As We Pursued Our Way, We Came Close Up To A Range Of Mountains, The
Most Prominent Peak Of Which Is Called Mvai.
This is a great, bare,
rounded block of granite shooting up from the rest of the chain.
It
and several other masses of rock are of a light grey colour, with
white patches, as if of lichens; the sides and summits are generally
thinly covered with rather scraggy trees. There are several other
prominent peaks - one, for instance, still further north, called
Chirobve. Each has a name, but we could never ascertain that there
was an appellation which applied to the whole. This fact, and our
wish to commemorate the name of Dr. Kirk, induced us afterwards, when
we could not discover a particular peak mentioned to us formerly as
Molomo-ao-koku, or Cock's-bill, to call the whole chain from the west
of the Cataracts up to the north end of the Lake, "Kirk's Range."
The part we slept at opposite Mvai was named Paudio, and was
evidently a continuation of the district of one of our stations on
the Shire, at which observations for latitude were formerly taken.
Leaving Paudio, we had Kirk's Range close on our left and at least
3000 feet above us, and probably not less than 5000 feet above the
sea. Far to our right extended a long green wooded country rising
gradually up to a ridge, ornamented with several detached mountains,
which bounded the Shire Valley. In front, northwards, lay a valley
as rich and lovely as we ever saw anywhere, terminating at the
mountains, which, stretched away some thirty miles beyond our range
of vision and ended at Cape Maclear.
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