of vegetation, enables the boats to come right up to the landing-stage, and hence Usavara is the usual starting-place for voyages on the lake. At a height of about ten feet above the level of the lake, some detached blocks of rock were lying on the shore, a conglomerate of granitic fragments, and above them a gigantic mpufu-tree (see Cameron’s “ Across Africa”) spread out its majestic crown. At a height of two feet from the ground the tree had a girth of twenty-three feet ten inches. Up toa height of eighty feet its trunk was smooth and free from branches ; odoriferous resin flowed from the bark, and nests of parasitic plants were enthroned on its branches.

An extensive view over Murchison Bay opened out here; below our feet lay the lake, rippled by a strong south-east wind; at its edge was a line of yellow coarse-grained sand about a foot in breadth, at the upper border of which dry masses of plants lay in heaps, indicating the high-water level