This Delighted My People, Who
Ejaculated "El Hamd El Illah!" (Thank God!) And Fell To Immediately At
Their Beef.
At sunrise on the following morning I took the compass, and accompanied
by the chief of the village, my guide Rabonga, and the woman Bacheeta, I
went to the borders of the lake to survey the country.
It was
beautifully clear, and with a powerful telescope I could distinguish two
large waterfalls that cleft the sides of the mountains on the opposite
shore. Although the outline of the mountains was distinct upon the
bright blue sky, and the dark shades upon their sides denoted deep
gorges, I could not distinguish other features than the two great falls,
which looked like threads of silver on the dark face of the mountains.
No base had been visible, even from an elevation of 1,500 feet above the
water level, on my first view of the lake, but the chain of lofty
mountains on the west appeared to rise suddenly from the water. This
appearance must have been due to the great distance, the base being
below the horizon, as dense columns of smoke were ascending apparently
from the surface of the water: this must have been produced by the
burning of prairies at the foot of the mountains. The chief assured me
that large canoes had been known to cross over from the other side, but
that it required four days and nights of hard rowing to accomplish the
voyage, and that many boats had been lost in the attempt.
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