The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-23

column betraying their presence TO tho
watcher on the crag.
Our camp this night lay in tiny
patch cleared in the heart of This w;id
world. The cluster of tents nndcr
canopy OF palms, illumined hy the
watrh-flres. bright with lanterns ami
busy with the moving fignrcs Of mou
and the hum Of human ACTIVITY
seemed at hundred Yards distance
an island of society amid an ocean of
nature. 10 what strange perils-apart
altogether from the certainty of Iosiuo
your way-woud q walk Of a duartpT
OF mile in any direction expose the
Wanderer! To withdraw from The
freight was 10 be cneulfed in fhe
savage condition of prehistoric times
Advance, and the telegraph wire would
tell yon the latest quotations oe the
London markets, the figmsps of the
newest by-cection. An odd sensation,
Nozzle Through Which the Nile Leaps.
We had scarce proceeded for an houl
on our third march when jugt as il
grew daylight a low. vibrant murmur
began to be pcrceptiblc IN the air. Now
1T was lost as VIC descended into some
moist valley, now IL broke even more
strongly on the ear as We reached the
summit of some asccnt-ihe sonDd of
the Nile plunging down the Murchison
falls, and by o clock, when VIC were
~
sistent and nnceasing hum had dcvcl.
oped,
These falls are certainly the most re
markable In the whole course of the
Nile Al Foweira (halfway on fhe
Nile between Lake Chioga and tho
falls) the navieabc reaches stretching
from Lake Chioga are interrupted by
catssracts,, and the river hurries along
IN foam and rapids down q gradual but
continuous stairway. encirelcd by rocky
walls, but still n broad flood Two
miles above Faiao these walls contract
suddenly till they arc not six wards
apart, and through this strangling por.
tai, as from the nozzle of a hose. the
whole tremendous river is shot in ono
single letty down AN abyss of 160 feet.
arrived at the verge Of this descent,
the falls themselves were, indeed. i'm,
visible, concealed behind a forested
bluff, but their roaring left no doubt
Of their presence. Below me a Zipzao
path led down by long dcscents 10 tho
waters edge. and on an open meadow
a row of tents and grass houses had
already been set up.
FaJao as native town was DO more
At hardly any point in Uoanda has
the sleeping sickness made such fright
full ravages. At least 6000 persons had
perlshed IN two years. Almost the
whole population had been swept away.
Scarcely enough remained to form the
deputatlon, who, in their white robes,
could be distinguished at the entrance
to the cleared area of the camping
ground. And this cleared area was Of
itself of the utmost Importance. for all
around II the powers of evil were
strong The groves which fringed and
overhuug the river swarmed with
tsetse flies of newly repIcnished venom
and approved malignIty, and no man
could enter them except at risk.
After pausing for a few minutes to
watch a troop Of balloons who were
leaping about from tree TO tree, and
who seemed rs big as men, ] climbed
down the zlgzag, photographed the
deputation aud shook hands with the
chief. All was smiles apd bows and
gurglings of cultural qualification. The
district officer who had Travelled with
me explained that the chief had had
proved, and that he proposed. after we
had lunched and rested, to guide us
along TO the very edge OF the abyss,
but that the forest along the river bank
was so dangerous because Of the tset-
ses that we should in prudence wear
wells and gloves before entering it,
With all of this ] made no quarrel
Disturbing a Thousand Crocodiles.
We began our climb to the summit
Of the falls in the blazing heat of the
day. First the path led through the
deadly grove. Here, of course, the most
beautiful butterfies-some five inches
across the wings-hoated tantalizingly.
Sometimes we descended to where the
liver Tapped along the rocks and curled
n eddies under floating islands of froth.
Precautions were required against
liverse dangers. The Nile below the
Iurchison Falls swarms with croco
lilies, some OF an enormous size, and
lerds of hippopotami are found every
ifles which it was necessary TO take
or great beasts and the gloves and
ellis which were our protection against
ven more villainous small ones, we
gere painfully encumbered. Indeed, the
ellis were such nuisance and the heat
o great that I resolved to hazard the
setse and took mine off. But after half
n hour of mepacing buzzings, and
fter a Approximately of the worst
actually settled on my
boulder. brushed off by the promptness
my companion. / changed my mind
gain.
As we were thus scrambling along the
rink of the river crocodile was dis
overed basking in the sunshine on
rge rock in midstream, about $50
ards from the shore. 1t was tempt
g shot for the ruffian lay sleeping in
le sun blaze, his mouth wide open and
s fat and scaly TANKS exposed. Two OF
ree attendant white birds hoped
oout him, looking for offal, which I
I'VE been assured they sometimes pick
ON his very teeth, / fired. What the
suit of the shot may have been do
IT know, for the crocodile gave one
ap of mortal agony or surprise and
in the waters.
But then it was my turn to be aston
bed, The river at this distance from
e falls was not broader than 300
rds, and we could see the whole shore
the opposite bank quite plainly. 1t
d hitherto appeared to be a long
own line Of mud, on which the sun
ono duly. At the sound of the shot
e whole Of this bank Of the river, over
o extent of at least a quarter Of
le, sprang into hideous life. and my
mpanions and I saw hundreds and
ndreds of crocodiles, of all sorts and
es, rushing madly into the Nile,
ose waters along the line of the shore
re lashed into white foam, exactly as
a heavy wave had broken. 1t could