The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-05-21

into q doze, from which at dawn he
reused me and pointed to the horizon.
where in the northwest a strange sight
was to be seen. 'Laputa, l ex-
/ claimed; and as Virapan, though he had
/ read Robinson CrusOe and the Arabian
/ Nights in his native tongue, had never
heard of Gulliver's Travels, l pro-
| ceeded to enlighten him as to the IA
nous suspended island of Swift's i'm
/ agining, and explained my explanation
/ by pointing to the now visible Kilima-
| Marc, which, with its two peaks of
Kibo and Kimawenzi, and the parent
mass of mountain, rose high above a
level line Of cloud, and thus completely
severed in appearance from the earth
beneath, resembled so strangely the
magnetic island of Laputa."
1t was not until the thirteenth day
after leaving Mombaso that the party
entered the State of Most, ruled over
by the chief Mandara, already men
toned. This little kingdom is of about
the same area as London, and is on the
lower slope of the mountain, between
three and four thousand feet above the
| sea. Splendid views are obtained from
it over the plains below, and its con-
dition is any thing but one of savagery.
The agriculture is of high order, and
the people, although nearly naked, are
both intelligent and Industrious. The
fields are well intersected by artificial
water-courses, led from the mountain
streams higher up, and "the air is mu-
steal with the murmur of trickling
rivulets and the tinkling bells of the
| f1Ocks and herds" Wherever the
ground is not in cultivation, it is COW
cred with brilliantly colored wild
| flowers of numberless known and I'M
known species; the hum of bees is sug-
| gestive of endless stores of honey; and
the flow of milk is guaranteed by the
/ innumerable herds of mild-eyed kline
cropping the rich pasture.
Finding that the feuds between the
Most people and the other mountain
/ tribes were a bar to his progress
| through Mandara's country, Mr.. John
/ ston withdrew, and negotiated treaties
| of peace and commerce with one OF
| the rival pOtentates whose territory
! extended nearer the summit. Before
] doing this, however, he had to retire
/ to a place called Taveita, through
which he had passed on his way to
! Mandara's. OF this place he says:
From the day of my first arrival up
to the time of my final departure, it
! seemed to me one of the loveliest
spots on the earth surface"
Taveita is the sort of trade center of
| the district, and is ruled over by a SEN
ate of notables, called the ''Wazee,"
/ or elders, who preserve law and order,
and arbitrate in disputes between the
resident natives and the nOmadic
traders. It's population is about six
thousand
From Taveita. Mr.. Johnston nego-
/ tiated with the chief of Maranu, a
state rather larger than Middlesex, on
| the southeastern flank of the noun
| tain. After many preliminaries and
much exchanging of presents, he was
at length admitted into the kingdom,
and had positively to crawl into it
| through the defensive stockades, which
it seems the custom in this country for
| the separate peoples to erect around
| their domains Between the kingdom
| of Maranu and the summit of Kibo,
| there lay no opposing tribe, so that,
having obtained guides, Mr.. Johnston
was, after a little delay, enabled to
continue his Journey to the snow.
The route crossed a fine river, and
| lay at first through a smiling and fer
| tile country, with signs of cultivation
and flOurishing banana-groves up
/ to an altitude of five thousand
| five hundred feet. Shortly after
| that. cultivation ceased, and a healthy
/ district was reached, with grassy
\ knobs and numerous small streams of
/ running water. The ascent was very
! gradual, and the first night was spent
in camp at six thousand five hundred
| feet. Leaving this, a dense forest was
reached at seven thousand feet; then a
district of uplands thickly covered
with moss and ferns, studded with
short gnarled trees, and teeming with
] begonias and sweet-scented Towering
shrubs, but with few signs of animal
life. At nine thousand feet, the re-
gion was clear of forests, and merely
| covered with grass; but higher up, the
| woodland began again. and water be-
came very abundant. The third camp
| was formed at ten thousand feet, and
here the party encountered a terrific
thunderstorm and rainfall. 1t was
| succeeded by a fair and serene morn
ing, leaving the two snow-peaks in
full view against a clOudless blue sky.
At this point Mr.. Johnston resided
nearly a month, actively prosecuting
his collecting and observing, and pre-
pairing for the final ascent. Then, one
day, with three followers only, he
started for great Kibo.
! EOI EOhu6 Two AllOuSduu ACtb EuGIg
vegetation is abundant; and even at
twelve thousand six hundred feet the
party struck a pretty little stream, on
the banks of which were patches of
level greensward and abundance of
gay flowers, while the spOor of buffa-
loes was also observed. Strange ses-
sile thistles, five feet in circumference,
were noticed; and an extraor-
binary lobeHa, between three and
four feet in height, with bright
blue blossoms, as also other re-
markable plants. Bees and wasps
were still to be seen at this high alti-
tude, and bright little sunbirds dart
ing about. But beyond thirteen thou
sand feet, vegetation was seen only in
dwarfed patches, and the ground be-
came covered with powders, lying in
confused masses, with occasional huge
slabs of rock, singularly marked like
tortOise-shells. At thirteen thousand
six hundred feet, the last resident bird
was noticed species of stOnechat-
although high-sOaring kites and great
billed ravens were seen even higher
up. At fourteen thousand one hundred
and seventeen feet, the Zanzibar fol-
lowers were thoroughly done up, and
began to show unmistakable signs of
fear of the DOGGY of the mountain, so
they were left to prepare a sleeping
place for the night, while Mr.. John
ston continued the ascent alone.
At fifteen thousand one hundred and
fifty feet he reached the central con-
Meeting ridge of Kilima-Njaro, and
could see part of both sides. The
Monarch" however, was yelled in
, clouds. What followed can not better
be given than in the adventurous own
|. | rrnrds. aAN lnnn-th- and IL was sn