This land is "neutral," by
which is meant that it is untenanted by human beings; and we
might now hope to bid adieu for a time to the scourging system of
taxation to which we had been subjected.
Gradually descending from the spur which separates the Lohugati
valley from the bed of the Lueru lo Urigi, or Lake of Urigi, the
track led us first through a meadow of much pleasing beauty, and
then through a passage between the "saddle-back" domes we had
seen from the heights above Lohugati, where a new geological
formation especially attracted my notice. From the green slopes
of the hills, set up at a slant, as if the central line of
pressure on the dome top had weighed on the inside plates,
protruded soft slabs of argillaceous sandstone, whose laminae
presented a beef-sandwich appearance, puce or purple alternating
with creamy-white. Quartz and other igneous rocks were also
scattered about, lying like superficial accumulations in the dips
at the foot of the hills, and red sandstone conglomerates clearly
indicated the presence of iron. The soil itself looked rich and
red, not unlike our own fine country of Devon.
On arriving in camp we pitched under some trees, and at once were
greeted by an officer sent by Rumanika to help us out of Usui.
