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CHAPTER     VIII 

THROUGH  THE  SEMLIKI  VALLEY  TO  THE  KILO  GOLDFIELDS 

ON  the  first  day's  march  in  the  New  Year,  we  were  wandering 
through  acacia  forests  and  finding  many  fresh  elephant  tracks. 
We  traversed  steep,  romantic,  rocky  regions  up  to  Karimi  on  the 
Semliki,  where  we  crossed.  At  this  point  we  passed  the  equator 
for  the  sixth  time  on  our  travels,  for,  apart  from  our  journey 
across  the  Indian  Ocean,  we  were  given  the  further  opportunities 
of  passing  it  on  Lake  Victoria,  and  again  when  near  Kasindi. 

On  the  day  following  we  set  up  camp  at  the  mission  station 
of  St.  Gustave,  where  we  were  most  hospitably  received  by 
Father  Superior  Farinelli.  This  mission,  which  had  only  been 
established  about  a  year,  had  been  levelled  to  the  ground  by  a 
hurricane,  and  they  had  recently  been  celebrating  its  restoration. 
The  houses  and  the  chapel,  constructed  of  matete,  gave  a  very 
trim  and  pleasing  impression.  This  was  still  further  enhanced 
by  the  kindly  demeanour  of  the  mission  brethren,  who  are 
specially  esteemed  by  the  Congolese  on  account  of  their  avoidance 
of  political  affairs. 

At  our  next  camp,  Sambia,  after  a  hot,  tedious  march  over 
somewhat  flat  country,  we  were  agreeably  surprised  to  meet 
Creydt,  the  Austrian  cavalry  captain,  who,  on  hunting  bent, 
had  marched  thither  over  Fort  Portal.  On  the  I3th  of  January 
we  caught  a  glimpse  in  the  distance  of  the  spruce-looking  houses 
of  Beni,  resting  on  the  plateau  of  a  hill  of  large  circumference. 
Before  reaching  it,  however,  we  had  to  pass  in  intense  heat  over 
many  deep  gullies  which  intersected  a  broad  grass  steppe.  The 
latter  presented  a  somewhat  novel  botanical  aspect,  as  it  was 
almost  exclusively  grown  over  with  borassus  palms.  Many  old 

195 


196  In    the   Heart   of  Africa 

and  fresh  buffalo  and  elephant  paths  gave  evidence  of  an 
abundance  of  game. 

We  were  received  at  Beni  by  Derche,  the  chief  commandant 
of  the  district,  at  the  head  of  his  forces,  and  accompanied  by 
the  officers  of  his  staff,  who  had  kindly  protracted  their  visit 
of  inspection  until  our  arrival. 

Next  to  the  German  station,  Kissenji,  on  Lake  Kiwu,  Beni 
is  doubtless  the  most  attractive  of  the  inland  stations  which  we 
visited.  The  choice  of  its  position  alone  gives  evidence  of  fore- 
thought and  taste.  The  gently  sloping  hill  rising  from  the  level 
plain  of  the  Central  African  rift-valley,  on  which  Beni  is  erected, 
is  brushed  on  its  western  edge  by  the  Great  African  forest,  which 
extends  to  Ubangi,  whilst  the  south-eastern  slope  falls  away 
steeply  to  the  Semliki,  which  winds  and  bends  around  the  foot 
of  the  station,  its  average  breadth  being  about  100  metres. 
Pretty,  white-washed  houses  present  a  friendly  aspect,  an  im- 
pression which  is  increased  by  a  broad,  open  space  on  which 
waves  the  blue  flag  with  the  yellow  star.  The  houses  are  con- 
nected by  trim  paths,  bordered  with  banana  trees. 

The  Belgian  settlement  in  the  Beni  district  is  of  quite  recent 
date,  and  therefore  capable  of  considerable  development.  Re- 
bellion amongst  the  natives  is  chiefly  answerable  for  the  delayed 
opening  up  of  this  fertile  district.  The  fear  of  punishment  for 
past  misdeeds  drove  the  natives  into  the  mountains  every  time 
the  Belgians  appeared,  and  frustrated  all  pacific  and  conciliatory 
approaches.  It  was  not  until  the  year  1907  that  some  of  the 
tribes  could  be  induced  to  return  to  their  villages  and  homes, 
where  they  were  treated  with  all  kindness  and  assured  of  the 
groundlessness  of  their  fears.  Their  example  brought  others 
back,  and  whilst  we  were  there  we  saw  banana  plantations 
flourishing  again,  and  agriculture  generally  in  a  thriving  con- 
dition. At  the  back  of  the  mountain  ranges  there  are  still  many 
chieftains,  however,  who  refuse  allegiance  to  all  Europeans,  and 
are  looked  upon,  with  reason,  as  dangerous.  Even  though  these 
rebels  may  not  openly  attack,  yet  by  their  attitude  they  greatly 
impede  the  proper  cultivation  of  the  land.  Apart  from  their 


BENI 


FERRY    AT    BENI 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        197 

endeavours  to  incite  a  peaceful  people  to  disobedience,  they  de- 
prive the  country  of  a  considerable  number  of  carriers  and 
labourers. 

A  broad  caravan  road  connects  Beni  with  the  Mawambi 
station,  on  the  Aruwimi,  and  opens  into  the  Irumu-Stanleyville 
highway  (on  the  Congo).  This  direct  communication  with  the 
greatest  waterway  of  Central  Africa  lends  considerable  import- 
ance to  the  settlements.  The  commercial  traffic  is  extremely 
limited  here,  as  is  the  case  all  over  the  Congo  State,  on  account 
of  the  difficult  conditions  prevailing.  Naturally,  many  traders, 
mainly  Indians,  take  advantage  of  the  neighbouring  forest,  with 
its  immense  tracts  and  inadequate  control,  for  smuggling 
purposes. 

Beni  is  strongly  garrisoned.  During  our  visit  the  soldiers 
were  most  zealously  drilled.  At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  the 
signal  for  parade  resounded  in  the  quiet  air.  Not  only  did  the 
company  itself  respond  to  the  call  for  daily  duty,  but  also  all 
the  male  and  female  hands  on  the  station,  about  two  hundred  in 
number.  Whilst  the  troops  started  their  duties,  the  Chef  de  -paste 
allotted  to  the  labourers  their  daily  tasks.  Strict  discipline  was 
exercised  at  the  muster.  The  presence  of  every  individual  was 
carefully  checked  when  his  name  was  called.  Absence  without 
excuse  was  punished,  but  this  occurred  very  seldom.  At  eight 
o'clock  the  soldiers  rested,  whilst  the  Europeans  assembled  for 
breakfast.  This  meal  was  suited  to  African  conditions,  and 
consisted  of  coffee  or  tea,  bread  and  butter,  cold  meat,  fruit 
and  cheese. 

After  breakfast  was  over,  the  military  exercises,  which  I  often 
attended,  were  continued  till  about  1 1  o'clock,  when  there  was  a 
noon-time  interval.  At  I  o'clock  dinner  was  announced  by  two 
calls,  and  an  hour  later  the  signal  for  the  afternoon  muster  was 
sounded,  when  the  troops  and  the  whole  of  the  workers  resumed 
duty.  The  afternoon's  work  finished  at  4  o'clock.  Very  often 
there  was  a  third  muster  in  the  evening,  at  which  the  people 
turned  up  in  any  rig  they  fancied,  but  generally  with  the  charac- 
teristic Congo  straw  hat  on  their  heads.  Clothes,  shoes,  etc., 


I98  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

were  inspected,  and  wages  and  stores  distributed.  Before  the 
signal  for  supper  at  7  o'clock,  the  Europeans  were  in  the  habit 
of  meeting  in  the  house  belonging  to  the  Chef  de  paste  to  take 
a  free  and  easy  glass  together.  The  evening  often  concluded 
with  an  excellent  gramophone  concert,  which  usually  took  place 
in  glorious  moonlight  on  the  open  square  in  front  of  the  houses. 
The  homely  sound  awakened  many  memories  of  the  past,  and 
caused  our  thoughts  to  wander  away  to  those  who  were  enjoying 
the  conventional  "  pleasures  "  and  festivities  of  the  winter  season 
in  more  or  less  stimulating  society.  How  little  I  envied  them! 
How  much  happier  I  was  with  the  task  I  had  imposed  on  myself! 
How  rejoiced  I  felt  at  the  thought  of  effecting  something  really 
definite,  in  filling  in  gaps  of  science,  by  opening  up  new  fields, 
and  by  the  investigations  of  my  fellow-workers!  I  felt  I  was 
away  from  the  vacuity  of  everyday  life. 

Towering  aloft  to  the  east  of  Beni  are  the  prodigious  masses 
of  the  Ruwenzori  chain  of  mountains.  A  view  of  the  mighty 
glacier  which  covers  the  summit  is,  however,  rarely  enjoyed.  I 
had  only  one  opportunity  to  gaze  at  it.  It  occurred  at  daybreak, 
and  as  the  sun  rose  above  the  horizon  the  glacial  ice  caught  up 
its  rays  and  broke  them  into  a  gorgeous  and  scintillating  display 
of  colour.  As  though  Nature  were  ashamed,  however,  of  this 
puckish  play  of  its  favourite,  she  softly  drew  down  a  covering 
veil  again,  making  it  even  denser,  until  the  contour  of  the  moun- 
tains was  mysteriously  obscured  from  the  gaze  of  the  beholder. 
We  owed  it  to  the  increasing  downpours  of  rain  that  we  occasion- 
ally caught  glimpses  of  the  mountain.  Torrential  showers  had 
been  the  order  of  the  day  for  the  past  week. 

As  we  sat  at  breakfast  on  the  I7th  of  January,  a  hailstorm 
suddenly  swept  down  with  devastating  force,  upsetting  the  tents, 
bending  the  young  trees  almost  to  the  ground,  shaving  the 
tops  of  the  papaia*  hurling  boughs  and  branches  to  the  earth 

*  The  papaia,  or  Melon  tree,  bears  greenish,  round-shaped  fruit,  about  as  large 
as  a  coco-nut,  the  palatable  yellow  inside  of  which  is  scooped  out  with  a  spoon  and 
counts  as  a  particular  delicacy. 


IN    THE    BENI    FOREST 


FOREST    DWARFS'    CAMP 


WAMBUTTI     PYGMIES 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        199 

and  breaking  a  large  number  of  banana  trees.  These  phenomenal 
displays  of  the  African  elements  usually  endure  but  for  a  short 
time,  and  in  this  instance  within  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  sun 
was  laughing  at  the  ravages  of  the  storm. 

Next  day  the  entire  expedition,  accompanied  by  Veriter, 
started  off  on  a  fourteen  days'  excursion  towards  the  eastern 
margin  of  the  great  forest.  After  a  short  march  on  the  first  day, 
we  pitched  a  camp  deep  in  the  forest,  close  to  the  dwelling  of 
the  chief,  Muera,  who  was,  however,  away.  Breathless  with 
expectation,  we  penetrated  the  mysterious,  shadowy  depths  of 
this  endless  labyrinth  of  virgin  forest.  Our  imagination  was 
strongly  stirred  by  the  accounts  of  notable  men,  such  as  Stanley, 
Wissmann,  and  others,  who  had  thrillingly  described  the  delights 
— and  terrors — of  their  journeyings  through  the  leafy  jungle. 
Since  their  time,  however,  the  journey  through  the  forest  has 
doubtless  been  lessened  of  its  terrors,  but  for  the  first  few  days 
of  our  stay  there  the  full  charm  of  its  fascination  was  exercised 
upon  us.  All  poetic  fancies,  however,  were  soon  dispelled  by 
the  constantly  increasing  appeals  to  our  scientific  interest. 

The  farther  we  penetrated  its  depths  the  greater  grew  the 
rapture  of  our  botanist,  for  he  discovered  flora  which  differed 
essentially  from  any  that  we  had  hitherto  encountered  in  the 
forests.  We  also  constantly  came  across  zoological  novelties, 
more  particularly  smaller  kinds  of  birds  and  lower  forms  of 
animal  life.  Nevertheless,  Schubotz,  strange  to  say,  found 
species,  particularly  among  the  birds  and  the  lepidoptera,  which, 
in  spite  of  their  pronounced  western  character,  he  had  already 
observed  in  the  eastern  forests  and  on  the  island  of  Kwidschwi, 
on  Lake  Kiwu.  Great  keenness  in  collecting  was  soon  shown, 
which  was  evinced  by  the  valuable  spoils  brought  in  from  all 
directions. 

On  the  third  day  of  our  halt,  Muera  himself  appeared.  It 
was  a  matter  of  importance  to  us  to  get  into  contact  with  the 
Wambutti — the  true  pygmies — whose  distributional  area  starts 
in  this  region.  As  the  tribe  which  dwelt  in  the  vicinity  was 
under  Muera's  authority,  we  were  dependent  upon  him  for  help. 


200  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

He  declared  himself  prepared  to  put  us  into  touch  with  them, 
and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  five  of  the  tribe  made  their  appearance 
on  the  following  morning.  As  it  was  our  first  meeting  with  this 
exceedingly  singular  race,  and  their  first  meeting  with  white  men, 
we  regarded  each  other  with  undivided  interest. 

I  have  already  described  the  general  characteristics  of  the 
pygmies,  their  dimensions,  appearance,  etc.,  when  discussing 
the  Batwa  of  the  Bugoie  forest,  but  will  now  supplement  the 
information.  One  of  their  most  striking  features  is  their  ex- 
tremely fair  skin,  and,  apart  from  their  diminutiveness,  makes 
them  stand  out  conspicuously  from  the  Bugoie  Batwa.  The 
pygmies  are  compact  and  strong  in  build ;  are  very  muscular ; 
have  round  heads  and  short,  curly  hair.  Big,  intelligent  eyes 
gaze  out  from  good-humoured  faces,  in  which  the  broad  nose- 
base  is  typical.  Their  clothing  consists  of  an  apron  of  grey, 
woolly  beaten  bark,  which  is  obtained  from  the  supa  tree,  and 
fastened  round  the  loins  with  a  belt  of  grass  cord.  Sometimes 
we  saw  belts  made  from  the  hide  of  the  okapi  (a  giraffe-like 
ruminant). 

The  weapons  of  the  Wambutti  consist  of  a  bow  and  arrow 
and  a  short  spear.  According  to  their  uses,  whether  for  war  or 
for  hunting  purposes,  they  are  made  of  iron  and  wood  respec- 
tively. The  men  forge  or  carve  them  themselves,  and  the  arrows 
are  all  tipped  with  vegetable  poison.  From  researches  made  by 
Dr.  Max  Krause,  of  the  Berlin  Hydro-Therapeutic  Institute,  it 
appears  that  the  poison  in  these  arrows  is  derived  from  a  species 
of  strophanthus,  most  probably  his-pidus  or  kombe,  not  gratus. 
After  removing  the  poisonous  coating  for  the  purpose  of  investi- 
gation, it  was  found  that  the  arrow  was  notched  about  three 
centimetres  from  the  point,  so  as  to  favour  its  breaking  off  in 
the  wound.  The  poison  works  rapidly,  and  is  fatal  in  its  effect 
unless  the  arrow  point  is  withdrawn  very  quickly  and  the  wound 
sucked  dry.  Big  game  always  succumb  to  its  effects ;  death 
follows  more  or  less  swiftly,  according  to  the  particular  position 
of  the  wound. 

The  women  are  most  forbidding  in  their  ugliness,   and  re- 


HEAD    OF 
PYGMY 
ARROW 


A    PYGMY    OF    THE 
CONGO 


PYGMY  SPEARS 
(WITH  POISONED  POINTS) 


A    PYGMY    WOMAN    OF    THH    CONGO 
FOREST 


WAMBUTTI     WOMKN    AT    SAI.AMBONGO 


Through  the   Semliki  Valley        201 

semble  the  men  as  regards  stature  and  complexion.  Occasionally 
they  wear  thin  copper  rings  drawn  through  their  lips,  and  cowrie- 
shell  pendants  as  ornaments.  Their  apparel  is  yet  more  primitive 
than  that  of  their  lords  and  masters,  their  apron  often  dwindling 
down  to  a  barely  perceptible  triangle. 

The  children,  who  are  quite  naked,  are  carried  on  their 
mothers'  hips,  supported  at  times  by  a  very  thin  cord  running 
down  from  their  mothers'  shoulders,  which  occasionally  cuts 
deeply  into  the  infants'  bodies  and  causes  many  a  poor  little 
creature  to  wail  miserably. 

The  Wambutti  have  no  fixed  abode.  Their  place  of  residence 
changes  according  to  their  whim  or  hunting  conditions,  but  is 
never  to  be  found  outside  the  forest  boundary.  The  huts  are 
carefully  built  of  liane,  covered  over  with  foliage,  which  is 
scarcely  proof  against  beating  rain. 

Those  who  do  not  live  by  pillage,  theft  and  hunting — 
favourite  pursuits  of  the  entire  race — spend  their  existence  in  and 
about  these  huts,  occupying  themselves,  as  mentioned,  with  smith- 
craft, carving,  etc. 

At  Muera's  village  the  two  biologists  parted  from  us,  as  they 
were  anxious  to  continue  their  task  of  collecting  along  the  road, 
the  small  birds,  butterflies,  etc.,  being  more  frequently  met  with 
there  than  in  the  forest  itself.  Later  on  in  our  march  through 
the  mysterious  forest,  which  lasted  some  weeks,  we  noticed  that 
the  feathered  tribe  was  more  in  evidence  on  the  borders  of  the 
roads  and  the  clearings  than  in  the  villages.  The  observations 
and  collections  of  the  botanist,  too,  were  facilitated  by  the  clear 
survey  which  the  open  country  afforded. 

Wiese,  Veriter  and  I,  with  the  dwarfs,  pitched  a  camp  right 
in  the  interior  of  the  forest,  far  from  all  human  traffic,  and  for 
eight  days  roamed  through  the  jungles.  Without  the  dwarfs' 
escort  this  would  not  have  been  practicable,  as  the  only  possible 
means  of  communication  lay  in  the  numerous  elephant  tracks, 
which  would  quickly  have  bewildered  any  white  man. 

As  we  ascertained  by  inquiry,  we  were  already  within  the 

zone  of   the  okapi.     The  reader   is,   doubtless,   no   longer  un- 
2  A 


202  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

acquainted  with  the  name  of  this  singular  mammal.  It  is  only 
a  few  years  back  that  a  Scandinavian,  Lieutenant  Erikson,  in 
the  Belgian  service,  discovered  the  existence  of  an  antelope-like 
animal,  which  was  named  "Okapi"  by  the  forest  dwellers.  He 
was  also  fortunate  enough  to  secure  a  skin.  Through  the 
mediation  of  Sir  Harry  Johnston,  Governor  of  Uganda,  the  skin 
reached  London,  where  it  excited  great  comment  amongst  the 
savants  on  account  of  its  unique  quality  and  markings.  Soon 
after  it  was  acquired  at  a  very  high  price  for  the  Tring  museum. 

Kuhnert's  picture  is  more  instructive  than  pages  of  description. 
The  striking  markings  on  the  legs,  the  length  of  the  neck,  the 
high  withers,  and  the  colour  of  the  head  may  be  regarded  as 
the  main  characteristics  of  the  creature.  The  height  of  the 
withers  corresponds  to  that  of  a  large  ox. 

The  most  remarkable  part  of  it  is  how  a  mammal  so  con- 
spicuous in  character  could  have  remained  concealed  until  com- 
paratively recently  in  a  territory  which  has  been  under  European 
administration  for  over  twenty  years,  and  in  which  over  1,000 
white  men  live.  This  circumstance  may  well  lead  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  exploration  of  this  vast  forest  region,  which 
comprises  an  area  several  times  the  size  of  Germany,  is  by 
no  means  exhausted. 

The  bagging  of  an  okapi  by  a  European  can  only  occur  by 
accident.  A  systematic  pursuit  of  this  excessively  shy  creature 
would  be  almost  useless.  The  density  of  the  forest,  the  tread 
of  heavy  boots,  the  rustling  of  the  clothes  against  bushes,  would 
invariably  frustrate  the  attempts  of  any  European  hunter.  The 
difficulties  may  best  be  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  in  1905  Major 
Powell  Cotton,  at  Makala,  farther  westward  in  the  forest,  de- 
voted six  months  to  the  chase  of  the  okapi,  and  only  obtained 
one  animal — and  that  through  the  pygmies.  At  least  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  viewing  the  much  coveted  game  immediately  after 
it  was  killed — a  privilege  accorded  to  few. 

Our  own  hopes  of  getting  a  shot  at  an  okapi  sank  very 
rapidly  when  we  got  a  closer  glimpse  into  the  positively  un- 
fathomable tangle  of  the  forest.  We  soon  discovered  that  the 


THE    OKAPI 

'.   r,iintinK   hy    If.    Ku/i, 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        203 

sight  of  an  animal  slain  by  pygmies  would  have  to  satisfy  our 
ambitions,  and  therefore  left  no  stone  unturned  at  least  to  attain 
this  object.  Dazzling  promises  of  baksheesh  spurred  on  the 
Wambutti  to  great  zeal.  All  day  long  they  roamed  alone 
through  the  forest.  Tracks  were  found,  but  nothing  else. 

The  Wambutti  hunt  the  okapi  chiefly  in  the  rainy  season.  In 
the  morning  they  search  for  a  fresh  trail  left  in  the  night.  This 
they  follow  up  through  thick  and  thin,  through  all  kinds  of 
foliage  and  liane  creepers.  As  the  okapi  ramble  far  and  wide, 
the  chase  spins  out  for  days.  The  incredibly  keen  scent  and 
sagacity  of  these  pygmies  alone  make  it  possible  to  keep  on 
the  trail  of  this  strange  species  of  game ;  they  can  follow  almost 
imperceptible  indications  which  entirely  escape  the  eyes  of 
Europeans.  As  the  okapi  nervously  avoids  the  sun's  rays,  the 
hunters  have  to  seek  it  in  the  densest  brushwood.  They  are 
nearly  always  successful  in  creeping  noiselessly  up  to  it  within 
a  few  paces,  when  they  slay  the  animal  by  hurling  poisoned 
spears. 

The  name  by  which  this  large  antelope  is  known  varies 
according  to  the  district.  "  Okapi "  and  "  kwapi "  are  mostly 
used,  and  we  also  heard  "  alabi "  once.  It  was,  too,  very  often 
called  "kenge."  At  Mawambi,  on  the  Aruwimi,  I  showed  a 
coloured  representation  of  the  okapi  Johnstonii  to  the  Wambutti. 
They  knew  it  at  once,  and  unanimously  said  "kenge."  The 
expressions  "okapi"  and  "kwapi,"  as  well  as  "alabi,"  were 
entirely  unknown  there.  The  pygmies  at  Beni,  on  the  contrary, 
only  used  the  designation  "  okapi "  and  "  kwapi,"  and  generally 
knew  no  other. 

At  Sindano  we  were  successful  in  acquiring  a  skin,  in  good 
preservation,  with  the  skeleton  complete ;  also  another  at  Songola, 
and  three  more  at  Irumu.  These  were  the  first  brought  home 
by  any  German  expedition.  I  am  not  aware  either  of  there  being 
any  other  skull  existent  in  Germany. 

Even  to-day  we  know  but  little  of  the  habits  of  the  okapi. 
All  that  has  been  made  known  so  far  is  limited  to  tracking 
methods.  From  this  we  know  that  the  creature  finds  its  way 


204  In    the   Heart   of  Africa 

by  night  to  the  watercourses,  but  remains  concealed  in  shy 
seclusion  during  daylight.  According  to  the  experiences  of 
Europeans  familiar  with  the  Congo,  many  tracks  have  been  found 
quite  close  together,  as  though  produced  by  the  passing  of  a 
herd.  Although  we  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of  proving 
the  truth  of  this  statement,  it  certainly  seems  that  the  okapi  is 
not  so  rare  as  has  been  generally  accepted,  for,  as  already 
mentioned,  one  often  comes  across  girdles  made  from  its  hide. 
Again,  the  animal  is  familiar  to  all  the  forest  dwellers. 

The  title  "kenge"  was  often  also  applied  to  another  variety 
of  antelope,  which  equals  the  okapi  in  size.  This  is  the  great 
striped  antelope  (Booceros  spec.},  which  exists  throughout  the 
Congo  forest.  On  the  eastern  edge  of  the  forest  it  is  called 
"soli,"  and  "bongo"  in  the  Middle  and  Lower  Congo.  The 
buttocks  are  far  less  striking  than  those  of  the  okapi.  A  further 
mark  of  difference  is  that  it  bears  horns  about  50  centimetres  in 
length,  which  undoubtedly  betrays  its  kinship  with  the  bush- 
buck.  The  horns  have  the  same  peculiar  twist,  and  are  quite  of 
the  bush-buck  type.  The  skin  is  light  and  covered  on  the  back 
with  a  number  of  uniform  white  stripes,  similar  to  those  of  the 
elephant  antelope.  Fortune  favoured  us  in  this  connection,  for 
we  managed  to  obtain  a  skin  and  a  skeleton  from  the  forest 
dwellers. 

Another  pleasant  surprise  for  us  was  the  acquisition  of  a 
brown  hide,  showing  a  yellow  stripe  along  the  back  which  grows 
broader  from  withers  to  tail ;  it  comes  from  an  animal  named 
"  lotzi "  by  the  Wambuba,  and  "  dotzi "  by  the  Wambutti.  We 
were  further  able  to  enrich  our  collections  with  the  hide  of  a 
brownish-silver-grey  sort  of  antelope  called  "  sindo "  in  King- 
wana,  "  haissuku  "  in  Kinande,  and  a  light  brown  coloured  one, 
the  "  munso."  The  two  latter  belong  to  the  dwarf  type.  Both 
were  dedicated  to  a  German  museum  as  the  first  examples  of 
their  kind. 

A  three  days'  halt  in  a  former  pygmy  camp  resulted  in  a 
few  specimens  of  monkeys — after  some  real  hard  stalking — and 
Wiese  contributed  an  elephant  which,  to  judge  by  its  general 


OKAPI     SKINS 
IN    THE    CENTRE   (LEFT)    TWO    BELTS    OF    OKAPI    HIDE 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        205 

appearance  as  well  as  its  tusks,  we  took  to  be  a  dwarfed  repre- 
sentative of  its  class.  Dr.  Schubotz  and  I  unfortunately  only 
found  the  spinal  column  next  morning,  together  with  the  care- 
fully severed  head,  as  the  entire  remainder  had  already  found 
its  way  into  the  stomachs  of  the  cunning  Wambutti  and  carriers. 
The  length  from  the  spine  to  the  pelvis  was  only  112  centimetres, 
that  of  the  head  from  the  start  of  the  ivory  to  the  occiput 
66  centimetres,  with  a  height  of  43  centimetres.  The  measure- 
ments of  the  longest  tusk,  inclusive  of  the  portion  contained  in 
the  skull,  were  78  centimetres  by  23  centimetres  thickness  at  the 
egress  from  the  skull. 

All  forest  folk  differentiate  between  "  small "  and  "  big " 
elephants,  a  description  on  which  one  can  certainly  base  no  con- 
clusions as  to  age  or  race.  The  accuracy  of  the  designation  is, 
however,  clearly  confirmed  by  many  small  tracks  found  with  the 
large  ones.  Our  lack  of  time  for  the  further  elucidation  of  this 
interesting  question  was  all  the  more  regrettable. 

Hopefully  as  our  excursion  into  the  great  forest  had  com- 
menced, and  successfully  as  it  had  proceeded,  it  was  to  end 
sadly  for  us.  Even  at  Muera,  Weiss  had  complained  of  pains  in 
his  side.  As  his  condition  threatened  to  become  worse,  and  as 
he  was  incapable  of  walking,  he  had  to  be  carried  back  to  Beni. 
He  there  claimed  the  help  of  Dr.  Mortula,  who  quickly  diagnosed 
an  abscess  on  the  liver.  Weiss,  therefore,  instead  of  proceeding 
with  his  very  successful  topographical  work,  found  himself  com- 
pelled to  lie  in  bed  and  undergo  a  severe  course  of  treatment. 
A  few  days  later  I  received  a  letter  from  Captain  Creydt,  who 
had  attached  himself  to  Raven's  party,  telling  me  that  Raven 
was  lying  at  Kasindi,  after  having  been  badly  injured  by  a 
buffalo.  Raven  had  followed  a  wounded  buffalo  into  the  dense 
matete  within  five  paces,  and  had  suffered  such  a  sudden  and 
surprising  attack  on  the  beast's  part  that  it  was  impossible  to 
avoid  it.  The  enraged  animal  had  got  him  on  his  horns  and 
hurled  him  into  the  air ;  then  he  had  rushed  at  the  unconscious 
man  and  broken  several  of  his  ribs,  caused  him  various  flesh 
wounds,  and  three  tim^s  pierced  the  muscles  of  his  right  arm. 


206  In    the   Heart   of  Africa 

His  trusty  Askari  saved  him  from  his  critical  position  by  firing 
a  volley  into  the  creature  whilst  it  hung  almost  over  his  body. 
Under  the  skill  and  careful  nursing  of  Dr.  Mortula  the  two 
invalids  gradually  recovered,  but  it  was  quite  impossible  for 
them  to  participate  further  in  the  expedition.  Accompanied  by 
the  doctor,  they  started  on  their  return  to  Europe,  taking  short 
marches  to  Entebbe.  In  spite  of  his  awkward  position,  lying 
in  a  hammock,  Weiss  contrived  to  carry  out  the  survey  of  the 
road  as  far  as  Entebbe. 

We  now  returned  by  a  circuitous  route  to  Beni,  where  nearly 
all  the  Europeans  were  lying  sick.  Fever  and  other  disorders 
had  broken  out.  The  non-appearance  of  the  expected  rain  had 
a  depressing  effect,  and  made  the  temperature  rise  to  30  deg.  C. 
in  the  shade.  This  heat  enervated  the  patients  still  further. 

Rain  was  badly  required,  for  its  shortage  in  the  previous  year 
had  brought  about  a  failure  of  the  harvest  and  resulted  in  a 
famine.  The  banana  fields  yielded  no  results  and  the  potatoes 
dried  up.  At  the  finish  the  people  had  to  suck  bananas  in  order 
to  alleviate  the  cravings  of  extreme  thirst.  A  similar  condition 
of  affairs  now  menaced. 

We  only  stayed  a  few  days  at  Beni,  and  then  set  out  for 
the  western  slope  of  the  mighty  mountain  chain  of  Ruwenzori. 
On  the  way  we  passed  broad  banana  fields,  where  bird  life  was 
so  plentiful  that  we  hurriedly  pitched  camp,  so  as  to  seize  such 
a  favourable  opportunity  for  collecting.  Great  hornbills  be- 
stirred themselves  close  to  tiny  summer  birds,  weaver  birds, 
"  kasukus,"  and  grey  parrots,  whilst  innumerable  gaily-feathered 
singers  flitted  through  the  air.  Our  zeal  for  collecting  was, 
however,  soon  arrested  by  a  pelting  downpour  of  rain,  which 
converted  the  ground  almost  immediately  into  torrential  brooks 
or  morasses.  Although  the  natives  greeted  this  with  joy,  we 
ourselves  found  it  very  disagreeable,  as  the  loamy  soil  promised 
us  an  exceedingly  arduous  march  on  the  slopes  of  Ruwenzori. 
Our  fear  that  this  downpour  was  the  forerunner  of  the  February 
rainy  season  proved  correct,  and  the  conditions  of  our  march 
were  essentially  unpleasant.  In  addition  to  the  slippery  path, 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        207 

which  was  in  evidence  as  soon  as  the  ascent  commenced,  there 
was  the  matete  4  metres  in  height,  which  bent  its  stalks  in 
such  a  fashion  across  the  narrow  way  that  it  was  only  possible 
to  advance  as  if  crawling  through  a  tunnel.  Thus  the  chopping 
knives  had  in  the  first  instance  to  hack  a  way  for  the  loads 
which  followed,  a  work  which  retarded  us  so  long  that  we  only 
traversed  10  kilometres  in  five  hours.  We  went  at  it  random 
fashion,  hoping  that  the  road  taken  would  lead  us  to  some 
favourable  camping  site.  We  had  not  been  fortunate  enough  to 
secure  a  guide.  All  the  plantations  were  deserted,  the  villages 
empty. 

Finally  we  accidentally  surprised  a  man  in  a  clearing,  who, 
his  face  distorted  with  fear,  was  in  the  act  of  vanishing  into  the 
tall  grass.  Asked  the  reason  of  his  fear  and  that  of  his  fellows, 
he  affirmed  that  our  shots  of  the  previous  day  had  induced  the 
belief  in  the  people  that  the  "  whites  "  had  come  to  do  battle. 
The  timidity  of  the  population  arose  from  the  fact  that  this 
district  had  very  rarely  been  visited  by  Europeans,  as  most  of 
the  expeditions  to  the  mountains  had  started  out  from  the  east, 
with  Fort  Portal  as  their  base.  Thus  the  natives  had  had  no 
opportunity  of  convincing  themselves  of  the  peaceable  intentions 
of  their  European  visitors.  Stories  circulated  by  the  insubor- 
dinate and  so  far  unsubjugated  chiefs  of  the  mountains  had 
no  doubt  helped  to  increase  their  fears.  Won  over  by  a 
few  presents,  the  man  at  last  consented  to  act  as  our  guide, 
and  accompanied  us  some  distance  through  the  Butagu  valley. 
We  halted  at  an  altitude  of  1,500  metres.  Splendid  wine-palms, 
bearing  enormous  blossoms,  with  fronds  10  metres  in  length, 
waved  in  the  air  and  shaded  our  tents. 

The  ascent,  which  had  been  planned  for  the  next  morning, 
had  to  be  postponed,  as  the  whole  neighbourhood  was  shrouded 
in  mist,  and  streaming  rain  blotted  out  the  landscape.  I  thus 
expressed  our  mood  in  my  diary : 

"A  rainy,  hopeless-looking  day,  forbidding  an  ascent! 
Everyone  in  his  tent,  reading,  writing,  or  trying  somehow  to 
while  away  the  time.  Torrents  of  rain  pouring  down  the  moun- 


2o8  In   the    Heart   of  Africa 

tain,  furrowing  deep  channels  in  the  ground,  and  turning  the 
soil  into  ankle-deep  mud  which,  of  course,  is  carried  by  us  in 
cakes  into  our  tents.  Nothing  dries  ;  clothes  and  boots  will  need 
several  days  to  get  right  again,  and  will  even  then  have  to  be 
drawn  on  damp.  The  men  are  freezing.  Our  baggage  is  being 
damaged,  the  photographic  apparatus  especially.  Our  guns 
have  to  be  submitted  to  a  permanent  oil  bath,  so  as  not  to  rust 
entirely,  and  to  be  ready  for  use.  The  zoological  and  botanical 
collections  are  in  a  bad  way.  As  they  cannot  dry,  they  are 
easily  exposed  to  the  danger  of  rotting.  With  a  heavy  heart 
we  have  thrown  away  many  a  bird  skin,  many  a  plant  specimen 
which  have  become  worthless.  The  temperature  is  cool — 15  deg. 
C.  both  yesterday  and  to-day.  These  are  the  afflictions  of  the 
rainy  season,  which,  for  the  second  time  already,  we  are 
tasting." 

At  Muera's  village  the  two  biologists  parted  from  us,  as  they 
I  will  here  set  down  some  general  remarks  concerning  the  geology 
of  Ruwenzori,  which  are  culled  almost  verbatim  from  the  Duke 
d'Abruzzi's  book.  Our  geologist,  Kirschstein,  was  not  privileged 
to  visit  this  mountain  range.  Ruwenzori  stands,  so  to  speak,  like 
a  mighty  projecting  corner  tower  in  the  wall  of  the  eastern  border 
of  the  Central  African  rift- valley.  It  is  certain  that  Ruwen- 
zori is  not  a  volcano,  as  was  assumed  by  Stanley.  It  is  a  serrated 
range,  consisting  of  gneiss  as  well  as  micaceous  slate.  Begin- 
ning at  an  altitude  of  some  4,000  metres,  its  highest  summits 
are  mostly  formed  of  aphanite.  In  this  respect  it  differs  from 
all  other  mountains  in  Equatorial  Africa,  which  tower  up  to 
Alpine  heights.  With  the  exception  of  the  Aberdare  Chain, 
which  rises  to  a  height  of  4,270  metres,  they  are  all  volcanoes — 
Kilimandscharo  6,010,  Meru  4,730,  Kenia  5,600,  Elgon  4,230, 
the  Kiwu  volcanoes  4,500  metres,  and  the  Cameroon  mountains 
4,070  metres.  As  far  as  snowfields  and  glaciers  are  concerned, 
there  is  nothing  in  the  whole  of  Africa  which  can  compare  with 
Ruwenzori.  Six  summits  of  the  whole  group,  which  have  been 
named  by  the  Duke  d'Abruzzi  after  celebrated  Central  African 
explorers,  are  covered  with  perpetual  snow.  From  north  to  south 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        209 

they  run  as  follows:  Gessi  4,769,  Emin  4,815,  Speke  4,901, 
Stanley  5,125,  Baker  4,875,  Ludwig  of  Savoy  4,663  metres. 
The  Ruwenzori  glaciers  are  included  among  the  so-called 
equatorial  type;  that  is  to  say,  they  form  a  kind  of  ice- 
cap, at  times  of  great  dimensions,  and  more  or  less  entirely 
cover  the  summits  of  the  mountains.  From  the  caps,  branches 
stretch  out  down  below,  which  enter  the  valleys  and  only  rarely 
extend  beyond  the  lower  boundary  of  the  perpetual  snow,  which 
lies  between  4,450  and  4,500  metres.  In  consequence  of  the 
position  of  the  glaciers,  the  moraines  at  the  sides  are  quite  in- 
considerable, and  even  the  ground  moraines  do  not  appear  to 
possess  any  noteworthy  development,  at  least,  judging  by  the 
terminal  moraines,  which  never  exhibited  any  important  feature. 

Another  circumstance  worthy  of  notice  is  that  the  water  which 
spurts  out  from  the  fore  part  of  the  glacier  never  has  that  dull 
appearance  which  the  melted  snow  of  the  Alpine  glaciers  exhibits 
under  similar  conditions.  The  water  is  perfectly  clear,  which 
proves  that  the  progress  of  the  glaciers,  at  the  present  time,  at 
least,  is  quite  inconsiderable.  The  erosion  also  must  be  very 
slight,  which  will  account  for  the  absence  of  ground  moraines. 

The  tremendous  development  which  the  glaciers  of  the  Ruwen- 
zori group  underwent  during  the  glacial  period  is  a  geological 
phenomenon  of  great  importance.  We  learned  from  the  investi- 
gations of  Dr.  Roccati,  the  geologist  to  the  Duke  d'Abruzzi's 
expedition,  that  they  have  extended  down  to  1,500  metres  on 
the  eastern  side  in  the  Mobuku  valley,  whilst  now  they  are  no 
lower  than  4,200  metres! 

I  would  particularly  desire  to  emphasise  these  statements.  If 
we  really  may  accept  such  a  glacial  period  for  Equatorial  Africa, 
which  observations  on  the  Kenia  would  tend  to  prove,  many 
questions  of  a  botanical  and  animal  geographical  nature  would 
easily  be  solved.  The  almost  bewildering  conformity  which  is 
exhibited  in  the  vegetation  of  mountains  which  are  now  divided 
by  broad  steppes  or  forest  regions  of  purely  tropical  character, 
and  in  such  types  that  their  dissemination  through  birds  or  the 

air  is  not  to  be  thought  of,  would  then  be  explained. 
2  B 


2io  In   the   Heart   of  Africa 

As  we  wished  to  commence  the  march  to  the  Congo  on  the 
1st  of  April  from  Irumu,  and  had  meanwhile  to  get  through 
an  extensive  programme,  time  began  to  press.  Lieutenant  von 
Wiese  and  I,  therefore,  had  to  leave  the  further  ascent  of  the 
mountain,  as  well  as  the  biological  investigations,  to  the  botanist 
and  the  zoologist  alone,  or  the  unfavourable  climatic  conditions 
prevailing  might  have  still  further  delayed  us.  After  touching 
at  Lake  Albert,  I  was  specially  keen  on  visiting  Kilo,  the 
auriferous,  so  we  bade  good-bye  to  our  fellow-travellers  and 
settled  to  meet  again  at  Irumu  at  the  end  of  March. 

Mildbraed  reports  as  follows  on  the  advance  through  the 
valley  of  the  Butagu  : 

"On  the  morning  of  the  nth  of  February,  Schubotz  and  I 
separated  from  the  Duke  and  Lieutenant  von  Wiese,  accompanied 
by  their  best  wishes,  which  savoured  somewhat  of  sarcasm,  con- 
sidering the  atrocious  weather  of  the  past  few  days.  Things 
looked  far  from  encouraging  when  we  set  out ;  it  was  a  dismal, 
gloomy  day,  but,  at  least,  it  was  not  raining.  We  entered  the 
valley  of  the  Butagu,  possibly  the  largest  stream  on  the  western 
side  of  the  mountain,  and  which  bears  the  glacial  waters  of  the 
highest  snow  mountains  in  the  group,*  to  the  Semliki.  We 
pursued  almost  the  identical  route  that  Stuhlmann  took  in  June, 
1891.  It  leads  along  the  Butagu  valley  at  a  considerable 
elevation  above  the  brook,  which  can  only  now  and  then  be 
descried,  up  and  down  over  the  small  streams  which  pour  from 
the  sides  of  the  mountains  situated  to  the  north  of  the  main 
valley. 

"  Elephant  grass  (Pennisetum  cf.  Benthamt),  with  stalks  the 
thickness  of  a  man's  thumb,  and  four  to  five  metres  high, 
bordered  the  first  stages  of  the  narrow  path.  It  is  extremely 
unpleasant  to  march  through  matete  of  this  description,  for  the 
massive  stalks  frequently  choke  the  way  and  have  to  be  hewn 

*  The  Duke  d'Abruzzi  assumes  that  the  waters  of  the  glaciers  to  the  "  west  of  the 
Ludwig  of  Savoy,  the  Baker,  the  Stanley,  the  main  portion  of  the  Speke  glaciers  and 
of  the  Emin  "  collect  in  the  Butagu  ;  the  two  last  mountains,  however,  do  not  come 
into  consideration.  The  stream  denoted  in  the  plan  of  the  Ruwenzori  chain  by  a 
dotted  line  does  not  flow  into  the  Butagu. 


SCENE     AT    THE     BASE     OF    THE     RUWENZORI     MOUNTAINS 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        211 

away  with  choppers.  Broad  leaves  with  sharp  edges  cut  into 
hands  and  face,  and  incessant  endeavours  to  protect  one's  eyes 
finally  produce  a  feeling  of  intense  nervousness.  In  addition 
to  this,  there  was  the  heavy,  moist  air  under  the  tall,  soaking 
trees.  At  times  this  grassy  wilderness  was  broken  by  immense 
fronds  of  isolated  wine-palms,  resting  on  short  stems,  or  by 
banana  fields  and  small  cultivated  plots.  Later  on  the  elephant- 
grass  was  relieved  by  plots  of  brake-fern,  as  tall  as  a  man, 
which  certainly  reminded  one  of  home,  but  were  not  pleasant  to 
negotiate.  Strips  of  woodland,  however,  which  interspersed  the 
scenery  here  and  there,  and  in  which  splendid  tree-ferns  spread 
their  mighty  yet  graceful  fronds  across  the  murmuring  waters 
afforded  a  welcome  change.  The  steep,  slippery  path  through 
these  deeply-indented  side  valleys  was  torture  at  times  for  the 
carriers,  and  we  were  often  very  much  concerned  for  our  still 
more  sensitive  collections. 

"At  last,  at  a  bend  of  the  way,  we  espied  a  small  settle- 
ment in  the  distance,  Kakalonge,  set  on  the  ridge  of  a  hill  which 
slopes  gently  from  the  higher  mountains  down  to  the  Butagu, 
which,  with  its  few  round  huts  and  cultivated  plots,  wore  a 
friendly  and  inviting  aspect. 

"  Here,  after  a  really  exhausting  day  for  the  carriers,  we 
pitched  our  camp  at  an  altitude  of  about  2,200  metres.  The 
landscape  already  exhibited  the  sublimity  of  Alpine  regions, 
although,  thus  far,  the  loftiest  splendours  were  still  concealed 
from  our  view.  Right  before  us,  across  the  rushing  Butagu  in 
the  depths  below,  we  gazed  on  the  Wawunga  mountains  rising 
aloft  like  a  gigantic  wall,  which  accompany  the  main  valley  to 
the  south.  Lower  down,  the  steep  slopes  were  still  dotted  with 
single  huts  and  small  cultivated  spots,  as  well  as  numerous  wild 
banana  trees,  whose  light  green  colour  formed  a  bright  spot ; 
farther  up  woods  covered  the  mountain  sides. 

"The  vegetation  in  the  vicinity  of  our  camp  was  in  the 
main  of  a  secondary  character,  a  mixture  of  brake-fern  and  all 
kinds  of  shrubs,  bushes  and  plants,  amongst  which  the  beautiful 
big  vernonia,  with  large  white  or  pale  lilac  corymbus,  and  the 


212  In   the   Heart   of  Africa 

tall  Lobelia  giberroa  Hetnsl.,  were  particularly  noticeable.  The 
Cynoglossum  family,  with  their  cerulean  flowers,  which  were 
vividly  reminiscent  of  forget-me-nots  (they  are  so  called  in 
Stuhlmann's  report),  were  very  prevalent,  and  also  yellow  ever- 
lastings, with  large  and  small  heads,  plants  which  are  met  with 
everywhere  in  the  lower  mountain  region.  A  little  farther  up 
there  was  bamboo,  amongst  which  the  fine  big  sapotaceous  tree  of 
the  Bugoie  forest,  the  '  mutoie '  (Sideroxylon  Adolfi  Friederici 
Engl.},  was  to  be  met  with. 

"  On  the  evening  of  this  day  we  discussed  the  question  of 
how  we  should  continue  the  advance.  The  Congolese  had  first 
promised  us  as  guide  a  white  non-commissioned  officer,  who 
had  once  escorted  a  Belgian  officer  as  far  as  the  snow ;  then 
it  was  to  have  been  a  black  sergeant,  who  had  made  the  same 
excursion,  but  they  had  left  us  beautifully  in  the  lurch.  As 
a  whole,  the  route  had  been  sketched  out  for  us,  but  as  to  the 
details  regarding  favourable  division  of  marches,  possibilities 
of  encampment  and  of  finding  water,  etc.,  we  knew  nothing. 
In  any  case,  we  wished  to  establish  a  fixed  camp,  and  as  we 
had  descried,  at  no  great  distance,  a  thick,  finely-grown  forest, 
we  decided  to  march  thither  the  next  morning  and  pitch  a  camp 
to  serve  as  a  centre  to  our  collecting  expeditions.  The  path 
first  led  into  a  deep,  cleft-like  valley,  through  which  a  spring 
of  cystal-clear,  ice-cold  water  flowed.  Then  for  a  time  we 
had  to  climb  up  again  steeply,  and  came  upon  a  clearing, 
luxuriant  with  plants  and  bushes,  passably  level,  which  appeared 
to  be  extremely  suitable  for  our  purpose. 

"  We  found  ourselves  now  on  the  lower  part  of  a  long  ridge- 
like  stretch  of  mountain,  which  led  up  to  great  heights  by  a 
fairly  regular  gradient,  and  which  Stuhlmann  had  also  climbed. 
As  it  was  still  early  in  the  day,  Schubotz  and  I,  in  order  to 
take  our  bearings,  went  up  on  the  crest  to  which  a  very  narrow 
but  tolerably  good  path  led  us.  Through  mixed  growths  of 
thickly-foliaged  timber  and  bamboo,  at  an  altitude  of  about 
3,000  metres,  we  reached  the  '  sub-alpine '  region  of  the  ericacea, 
which,  similarly  to  the  '  alpine '  formation  of  the  tree-like 


BLOOM    OF    THE    RAPHIA    (WINE    PALM) 
(DR.    M1LDBRAED) 


MOUNT    STANLEY    OF    THE    RUWENZORI    RANGE,    FROM    THE    WEST 


Through  the   Semliki  Valley        213 

senecio  and  stalk  lobelia,  nowhere  in  the  African  alps  attains 
so  prodigious  a  development  as  on  Ruwenzori. 

"  On  our  way  the  vegetation  was  formed  chiefly  of  Erica  arborea. 
The  younger  specimens  are  almost  like  juniper  shrubs ;  the  older 
are  tree-like,  four  metres  or  more  high,  with  knotted  stems  and 
very  bent  and  twisted  boughs,  which  bear  at  their  ends,  in  small, 
compact  masses,  the  tiny-leafed,  deep  blue  blooms.  The  stems 
and  boughs  are  thickly  covered  with  cushions  of  mosses  and  liver- 
wort, and  big,  flabby,  jelly-like  patches  of  tree-moss,  also  the 
l°ng>  grey  beard-moss  of  the  Usnea  family.  The  whole  effect, 
especially  when  mists  are  gathering,  gives  a  very  weird  and 
unsubstantial  impression,  as  of  a  home  of  spectral  hobgoblins 
and  mountain  gnomes.  The  ground  is  covered  with  thick  carpets 
of  swamp-moss,  numerous  hepatica,  and  an  exquisite  feathered 
moss,  the  Breutelia  Stuhlmanni.  The  masses  of  sphagnum  are  so 
wet  that  they  look  like  fully-saturated  sponges.  Among  the 
ericacea  are  the  shrubs  or  small  trees  of  Rapanea  pellucidostriata 
Gilg.,  Olinia  macrophylla  Gilg.,  and  the  striking  but  somewhat 
rare  Vaccinium  Stanleyi  Schwfh.,  an  African  bilberry,  whose 
fruit  is  very  similar  to  the  European  variety.  I  had  already 
come  across  it  on  Sabinjo  amongst  the  volcanoes.  In  addition 
to  the  splendid  bushes  of  big,  beautiful  everlasting  Helichrysum 
formosissimum,  two  orchids  are  especially  noteworthy,  Satyrium 
crassicaule,  with  pale  pink,  and  Disa  Stairsii,  with  dark  rose 
red  or  purple  blooms,  fine  plants  which  are  met  with  on  the 
volcanoes,  and  are  reminiscent  of  many  species  of  orchids  of 
our  meadows. 

"  Climbing  on  in  the  ericacece  region,  we  came  upon  an  old 
camping  place,  which  we  thought  of  naming  our  'lower  Belgian 
camp.'  We  did  not  learn  much  by  our  advance,  for  we  were 
unable  that  day  to  see  the  higher  mountains ;  we  only  discovered 
that  we  should  have  to  progress  along  the  same  ridge  over  several 
summits,  and  learnt  from  natives  that  higher  up  there  was 
supposed  to  be  another  'Belgian  camp.' 

"  Should  we  shift  our  camp  higher  up  ?  It  would  have  been 
simply  impossible  to  wind  our  way  through  the  dense  ericacecs 


214  In    the   Heart   of  Africa 

scrub  with  the  big  caravan  and  bulky,  heavy  tent  loads.  We 
should  also  have  been  compelled  to  carry  water  with  us,  as  none 
was  to  be  had  on  the  ridge,  and,  in  addition,  a  halt  of  any 
duration  at  an  elevation  of  3,000  metres  would  have  been  nearly 
torture  to  the  carriers,  who  are  peculiarly  sensitive  to  the  damp 
cold  and  mist.  We  remained,  therefore,  where  we  were,  and 
utilised  one  day  to  explore  the  near  vicinity  of  the  camp  ;  on 
the  next  we  proposed  to  push  forward  again  and  see  how  far 
we  could  get  with  two  natives  and  a  few  of  our  followers  who 
always  accompanied  us  on  smaller  excursions.  We  climbed  up 
to  a  crest  above  the  '  lower  Belgian  camp.'  Then  Schubotz 
turned  back,  as  the  weather  had  grown  very  murky.  I  now 
climbed  on  up  a  hill  lying  before  us,  which  formed  the  most 
disagreeable  part  of  the  journey.  It  was  manifestly  the  same 
spot  at  which  Stuhlmann  on  his  memorable  climb  had  left  his 
tents  and  all  heavier  loads  under  the  charge  of  the  famous  Uledi. 
Here  the  ericacece  formed  a  veritable  forest.  The  trees  attained 
an  average  height  of  6  to  7  metres,  and  frequently  30  centimetres 
in  diameter.  The  slope  of  the  hill  itself  was  pretty  steep,  but 
the  worst  was  that  everywhere  fallen  ericacea  were  lying  around. 
The  whole  place  was  overrun  with  luxuriant  flora  (balsamines 
and  mimulopsis),  and  mosses  dripping  with  moisture,  so  that 
it  was  impossible  to  see  where  I  was  going,  and  I  often  sank  up 
to  my  waist  in  some  concealed  hole  or  other.  Even  when  this 
hill  was  surmounted,  things  did  not  go  much  better.  The  big 
trees  and  the  steepness  of  the  way  ceased,  but  in  their  stead  the 
vegetation  consisted  of  ericacea  shrubs  of  juniper-like  growth 
(Philtppia  longifolia  Engl.,  n.  sp.\  which  were  very  dense,  so 
that  we  had  all  we  could  do  to  push  through  it.  The  weather 
was  so  thick  that  we  could  only  see  a  few  metres  ahead ;  the 
path,  however,  could  still  be  discerned.  Here,  too,  we  found 
the  so-called  '  upper  Belgian  camp.'  Then  we  came  to  a  small 
mountain  stream  in  a  light  depression  which  divides  the  long 
mountain  ridge  on  which  we  had  climbed  from  Mount  Ulimbi. 
The  ericacecs  shrub  ended  and  the  fine  alpine  flora  of  Ruwenzori 
commenced  with  the  two  tree-like  senecio,  5.  Johnstonii  and 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        215 

S.  adnivalis,  the  stalked  lobelia  of  the  lofty  regions,  Lobelia 
Wollastonii,  and  the  splendid  bushes  of  Helichrysum  Stuhlmaniiy 
with  silver  white  or  slightly  yellow  everlasting  heads,  whilst  the 
ground  was  covered  with  a  carpet  of  alchemilla,  dwarf  shrubs 
and  mosses.  Beautiful  Nectarina  fohnstonii,  a  colibri  genus, 
the  males  of  which  are  magnificently  coloured,  were  flying  round 
the  lobelia  stems  in  pairs.  Their  body  colour  is  almost  black, 
whilst  their  pinions  and  head  are  an  iridescent  emerald  green. 
Their  most  conspicuous  adornments,  however,  are  two  lengthened 
middle  tail  feathers,  which  flutter  streamer-like  in  flight.  It  is 
charming  to  observe  the  doings  of  these  devoted  couples  in  these 
inhospitable  heights ;  how  they  fly  in  bow-like  circuits  from  one 
plant  to  another,  or  flit  about  here  and  there  on  the  big  branches, 
digging  their  delicately  bent  beaks  into  flowers  to  obtain  insects, 
whereby  they  effect  pollenisation  at  the  same  time. 

"  That  day  everything  appeared  grey  and  obscured  through 
a  misty  veil  of  fog  and  rain ;  the  weather  had  been  growing 
steadily  worse,  and  such  severe,  damp  cold  prevailed  that  my 
hands  had  become  quite  numbed.  Except  for  a  leathern  jacket, 
which  only  kept  the  upper  portion  of  my  body  dry,  I  could  not 
have  advanced  so  far.  As  the  fog  prevented  any  view,  and  it  was 
already  two  o'clock,  I  turned  back,  although  the  guide  urged  me 
on,  addressing  me  vociferously ;  but  I  only  understood  the  words 
'chupa'  (bottle)  and  'matabisch'  (for  baksheesh).  I  learned 
later  that  he  feared  he  would  lose  his  baksheesh  if  he  did  not 
show  me  the  bottle  on  Ulimbi  which  served  as  '  visitor's  book.' 

"  Next  day  brought  glorious  weather  with  warm  sunshine,  so 
that  in  our  encampment,  about  2,400  metres  above  the  sea-level, 
we  were  able  to  work  at  our  collections  in  our  shirt  sleeves.  Our 
drooping  spirits  revived,  and  I  decided  to  make  another  attempt 
at  an  ascent  on  the  following  Sunday,  the  i6th  of  February.  As 
my  constant  follower,  Maneno,  and  another,  had  not  proved 
good  mountaineers  on  the  I4th,  and  had  been  left  wailing  and 
freezing  on  the  way  under  an  erica  bush,  I  gave  up  any  hope  of 
relying  on  my  own  people,  and  selected  three  quite  wild  natives, 
with  whom  it  was  only  possible  to  carry  on  very  imperfect  com- 


216  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

munication  by  signs  and  grunts,  and  when  it  came  to  the  worst 
I  used  the  magic  word  '  matabisch.'  I  equipped  them  with  small 
rifles  (for  the  nectarinnda),  breakfast,  and  a  case  for  the 
plants,  and  marched  out  at  six  o'clock.  I  really  had  intended 
to  start  earlier,  but  my  three  savages  had  not  turned  up.  At 
five  o'clock  I  watched  the  moon  sinking  over  the  Semliki  plain, 
and,  smoking  a  morning  cigar,  I  gazed  on  the  awakening  of  a 
new  day,  which  broke  in  wonderful  clearness.  The  sun  was  still 
below  the  horizon  and  it  would  take  another  good  hour  before 
it  would  be  able  to  peep  over  Ruwenzori  into  our  camps ;  but 
the  Wawunga  mountains  were  already  looming  up  like  blue 
silhouettes  against  the  clear  sky,  and  opposite  to  them  the 
bolder  outline  of  the  ridge  which  bounds  the  Butagu  valley  in 
the  north. 

"We  started  out  in  the  clear  light  of  the  dawn.  On  reach- 
ing the  '  lower  Belgian  camp  '  we  could  see,  away  over  the  ridges, 
the  white,  snow-capped  heads  which  had  appeared  so  gigantic  in 
the  fog  previously,  and  from  the  upper  camp  I  soon  saw  that  all 
difficulties  were  overcome  and  that  I  had  been  quite  close  to  the 
goal  on  the  cold,  misty  day  when  I  first  attempted  the  climb. 
Ulimbi  rose  gently  up  covered  with  mosses  and  grey  alchemilla, 
and  at  intervals  grew  senecio  trees,  stalk  lobelias,  helichrysum 
bushes,  and  shrubs  of  Hyfiericum  keniense,  radiant  in  the  warm 
sunshine,  although  frost  still  lay  in  shady  places.  Up  we  went, 
leisurely  ascending  almost  imperceptibly  to  the  edge  of  the 
plateau ;  and  then  a  spectacle  of  such  grandeur  confronted  us 
that  words  fail  to  picture  it.  The  cliff  fell  down  precipitously 
to  the  dark  surface  of  a  dammed  lake,  and  opposite  rose  wild, 
black  and  jagged  walls  of  rock,  between  which  the  glaciers 
glimmered  blue,  torrents  rushed  down  from  the  dazzling  snow 
lines  of  three  kingly  heads,  where  silence  reigned  supreme. 

"  We  proceeded  along  the  edge  of  Ulimbi  to  the  '  chupa,'  the 
bottle  which  serves  as  visitors'  book,  an  object  which  will  doubt- 
less not  long  be  wanting  on  any  African  alp  (on  Ninagongo 
there  must  have  been  a  good  dozen).  Unfortunately  I  had  to 
break  it,  as  it  was  impossible  to  pull  the  paper  out;  Schubotz 


Through  the  Semliki   Valley        217 

replaced  it  the  next  day  with  another.  It  proved,  as  we  already 
were  aware,  that  in  1906  a  Belgian  officer  named  Bogaerts  and 
a  non-commissioned  officer,  Joissan,  had  been  there,  and,  what 
we  did  not  know,  that  on  the  I4th  of  December,  1907,  Mr.  J.  S. 
Coates,  of  the  Anglo-Belgian  Boundary  Commission,  had  '  drunk 
to  the  health  of  his  predecessors.'  Now  I  understood  why  the 
so-called  '  Belgian  camp '  had  looked  so  fresh.  In  passing,  just 
a  hint  for  those  desiring  to  record  their  visit  in  bottle  form  at 
other  spots :  Take  a  slip  of  paper,  not  too  large,  and  roll  it  so 
that  the  writing  is  on  the  outside,  and  place  it  in  the  neck  of 
the  bottle  with  the  writing  against  the  glass,  so  that  it  can  be 
easily  read  by  all  who  may  come  after. 

"  It  was  time  to  return,  but  I  had  good  reason  to  feel  satisfied, 
for,  favoured  by  a  radiantly  sunny  day — a  great  rarity  on 
Ruwenzori — I  had  seen  everything  that  I  could  under  such  condi- 
tions. I  had  enjoyed  a  clear  view  of  the  mightiest  peak  of  the 
group,  Mount  Stanley,  and  had  at  least  obtained  some  conception 
of  the  snows  and  wildness  of  its  glaciers.  The  huge  sentinels 
crowning  the  highest  ridges  particularly  attracted  my  attention, 
with  their  colossal  icicles  hanging  down  from  jagged  rocks  and 
ice  blocks,  or  leaning  against  them  like  columns.  They  are, 
doubtless,  the  result  of  powerful  sun  effects  alternating  with 
long,  cold  nights.  Unfortunately  I  was  not  privileged  to  get 
as  far  as  the  glaciers,  as  the  deep  cleft  in  which  the  lake  lay 
was  unsurpassable  from  this  direction.  If  I  had  decided  to 
make  a  circuit,  it  would  have  necessitated  my  encamping  on 
Ulimbi,  and  our  equipment  was  not  adequate  for  that.  First 
and  foremost  we  possessed  no  so-called  '  patrol-tents '  and 
sleeping  bags,  not  to  mention  any  Alpine  tourist  kit,  ice-axes, 
ropes,  etc. 

"  It  appears  to  me  that  the  route  through  the  Butagu  valley 
is  very  well  adapted  for  attaining  the  highest  summit  of  Mount 
Stanley.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  not  necessary  to  traverse  any 
of  the  swampy  valleys  of  which  the  Duke  d'Abruzzi  complains  so 
much.  Up  to  our  fixed  camp,  direct  north-east  of  the  junction 

of  the  three  great  streams,  there  is  still  cultivated  country,  and 
2  c 


218  In   the   Heart   of  Africa 

thence  with  small  loads  and  more  carriers  one  can  get  on  to 
the  long  ridge  by  a  very  gradual  ascent,  apart  from  the  one 
awkward  place  mentioned,  and  on  up  to  Ulimbi,  although  it 
certainly  would  mean  a  very  strenuous  day.  Then  one  should 
not,  as  Stuhlmann  proposes,  descend  to  the  lake,  but  make  a 
detour  of  the  deep  breach  to  the  north,  arriving  in  due  course 
at  the  snows  of  Mount  Stanley.  The  great  advantage  of  this 
route  would  lie  particularly  in  the  fact  that,  before  the  actual 
Alpine  ascent,  there  would  be  no  climbing  and  clambering  of 
much  account,  and  that  in  clear  weather  the  way  could  be  seen 
far  ahead  and  the  whole  surroundings  overlooked.  Vivat 
sequens ! 

"  Shortly  after  two  o'clock  I  started  on  the  return  journey, 
and  was  back  in  camp  soon  after  sunset.  My  inspired  descrip- 
tion resulted  in  Schubotz  ascending  Ulimbi  on  the  next  day. 
He  was  successful,  too,  in  obtaining  a  few  photographs.  In  the 
meanwhile  I  busied  myself  with  the  collections  and  completed 
them  in  the  forest  in  the  vicinity  of  the  camp. 

"  This  forest  is  not  equal  in  beauty  to  the  Rugege,  and  it 
lacks  such  immense  tree  giants  as  the  podocarpus  and  'mutoie,' 
found  in  the  Bugoie  district.  Bamboo  stocks  of  Arundinaria 
alpina  are  interspersed  with  foliates.  The  principal  trees  are: 
Dombeya  leucoderma  K.  Schum.,  Sideroxylon  Adolfi  Friederici 
Engl.,  Olea  chrysophylla  Lam.,  and  Olea  Hochstetteri  Bak., 
Mystroxylum  aethiopicum  (Thunbg.}  Loes.,  Pygeum  africanum 
Hook.  /.,  Allophylus  abyssinicus  (Hochst.'}  Radlk.,  Alanginum 
begoniifolium  (Roxb.},  Harms.,  Pittosporum  fragrantissimum 
Engl.,  Rkamnus  prinoides  UHerit.,  Maesa  Mildbraedii  Gilg., 
Persama  spec.  The  Macaranga  kilimandscharica  and  Polyscias 
polybotrya,  so  frequent  in  the  Rugege  and  Bugoie  forests,  I  only 
found  in  the  rather  denser  forest  ranges. 

"  On  the  day  following  Schubotz's  ascent  we  marched  back 
through  the  Butagu  valley,  and  on  to  Beni.  Schubotz  had 
originally  intended  to  proceed  along  the  foot  of  Ruwenzori  like 
the  Duke  and  Wiese,  but  abandoned  the  intention  on  receiving 
a  letter  from  Wiese  informing  him  that  the  road  was  so  bad  that 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        219 

he  had  much  better  proceed  from  Beni  to  Mboga.     We  arrived 
at  Beni  again  on  the  23rd  of  February. 

"  From  there  Schubotz  left  for  Lake  Albert  whilst  I  and  our 
non-commissioned  officer,  Czeczatka,  took  the  nearest  way  to 
Irumu.  I  selected  that  route  as,  except  for  a  short  distance 
before  reaching  Irumu,  it  leads  through  the  easternmost  portion 
of  the  great  equatorial  primeval  forest,  in  the  study  of  which  I 
was  deeply  interested.  Our  march  offered  no  further  noteworthy 
episodes  as  we  made  our  way  along  the  broad  barrabarra. 
Shortly  before  reaching  Ngombe  Njama  we  emerged  from  the 
stifling  forest  and  breathed  again  as  though  freed  from  an 
oppressive  weight,  as  our  eyes  swept  once  more  across  the  free, 
beautiful,  undulating  steppe,  resplendent  in  its  garb  of  fresh 
green,  and  dotted  at  intervals  with  strips  of  woodland." 

I  may  speedily  pass  over  the  marches  that  led  us  through  the 
country  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  chain,  as  it  was  devoid  of 
charm  and  presented  nothing  of  interest.  Tall  elephant  grass, 
radiating  terrible  heat,  again  retarded  our  march.  The  chopping 
knife  had  to  cut  a  path  through  for  us  every  day.  This  painful 
method  of  progression  was,  however,  relieved  in  the  Butalinga 
district  by  innumerable  ravines  about  a  kilometre  in  width,  on 
the  bottom  of  which  extensive  banana  plantations  were  found ; 
but  climbing  through  these  was  a  severe  tax  on  the  power  of  the 
carriers. 

The  path  we  struck  was  the  old  Stanley  route.  It  seemed  to 
us  as  though  very  little  could  have  altered  since  the  time  of  the 
great  traveller.  After  a  night  march  in  full  moonlight  we 
reached  Lepenge  on  the  Semliki,  which  we  immediately  crossed. 
The  few  variations  from  the  general  monotony  at  this  time,  and 
not  particularly  enjoyable  ones  either,  were  a  wound  on  my  hand 
from  an  axe-stroke,  really  intended  for  a  liane,  which  necessi- 
tated my  going  with  my  arm  in  a  sling  for  a  week ;  the  falling 
of  Veriter  into  an  elephant  pit,  whereby  he  was  somewhat 
severely  hurt ;  and  finally  the  disappearance  of  our  two  guides, 
whom  it  had  cost  us  considerable  trouble  to  obtain.  The  terri- 


220  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

tory  to  the  west  of  Ruwenzori  is  reserved,  and  the  capture  and 
the  killing  of  elephants  forbidden.  Thus  the  discovery  of  this 
nicely-arranged  pit  was  a  disagreeable  incident  for  our  two  fine 
fellows.  Anticipating  certain  punishment,  they  thought  their 
best  course  would  be  to  take  French  leave,  and  perhaps  they 
were  right. 

After  another  two  days  we  reached  the  market-place  of 
Mboga.  This  very  lively  station  is  situated  in  disputed  territory, 
that  is  in  a  strip  of  country  divided  by  the  30  meridian,  the 
incorporation  of  which  was  not  at  that  time  definitely  settled. 
The  neutrality  and  commercial  freedom  which  ruled  in  con- 
sequence had  not  escaped  the  attention  of  the  Indians  and 
Arabians,  who  conducted  a  large  number  of  stores  there.  Every- 
thing the  heart  of  man  coveted  could  be  obtained  at  these 
"  stores,"  and  we  ourselves  did  not  let  the  opportunity  pass  by 
without  replenishing  our  stocks  of  barter  goods,  preserved  fruits, 
etc.  Our  carriers  were  jubilant,  and  fancied  themselves  in  spirit 
in  the  busy  life  of  their  native  cities  Muanza  and  Daressalam. 
These  innocent-looking  shops  also  supplied  goods  to  the  two 
Boundary  Commissions  which  had  their  quarters  near  at  hand ; 
but  in  reality  they  were  the  secret  centres  of  a  lively  smuggling 
trade  in  ivory  and  rubber  carried  on  in  the  most  public  manner. 
These  two  products  were  calmly  borne  along  the  street  with  the 
greatest  audacity.  Inquiries  as  to  their  place  of  origin  were 
answered  with  a  jerk  of  the  chin  in  the  direction  of  the  vast 
primeval  forest.  The  cunning  dealer  has  his  own  private  path, 
known  only  to  himself,  and  hidden  to  the  uninitated.  These 
paths  are  found  by  the  blazing  of  branches,  the  strewing  of 
leaves,  and  a  hundred  other  signs.  Many  thousands  of  pounds 
of  rubber  and  thousands  of  valuable  elephant  tusks  are  lost 
annually  to  the  Congo  State,  despite  the  strictest  supervision 
possible  in  the  circumstances.  Every  means  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Government  are  pressed  into  service  to  get  rid  of  the  sharks 
who  rob  the  State  of  thousands  of  pounds. 

Our  arrival  was  announced  by  letter  to  the  two  commissions. 
Shortly  afterwards  Lieutenant  Vangermais  paid  us  a  visit  and 


Through   the   Semliki  Valley        221 

invited  us  to  Kiagode,  the  Belgian  camp  about  one  and  a  half 
hours'  distant.  On  the  next  day  we  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Lieutenant  Weber  and  the  courteous  commander  of  the  com- 
mission, M.  Bastien,  who  had  been  staying  at  the  English  camp 
on  the  Semliki,  but  who  had  hurried  back  on  hearing  of  our 
arrival.  We  stayed  there  for  a  few  days  in  most  agreeable  com- 
pany, and  had  every  attention  lavished  on  us.  All  our  desires 
were  complied  with  immediately. 

The  camp,  which  was  situated  at  a  high  altitude  and 
fanned  by  refreshing  breezes,  consisted  of  roomy  matete 
dwellings,  and  was  in  the  province  of  the  young  chief  Tabaru. 
An  opportunity  of  exchanging  greetings  with  him  occurred 
on  the  day  that  we  arrived,  for  he  met  us  on  the  boundary 
of  his  territory. 

As  we  intended  to  visit  the  British  Commission  working  in 
British  territory  on  the  Semliki,  we  left  the  Congo  State  for  a 
short  period.  The  Russisi-Kiwu  zone  was  the  point  of  departure, 
and  there  we  bade  farewell  to  Veriter,  who  returned  to  Rutschuru. 
For  four  months  he  had  shared  the  pleasures  and  difficulties  of 
the  expedition,  unselfishly  furthering  our  interests,  and  endear- 
ing himself  to  us  all ;  and  his  departure  left  a  very  considerable 
gap  in  our  circle. 

We  started  early  on  the  23rd  of  February,  accompanied  by 
Commandant  Bastien,  and  arrived  in  a  few  hours  at  the  water- 
shed that  divides  the  basins  of  the  Nile  and  Congo.  My  amiable 
host  left  me  there,  and  I  rode  forward  alone  with  Wiese.  We 
soon  reached  the  edge  of  the  mountains  which  bound  the  Semliki 
plain,  and  began  to  descend  the  steep  road  to  the  river.  The 
difference  between  the  oppressive  heat  there  and  the  cool  fresh- 
ness of  Kiagode  was  most  marked. 

The  immense  plain,  which  was  very  sparsely  vegetated,  was 
alive  with  game.  Moor  antelopes  and  reed-bucks,  detached  or  in 
herds,  gazed  across  at  us.  At  noon  of  the  24th  we  espied  the 
extensive  British  encampment,  and  only  a  short  time  elapsed 
before  we  were  shaking  hands  with  Colonel  Bright  and  the  officers 
of  his  staff,  who  received  us  at  the  head  of  their  military  force. 


222  In   the    Heart   of  Africa 

Here,   likewise,   every  wish  that  we  expressed  was  courteously 
acceded  to,  and  valuable  information  of  all  kinds  imparted. 

The  sudden  change  from  the  oppressive  heat  to  a  cool  tem- 
perature had  affected  Wiese's  health.  Consequently  we  claimed 
our  hosts'  hospitality  for  a  day  longer  than  we  had  intended, 
and  then  set  out  northwards  towards  Lake  Albert,  following  the 
course  of  the  Semliki.  The  river  flows  sluggishly,  growing 
broader  and  then  narrower  again.  Hippopotamus  heads  popped 
up  here  and  there  from  the  yellow  waters,  and  on  the  sandy 
banks  dozens  of  crocodiles  sunned  themselves ;  motionless,  with 
gaping  jaws,  they  formed  a  typical  picture  of  indolence.  Iso- 
lated borassus  palms  raised  their  curled  heads  aloft,  their 
slender  stems  being  mirrored  on  the  water's  surface  as  though 
conscious  of  their  beauty.  With  their  sandy  surroundings  they 
conjured  up  pictures  and  memories  of  Egypt.  Detached  villages 
dotted  on  the  landscape  here  and  there  lent  animation  to  the 
scene,  although  they  appeared  to  be  sparsely  inhabited.  Our 
thermometer  registered  40  degrees  Celsius  when  we  pitched  our 
tents  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  bed  of  the  Ethengi. 

A  few  days  later  we  reached  the  western  marginal  mountain 
of  the  rift-valley.  On  our  right  the  plain  gradually  merged  into 
a  sea  of  reeds  stretching  on  for  an  illimitable  distance.  With 
the  aid  of  our  glasses  we  descried  in  the  distance  the  grey  backs 
of  elephants  comfortably  sunning  themselves,  although  the 
shimmering  waves  of  hot  air  rendered  clear  outlines  almost  im- 
possible. At  length  we  chanced  on  a  small  wood  that  promised 
cool,  refreshing  shade.  On  entering  its  inviting  retreat  there  was 
commotion  in  the  foliage,  and  crowds  of  monkeys,  including 
beautiful  specimens  of  the  colobus,  with  long  white-haired 
backs,  sprang  from  tree  to  tree  reviling  us. 

Our  camp  was  erected  at  Boguma,  close  to  crumbling, 
thatched  huts  which  gave  evidence  of  the  activity  of  the  British 
Boundary  Commission.  Unfortunately  the  trees  around  had  been 
stripped  of  their  leaves  by  the  elephants  to  a  height  of  many 
metres,  and  there  was  a  struggle  to  reach  those  that  held  out 
the  greatest  promise  of  shade  for  our  tents. 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        223 

I  climbed  on  to  a  small  plateau  close  to  our  camp,  and  from 
this  coign  of  vantage  my  eyes  roved  over  the  incomparable 
panorama  of  an  almost  limitless  plain.  Expanses  of  reed-grass 
alternated  with  patches  of  elephant-grass,  barren  steppes  and 
trees.  The  glistening  waters  of  the  Semliki  completed  a  fine 
picture.  In  the  far  distance  diminutive  specks  could  be  seen 
moving  slowly  hither  and  thither,  and  we  knew  them  to  be  the 
slender  bodies  of  antelopes.  The  sun  poured  down  its  fierce  rays 
on  us  with  terrible  force.  Standing  there,  lost  in  thought  and 
gazing  at  the  marvellous  prospect,  I  heard  sounds  of  lamenta- 
tion behind  me.  Turning  round  I  beheld  my  boy  executing  a 
lively  Indian  dance  and  hopping  about  from  one  foot  to  the 
other. 

"  What  are  you  doing  ? "  I  asked  laughingly. 

"  Master,  the  stones  are  so  hot  that  my  feet  are  being  burnt," 
was  the  reply. 

Putting  my  own  hand  on  the  rocks  to  test  the  assertion,  I 
was  compelled  to  withdraw  it  immediately  for  pain.  A  blister 
that  instantly  formed  convinced  me  that  my  boy  had  not  com- 
plained without  cause. 

In  close  proximity  to  our  small  camp  we  saw  some  dozen 
crocodiles  basking  on  a  sandbank.  We  made  up  our  minds  to 
kill  some  of  these  hated  enemies  of  man  which  considerably 
heighten  the  mortality  of  the  native  races.  First,  however,  I 
determined  to  utilise  them  as  a  welcome  subject  for  my  camera. 
Accompanied  by  Weidemann  I  crawled  snake-like  along  the 
ground.  At  a  distance  of  about  100  metres  I  raised  the  camera 
very  carefully  above  the  grass  and  "clicked."  The  slight  sound., 
however,  sufficed  to  create  a  certain  uneasiness  among  some  of 
the  animals.  So,  lying  on  the  ground,  I  hurriedly  changed  the 
plates  and  took  a  second  snap-shot.  The  renewed  sound  caused 
one  of  the  reptiles  to  draw  near  the  water  and  others  prepared 
to  follow.  Then  I  jumped  up  and  shot  six  of  them  one  after 
the  other ;  four  remained  dead  on  the  banks,  whilst  the  other 
two,  bleeding  badly,  rolled  over  into  the  water.  The  scene  was 
an  animated  one ;  the  animals  tumbled  over  each  other  in  their 


224  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

hurry  to  hide  their  huge,  ugly  bodies  in  the  water,  which  splashed 
and  foamed  as  though  it  were  boiling.  We  were  able  to  repeat 
our  adventure  successfully  on  the  next  day,  as  Wiese's  indisposi- 
tion made  it  necessary  to  halt  at  the  spot  for  a  little  time.  On 
opening  the  stomach  of  one  of  the  reptiles  we  were  surprised  to 
find  it  filled  with  an  immense  quantity  of  stones. 

We  reached  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Albert  on  the  1st  of 
March,  having  espied  the  glittering  surface  of  its  waters  in  the 
distance  on  the  previous  day.  On  our  way  we  passed  an  elephant 
standing  isolated  in  the  reed-grass,  surrounded  by  a  number  of 
natives,  who  evidently  thought  of  killing  the  beast.  Our 
caravan  was  halted  in  order  to  watch  the  interesting  spectacle, 
but  as  the  hunters  seemed  unable  to  make  up  their  minds  to 
commence  the  attack,  we  approached  with  the  camera  and  took 
a  few  photographs. 

The  water  of  Lake  Albert  is  clearer  than  that  of  the  turbid, 
loamy  Lake  Albert  Edward.  At  Kassenje,  where  we  halted,  the 
mountain  ridges  are  some  10  kilometres  distant  from  the  banks 
and  run  parallel  with  it.  The  lake's  banks  at  Kassenje  are  free 
of  reeds  and  only  covered  with  rushes.  Here  Schubotz  found  a 
mass  of  moss  animalcula  (bryozoon).  Dredgings  yielded  spoils 
of  snails  and  shells.  The  plankton  consisted  mainly  of 
daphniadae  and  copepoda.  The  lake  was  notably  rich  in  shad, 
whilst  carp  appeared  to  be  entirely  absent. 

This  lake  is  far  less  rich,  from  the  naturalist's  point  of  view, 
than  Lake  Albert  Edward.  Hippopotami  and  crocodiles  are 
encountered  chiefly  at  the  estuaries  of  the  rivers  that  flow  into 
it,  and  ornithology  is  but  poorly  represented. 

We  made  the  acquaintance  at  Kassenje  of  the  young  chief, 
Dedoye,  a  son  of  Kawalli,  at  whose  residence  Stanley  met  Emm 
Pasha  in  1884.  Stanley's  old  camp  was  only  two  hours  distant; 
the  boundaries  near  Nsabe  are  stated  to  be  still  distinguishable. 
Dedoye  remembered  "  Bulamatari "  well.  As  a  small  boy  he 
and  his  father  had  often  spent  days  in  company  with  Emin 
and  Stanley. 

The  name  "  Bulamatari,"  or  "  Rock-blaster,"  by  which  Stanley 


A    HUT    FRAME   AT    BAWIRA 


A    HANGING    BRIDGE 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        225 

was  known  amongst  the  natives,  is  still  maintained  to  the  present 
day  throughout  the  Congo  territory.  Europeans  who  by  their 
prominence  specially  impress  the  inhabitants  are  designated 
"  Bulamatari."  The  governor  and  the  heads  of  districts  are 
frequently  given  this  name ;  I  myself  was  honoured  with  it  at 
times. 

As  little  could  be  done  in  the  way  of  enriching  our  collections 
at  this  lake,  we  left  again  very  shortly,  taking  a  westerly  direc- 
tion. After  a  march  of  two  and  a  half  hours  we  arrived  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountains,  having  passed  through  a  park-like,  exten- 
sive steppe,  thickly  grown  with  euphorbia.  The  sun  poured 
down  unmercifully  on  the  caravan,  and  thus  made  the  ascent  a 
torture.  The  stony  parts  were  so  hot  that,  if  the  carriers  halted, 
the  soles  of  their  naked  feet  were  burnt.  At  length  we  reached 
a  mountain  brook,  clear  and  cool,  and  the  entire  caravan  plunged 
into  it  without  hesitation.  Even  the  dogs  jumped  in  with  great 
eagerness.  The  camp  was  pitched  without  delay.  As  the  sun 
sank,  a  beautifully  refreshing  breeze  swept  across  the  slopes,  and 
our  thermometer  sank  to  21  degrees  Celsius.  We  breathed  new 
life  again.  The  heat  had  exercised  a  most  enervating  influence 
upon  us,  and  our  sleep  had  been  of  a  broken  nature,  as  we  were 
continually  waking  bathed  in  perspiration. 

The  next  morning,  which  was  cool  and  overcast,  saw  us  on 
our  way  to  the  ridge.  Before  us  lay  a  wide,  extensive  plain, 
whilst  behind  us  the  sun  pierced  its  way  gradually  through  the 
mist.  Lake  Albert  disappeared  by  degrees  behind  the  mountain 
tops,  and  we  lost  sight  of  the  Central  African  rift-valley  for 
ever. 

The  strips  of  country  we  hurriedly  traversed  during  the  days 
following  were  reminiscent  of  Ruanda,  and  were  populated  by 
Bawira  and  Bawisha.  The  undulating  land  is  poor  in  timber  and 
sparsely  sprinkled  with  mtama  fields;  game  is  entirely  lacking. 
The  nearer  we  approached  the  mountain  dividing  us  from  Kilo 
the  more  thickly  inhabited  became  the  country,  and,  naturally, 
the  settlements  increased  too.  The  villages  of  the  Bawira  were 

striking   in    appearance    and    were   erected    in    a   circular    form 
2  D 


226  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

around  an  open  space.  In  some  of  the  villages  I  counted  forty 
huts,  in  front  of  which  the  men  and  women  were  idly  squatting. 
Their  clothing  is  of  a  most  primitive  description,  the  men  wear- 
ing an  almost  invisible  loin  cloth,  whilst  the  women  have  only 
a  narrow  string  of  beads  round  their  hips  for  adornment.  Large, 
flat  wooden  discs  pierce  their  upper  lips,  and  give  the  women  a 
most  peculiar  appearance.  This  extremely  strange  custom  is  said 
to  date  back  to  slave-driving  times,  when  women  who  were  thus 
disfigured  were  spared  by  the  cruel  Arabs  as  worthless  for 
slaves.  Plausible  as  this  supposition  may  appear,  it  requires 
proof.  For  the  present  it  can  only  be  regarded  as  a  mere  asser- 
tion. The  cultivation  of  bananas  and  bataten  (sweet  potatoes) 
was  prodigous,  and  rich  harvests  lay  in  the  villages.  We  received 
a  whole  armful  of  potatoes  for  an  old  bottle. 

At  Bunya,  a  small  military  station,  which,  like  all  such 
places,  consisted  of  a  few  huts  and  a  store-house  for  Europeans, 
Lieutenant  Boy  ton  reported  himself.  Boy  ton,  who  was  a 
Swedish  officer,  and  afterwards  in  the  Congolese  service  for  some 
years,  had  been  ordered  to  accompany  us  in  place  of  Lieutenant 
Veriter,  who  had  been  recalled. 

We  now  wended  our  steps  towards  the  heights  through  the 
Bawisha  and  Bakumu  country,  past  the  stations  of  Quadingo 
and  Kitambala.  Just  before  reaching  the  latter  place  the  narrow 
path  widened  out  into  a  small,  well-kept  barrabarra,  which  owes 
its  existence  to  the  skill  of  a  Belgian  engineer  and  had  only  been 
completed  a  few  months.  This  road  led  from  Kilo  to  Mahagi, 
the  sole  Belgian  outpost  on  Lake  Albert,  and  had  been  con- 
structed with  a  view  to  subsequent  automobile  traffic.  It,  how- 
ever, proved  itself  unserviceable,  on  account  of  sinking  subsoil, 
and  had  to  be  abandoned.  In  its  place  the  Congo  Government 
has  decided  to  construct  a  great  automobile  route  from  Kilo  to 
Nsabe,  on  the  western  shores  of  Lake  Albert.  This  road  is  to 
be  made  from  a  point  lying  opposite  to  Nsabe,  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  lake  in  British  territory,  on  to  Entebbe.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  first  130  miles  were  finished  in  the  spring  of  1909. 
The  Mombasa-Entebbe-Kilo  stretch  of  road  will  be  made  negoti- 


Through  the   Semliki  Valley        227 

able  in  fourteen  days.  The  spirit  of  enterprise  evinced  in  this 
great  work  is  all  the  more  admirable  when  the  tremendous 
obstacles  offered  by  the  nature  of  the  ground  to  be  traversed  are 
taken  into  consideration.  The  region  between  Kilo  and  Nsabe 
is  an  undulating  country  intersected  by  gullies,  and  its  eleva- 
tions in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kilo  attain  a  height  of  1,600 
metres,  whilst  the  western  ridges  descend  steeply  to  the  banks 
of  the  lake.  From  the  long  mountain  ridges  one  can  see  the 
thatched  houses  of  the  town,  the  environs  of  which  abound  with 
unalloyed  gold. 

The  discovery  of  this  rich  and  unsuspected  treasure  is  of 
comparatively  recent  date.  The  Congo  State  is  indebted  for 
the  find  to  Hannam,  a  prospector,  who  discovered  many  other 
copper  and  gold  veins,  and  who,  in  consequence,  enjoys  great 
popularity  and  esteem.  The  workings  were  taken  up  on  Han- 
nam's  advice.  Brisk  activity  soon  developed  itself,  and  in  the 
brief  space  of  one  and  a  half  years  the  silent  valleys  of  the 
primeval  forest  became  busy  hives  of  industry.  Engineers  and 
prospectors  flocked  there,  and  made  rich  auriferous  finds  in  the 
creeks  and  valleys  around.  A  busy  mining  industry  is  now 
carried  on,  and  in  1908  there  were  twenty-one  engineers  and 
prospectors  hard  at  work  near  Kilo.  The  majority  were  Austra- 
lians, familiar  with  nearly  all  the  important  mines  on  the  globe. 
Mr.  Mertens,  who  bore  the  title  "  Representant  de  la  fondation 
de  la  couronne,"  officiated  as  director,  and  had  charge  of  all 
correspondence.  At  that  time  the  pay-sheets  showed  a  total  of 
eight  hundred  workers. 

The  chief  wealth  of  the  soil  consists  of  alluvial  gold,  which 
is  found  all  over  the  district  at  the  very  small  depth  of  from 
1-50  metres  on  the  bed  of  the  creeks.  This  fact  is  of  extreme 
value  to  the  industry,  as  it  saves  the  acquisition  of  costly 
machinery  and  permits  the  construction  of  sluices,  which  are 
worked  by  negro  labour.  These  sluices  consist  of  wooden 
troughs,  similar  to  those  in  cottage  mills,  and  are  furnished  with 
bottom  boards.  The  auriferous  soil  is  shovelled  into  these 
troughs,  and  a  constant  flow  of  water  gradually  washes  away 


228  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

the  stones,  sand,  etc.,  whilst  the  gold  sinks  to  the  bottom,  in 
consequence  of  its  specific  gravity,  and  settles  in  the  clefts  and 
crevices  of  the  boards.  Pieces  are  found  of  the  size  of  a  pea 
or  bean  intermingled  with  granular  gold,  whilst  the  lighter  refined 
gold  flows  on  with  the  sand  and  is  caught  on  the  table  at  the 
foot  of  the  sluice  (a  square  board  in  which  a  number  of  hollows 
have  been  made).  The  biggest  nugget  found  up  to  the  middle 
of  1909  had  the  very  respectable  weight  of  300  grammes,  and 
another  weighed  150  grammes. 

When  we  visited  the  place  five  "  champtiers "  *  were  in 
operation,  on  each  of  which  a  sluice  was  kept  going.  Probably 
this  number  has  been  increased  since  then.  The  sluice  gold  is 
collected  once  a  month,  the  amount,  of  course,  varying  accord- 
ing to  the  richness  of  the  creek. 

The  gross  amount  taken  monthly  at  Kilo  when  we  were  there 
came  to  about  30-35  kilograms,  valued  at  from  90-100,000 
francs.  This,  however,  was  only  a  small  amount  as  compared 
with  the  wealth  that  the  soil  contained,  and  could  easily  have 
been  quadrupled  if  the  prospectors  had  been  more  energetic,  if 
the  negro  labour  had  been  better  controlled,  and  if  more  sluices, 
etc.,  had  been  constructed. 

The  gold  collected  is  refined  by  a  chemist  in  a  laboratory 
at  Kilo,  and  then  re-melted  into  ingots  the  size  of  bricks,  each 
worth  37,000  francs.  The  first  large  consignment  of  these  ingots, 
valued  at  1,000,000  francs,  had  been  sent  just  before  our  arrival 
to  Herr  Schulz,  the  German  Vice-Consul,  the  representative  of 
the  Victoria  Nyanza  Agency.  From  there  it  was  transmitted  to 
Brussels. 

So  far  it  has  not  been  possible  to  ascertain  the  precise  limits 
of  the  gold  region.  As,  however,  the  area  is  an  enormous  one, 
it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  up  to  the  present  no  creek  has 
been  worked  without  result. 

Reef  gold  must  also  be  taken  into  consideration.  No  shaft 
had  been  sunk  when  I  was  there.  The  rivers  Shari  and  Ituri 
carried,  however,  so  much  gold  that  the  management,  following 
*  Workings  on  the  creek. 


A   BAWISHA    LIP    ORNAMENT 


THE    ITURI    AT    SALAMBONGO 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        229 

a  sudden  impulse,  had  decided  to  have  a  dredge  sent  out  at  a 
great  cost — a  somewhat  premature  purchase.  In  any  case,  the 
prospectors  were  not  unanimous  in  their  opinions  regarding  a 
suitable  spot  for  it,  as  in  places  the  rivers  rush  along  over  rocky 
ground,  and  sandy  subsoil  is  rarely  found. 

As  the  "champtiers"  lie  amidst  beautiful  forest  scenery,  an 
hour  or  so  distant  from  Kilo  proper,  which  is  also  a  military 
post,  the  prospectors  are  lodged  in  camps.  These  consist  of 
cleanly,  matete  huts,  and  lie  along  the  wooded,  hilly  ridges  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  workings. 

As  is  the  case  in  every  new  undertaking,  there  were  a  great 
many  defects  and  blunders  in  the  administration  of  Kilo,  which 
contributed  to  the  trammelling  of  the  workers ;  these,  however, 
will  disappear  during  the  course  of  time,  and  I  have  reason  to 
believe  that  the  industry  is  already  being  carried  on  in  a  con- 
siderably more  energetic  and  practical  manner.  In  any  case, 
Kilo  is  a  place  capable  of  immense  development.  Undreamt-of 
treasures  lie  hoarded  up  there  by  Mother  Earth,  which,  if 
experts  can  be  believed,  hold  out  the  promise  that  the  little  place 
will  become  some  day  one  of  the  most  important  gold  centres 
in  the  world. 

We  all  had  reason  to  be  grateful  for  our  interesting  experi- 
ence at  Kilo.  Foreign  visitors  had  never  before  been  received 
there ;  never  had  an  outsider  been  privileged  to  obtain  a  glimpse 
into  the  Kilo  gold  workings.  We  left  with  a  feeling  of  great 
satisfaction — Wiese,  Boyton  and  I — and  proceeded  on  our  way 
to  Irumu,  through  the  territory  of  the  Baniari.  Skirting  the  edge 
of  the  forest,  along  a  bad  native  path,  and  over  the  hill  summits, 
we  pushed  on  until  the  path  widened  out  into  the  barrabarra  in 
the  vicinity  of  Salambongo.  There  we  found  a  large  Wambutti 
camp,  whose  chief  had  sent  the  hunters  into  the  interior  of  the 
forest  to  kill  a  soli.  In  the  hope  that  we  might  perhaps  acquire 
an  antelope  of  such  immense  zoological  value,  we  halted  for  a 
day  to  await  the  results  of  the  hunt.  We  made  use  of  the  leisure 
thus  afforded  us  to  photograph  and  take  measurements  of  the 


230  In   the   Heart   of  Africa 

pygmy  women  and  children  who  remained  in  the  camp.  We  also 
had  an  opportunity  of  adding  to  our  piscatorial  collection,  as 
the  Ituri  flowed  direct  through  the  settlements.  We  tried  our 
trusty  dynamite  method  again,  but  we  had  to  fire  one  or  two 
charges  before  we  discovered  a  spot  where  the  fish  congregated. 
Then,  however,  the  result  obtained  passed  all  expectation,  for 
after  having  set  aside  in  methylated  spirit  all  the  specimens 
required  for  our  collection,  such  a  surplus  remained  that  almost 
every  one  of  our  carriers  was  able  to  enjoy  a  fish  for  his 
supper. 

In  the  afternoon  the  prospectors,  Messrs.  Crawlay  and  Giliot, 
arrived  quite  unexpectedly  from  Kilo  with  the  intention  of  in- 
vestigating the  auriferous  contents  of  the  river-bed  and  its 
vicinity.  To  accomplish  this  object  they  were  forced  to  cut  a 
path  for  themselves  through  the  jungle  on  both  banks  of  the 
river,  as  well  as  to  dig  up  the  soil  and  collect  samples  every 
5  kilometres.  They  reckoned  that  the  return  march  would  take 
them  about  three  months. 

At  nightfall  the  pygmies  returned  from  the  hunt.  But,  alas ! 
with  no  result.  So,  although  our  hopes  were  dashed,  we  tried  to 
console  ourselves  by  watching  the  dances  of  the  natives  before 
their  camp  fire. 

Wiese,  in  particular,  had  an  exceptional  opportunity  of  study- 
ing these.  I  had  already  settled  to  rest,  and  deep  silence  reigned 
in  camp,  when  he  heard  singing  and  the  beating  of  drums  in 
the  direction  of  the  Wambutti  huts.  He  went  out  in  the  moon- 
light, followed  the  sound  of  voices,  and  came  on  the  dwarfs, 
male  and  female,  standing  in  a  circle.  He  thought  him- 
self in  the  land  of  legends.  His  tale  next  morning  was  as 
follows :  "  Two  men  were  squatting  in  the  centre,  with  tam- 
bourines, beating  them  in  measure,  while  those  standing  sang 
melodiously,  sometimes  in  a  slow  and  melancholy  cadence,  some- 
times very  quickly  and  gaily.  First  their  little  legs  would  start 
dancing  on  the  spot  where  they  stood,  then  they  would  move 
round  in  a  circle  to  the  left  or  to  the  right.  I  was  much  struck 
with  the  motion  of  the  upper  part  of  their  bodies.  The  little 


PYGMIES     AT   SALAMBONGO 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        231 

folk  exhibited  tremendous  suppleness  in  their  hips,  and  in  danc- 
ing bent  themselves  so  far  backwards  that  I  feared  they  would 
break  their  spines.  The  dance  concluded  with  a  somewhat 
affected  pose  that  reminded  one  of  the  first  awkward  attempts  of 
an  amateur  ballet  troupe.  Whilst  the  circle  danced  and  sang,  a 
man  and  woman  leapt  into  the  centre  and  played  at  catching 
one  another.  The  way  in  which  the  one  constantly  eluded  the 
efforts  made  by  the  other  in  the  comparatively  small  space  was 
a  marvel  of  skill.  Whether  there  was  any  deeper  meaning  under- 
lying the  dance,  I  was  unable  to  find  out.  I  was  amazed  at  the 
abandon  that  the  small  people  threw  into  their  dancing,  neither 
were  they  disturbed  in  the  slightest  degree  at  my  presence." 

On  the  1 6th  of  March  we  saw  the  houses  of  Irumu  in  the 
distance.  Soon  after  the  head  of  the  caravan  arrived  at  the 
Shari  River,  which  flows  past  below  the  outpost.  Familiar  faces 
welcomed  us  farther  back,  and  a  few  moments  later  we  were 
shaking  hands  with  Mildbraed  and  Czeczatka,  whom  we  were  glad 
to  find  in  the  best  of  health  and  spirits.  Chef  de  paste  Tillemans 
and  M.  Bernstein,  the  only  two  officials  connected  with  the 
administration  at  Irumu  at  that  time,  also  came  up  to  meet  us. 

Irumu  is  an  unusually  large  outpost,  held  officially  by  ten 
Europeans,  all  of  whom,  however,  excepting  the  two  mentioned 
above,  were  away  on  Government  service.  The  place  owes  its 
importance  to  its  favourable  position,  as  it  is  the  junction 
of  the  great  military  roads  from  Stanleyville  to  Fort  Portal 
and  Rutschuru  to  Beni  and  Kilo.  Thus  nearly  all  Belgian 
officials  whose  jurisdiction  leads  them  to  the  northern  districts 
of  the  Congo  State  are  compelled  to  pass  it.  In  consequence 
the  traffic  through  Irumu  is  brisker  than  at  any  other  outpost. 
This  cheerful-looking  place,  which  consists  of  a  row  of  thatched 
brick  houses,  spacious  messrooms  and  two  great  store-houses, 
is  situated  on  a  hilly  plain  three  hours  distant  from  the  eastern 
margin  of  the  great  native  forest. 

As  elephants  abound  in  the  neighbourhood,  the  quantity  of 
ivory  brought  in  by  the  natives  is  very  considerable.  Eight 
to  nine  hundred  kilograms  leave  for  Boma  every  month,  and  are 


232  In   the    Heart   of  Africa 

placed  to  the  credit  of  the  Congo  State.  Irumu,  however,  has 
to  be  content  with  an  inferior  position  as  regards  the  yield  in 
rubber,  on  account  of  its  distance  from  the  forest's  edge.  The 
monthly  harvest  amounts  to  only  some  500  kilograms.  This  is 
an  insignificant  quantity  when  compared  with  that  obtained  in 
the  main  rubber  centres — the  Aruwimi  and  Uelle  basins,  Nepoko, 
Avakubi,  Bomili,  etc.  There,  during  the  best  years,  7,000, 
10,000,  and  even  14,000  kilograms  are  produced  monthly.  Yet 
the  rubber-tree  plantations  are  exposed  to  special  peril,  as 
refractory  natives  lop  and  pull  down  the  biggest  and  most 
valuable  trunks  of  the  Funtumia  elastica  and  the  gum-yielding 
liane.  The  insubordination  of  the  population  in  the  districts 
lying  between  the  Aruwimi  and  the  Uelle  assumed  previously 
such  a  threatening  character  that  a  punitive  military  force  was 
despatched  there.  The  Chef  de  gone,  resolute  and  trustworthy 
Commandant  Engh,  a  Norwegian  by  birth,  had  to  proceed  to 
the  scene  to  restore  order ;  and  through  his  own  wariness  and 
discretion,  as  well  as  that  of  his  officials,  this  was  eventually 
accomplished. 

Rightly  recognising  the  danger  that  threatened  the  rubber 
industry  in  consequence  of  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  natives, 
the  Congo  State  has  for  some  years  established  great  rubber 
plantations ;  in  fact,  we  came  across  them  at  all  the  more  import- 
ant European  stations.  The  plantations,  however,  being  only  of 
recent  growth,  it  has  so  far  not  been  possible  to  determine 
decisively  which  sorts  are  most  suitable  for  cultivation. 

The  nature  of  the  ground  has  been  taken  into  account 
generally,  and  those  varieties  selected  which  flourish  best  under 
similar  conditions  in  the  virgin  forest.  Commonly,  the  Funtumia 
elastica  is  given  the  preference,  as  it  grows  much  more  rapidly 
than  the  rubber  vine.  Whilst  the  tree  can  be  tapped,  without 
injury  to  its  growth,  after  a  period  of  six  or  seven  years,  the  vine 
can  only  be  turned  to  account  after  twenty  years.  The  cultivation 
of  the  liane,  therefore,  is  on  the  decline,  and  they  are  only  grown 
where  the  funtumia  will  not  flourish. 

At  all  European  stations  one  plant  must  be  put  in  the  ground 


IRUMU 


THE    ITURI    AT    IRUMU 


Through  the   Semliki  Valley        233 

for  every  two  kilograms  of  rubber  delivered.  This  order,  prac- 
tical as  it  may  seem,  is  not  feasible,  the  amount  of  rubber 
obtained  being  too  great.  In  order  to  conform  properly  with 
the  extremely  prudent  regulation,  it  would  be  necessary  to  employ 
an  immense  number  of  labourers  in  rooting,  planting  and  clear- 
ing the  plantations.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  most  enterprises  in  the 
country  suffer  from  an  insufficiency  of  labour,  as  has  also  been 
the  case  in  German  East  Africa.  At  Avakubi  we  saw  a  planta- 
tion of  742  acres,  and  another  at  Nambuya  of  1,976  acres,  where 
there  were  hardly  sufficient  labourers  for  planting  alone.  When 
the  time  taken  in  clearing  is  remembered,  as  well  as  the  fact 
that  any  part  of  the  plantation  which  has  been  cleared  is  choked 
with  grass  a  metre  in  height  about  four  to  six  weeks  later, 
which  threatens  to  kill  the  young  plants,  some  little  idea 
of  the  tremendous  difficulties  which  beset  the  cultivator  can  be 
gathered. 

I  must  not  omit  to  add  that  the  coffee  and  cocoa  plant  is 
cultivated  at  most  of  the  Congolese  outposts.  Whilst  the  latter 
product  is  used  for  the  export  trade,  coffee  (Liberia)  is  retained 
for  home  consumption  only. 

We  remained  fourteen  days  at  Irumu.  I  was  awaiting  the 
arrival  of  the  other  members  of  the  expedition  at  the  end  of 
the  month,  having  fixed  this  place  as  a  rendezvous  before  our 
departure  for  the  Congo  on  the  1st  of  April.  The  interval  was 
employed  in  making  excursions  in  the  neighbourhood.  Dr. 
Mildbraed  went  to  Ngombe  Njama,  on  the  edge  of  the  forest, 
for  a  few  days,  whilst  Schubotz  roamed  about  in  the  vicinity 
or  fished  in  the  Shari.  We  also  attended  to  our  mail,  wrote  to 
the  firms  at  Lake  Victoria  and  on  the  East  Coast  concerning  our 
march  to  the  west,  drafted  letters,  drew  up  reports,  and  com- 
menced packing  our  latest  collections  for  despatch.  These  were 
to  be  conveyed  to  Entebbe  by  our  faithful  carriers,  who  were 
there  discharged  and  sent  home.  They  were  wretched  and 
worrying  days  for  Wiese,  who,  amongst  other  things,  had  to 

examine  and  revise  the  claims  made  by  the  men.      Pay-sheets 
2  E 


234  In    the   Heart   of  Africa 

had  to  be  carefully  examined,  disputes  settled,  and  the  men  con- 
vinced that  everything  was  just  and  in  order ;  further,  each 
man  had  to  receive  his  travelling  "  posho  "  (food-money)  in  ready- 
money,  for  the  purchase  of  stores  for  the  return  journey  to  his 
native  place. 

After  having  received  a  handshake  as  a  farewell  from  each 
one  of  us,  they  marched  away  homeward  bound  in  detachments, 
each  under  its  particular  head-man.  It  was  with  a  feeling  of 
regret  that  we  saw  them  leave  us,  after  having  shared  our 
pleasures  and  trials  for  nearly  a  year.  Through  good  and  bad 
days,  in  the  heat  of  the  steppes  and  in  the  icy  breath  of  the 
snow-capped  volcanoes,  they  had  fulfilled  their  duty  loyally, 
like  tried  and  trusty  men.  We  dismissed  them  here  in  order  that 
they  should  be  spared  the  long  return  journey  from  Avakubi, 
some  thirty  days'  march  farther  ahead.  Till  then  we  contented 
ourselves  with  carriers  from  the  Congo  territory.  The  march  was 
to  terminate  at  Avakubi,  as  we  intended  continuing  our  journey 
from  there  to  the  Congo  by  native  canoes  upon  the  great  tribu- 
tary, the  Aruwimi.  The  troops  of  the  expedition  were  to  escort 
us  through  the  forest  until  we  reached  the  river. 

Czekanowski  arrived  on  the  2/th,  after  his  wanderings,  which 
had  led  him  as  far  as  the  Uelle.  He  had  endured  a  good  deal  in 
consequence  of  the  violent  rains,  from  which  we  had,  fortunately, 
been  spared  from  the  time  that  we  quitted  the  neighbourhood  of 
Ruwenzori. 

In  Irumu,  however,  we  prepared  to  encounter  a  third  rainy 
period,  the  advent  of  which  was  expected  daily ;  and,  in  fact,  in 
the  evenings  we  saw  the  clouds  gathering  threateningly  together, 
accompanied  by  sheet-lightning  in  the  distance.  A  little  later 
showers  set  in  daily.  They  announced  their  arrivel  by  violent 
winds  of  sweeping  force.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  3Oth  March 
the  south-western  heavens  grew  coal-black.  The  heavy  rain 
advanced  towards  us  in  an  opaque  steel-blue  mass,  sharply 
defined  at  its  sides.  At  one  kilometre's  distance  from  the  station 
it  was  pouring  down  in  torrents.  Thus  we  were  able  to  observe 
all  the  phases  of  this  vivid  spectacle  of  Nature  without  being 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        235 

drenched  ;  but  the  storm  reached  us  before  long.  Setting  in  with 
suddenness,  it  burst  on  the  buildings  of  Irumu,  tore  and  tugged 
heavy  trusses  of  straw  from  the  roofs,  and  swept  them  far  away. 
The  rain  rattled  at  the  doors  and  poured  through  the  crevices 
into  the  rooms,  so  that  all  our  writing  materials  were  whirled  and 
swirled  around.  Outside  it  was  almost  impossible  to  stand  erect. 
The  hurricane,  however,  disappeared  as  suddenly  as  it  had  come, 
and  a  quarter  of  an  hour  later  the  debris  lying  around  was 
all  that  remained  to  remind  us  of  our  unwelcome  visitor. 

It  is  futile  to  attempt  a  description  of  tropical  tornadoes  at 
their  full  force.  One  must  see  these  phenomena  to  conceive  an 
accurate  idea  of  them.  Their  grandeur  is  then  printed  indelibly 
on  the  memory.  In  two  or  three  quarters  of  the  heavens  inky 
darkness  gathers,  then  come  flashing  lightning  and  crashing 
thunder,  with  such  crackling  that  it  seems  like  Hell  let  loose. 
Lightning  flashes  along  the  horizon  and  the  whole  firmament 
seems  to  be  illuminated  at  times  as  though  by  gigantic  torches. 
Watch  in  hand,  I  have  counted  one  or  two  such  electric  discharges 
to  the  second. 

Czekanowski  had  found  such  noteworthy  material  for  investi- 
gation during  the  Uelle  expeditions  in  the  territory  of  the 
Mangbettu  that  he  harboured  the  wish  to  return  there.  As 
he  asked  for  a  further  three  months  for  this  purpose,  he  foresaw 
the  necessity  of  returning  home  alone.  We  therefore  said  good- 
bye a  few  days  before  our  departure,  with  a  confident  "  auf 
wtedersehen  in  Europe." 

As  the  time  fixed  for  the  rest  of  us  to  leave  was  drawing  very 
close,  and  as  we  had  no  news  of  Kirschstein,  despite  various 
letters  and  written  instructions  that  I  had  despatched,  his  silence 
began  to  cause  us  uneasiness.  We  thought  that  we  should  be 
deprived  of  the  company  of  our  kind  and  jolly  comrade.  I  will 
state  here  that,  unfortunately,  our  fears  were  confirmed.  Almost 
immediately  after  we  commenced  our  peregrinations  into  the 
shady  interior  of  the  great  African  forest  news  reached  us  of  the 
catastrophe  at  Karrissimbi,  which  cost  Kirschstein  half  of  his 


236  In   the   Heart   of  Africa 

followers.  As  we  learned  later,  on  our  arrival  in  Europe,  the 
aggressive  attitude  of  the  natives  south-east  of  Mount  Muha- 
wura,  more  particularly  the  attack  by  the  chief  Lukara,  was 
responsible  for  the  subsequent  delay.  This  sultan  and  many  of 
his  warriors  had  lain  in  ambush  for  the  geologist's  caravan  and 
barred  its  path.  As  soon  as  the  first  arrows  came  whizzing  over 
Kirschstein's  head  he  was  forced  to  defend  himself.  A  fight  was 
quickly  in  progress,  but,  despite  heavy  firing,  the  enemy  would 
not  budge.  Ever  and  again  the  enemy's  bowmen  were  spurred 
on  to  fresh  onslaughts  by  a  fellow  in  a  red  toga,  who  danced 
before  and  around  them  with  wild  and  furious  gestures.  Kirsch- 
stein  aimed  at  this  man.  and  succeeded  in  shooting  him  down. 
Then  only  did  the  savage  hordes,  deprived  of  their  leader,  begin 
to  yield.  In  spite  of  this,  Kirschstein  was  in  a  very  critical 
position,  for  when  the  cartridges  were  counted  after  the  fight 
their  total  for  the  whole  caravan  was  eleven.  In  order,  if 
possible,  to  stave  off  a  further  attack,  he  caused  threats  of 
terrible  punishments,  in  case  the  onslaught  should  be  renewed, 
to  be  proclaimed  throughout  the  district  by  means  of  a  crier. 
This  intimidatory  measure  fulfilled  its  purpose ;  Kirschstein  was 
left  in  peace. 

As  his  stores  were  beginning  to  give  out,  he  sent  letters  to 
me  begging  for  provisions.  At  the  same  time  he  asked  for  in- 
structions and  information  as  to  the  intentions  of  the  main 
caravan.  I  never  received  these  letters,  nor  did  Kirschstein 
receive  mine  asking  very  urgently  for  an  explanation  of  his 
absence.  No  doubt  they  were  simply  thrown  aside  by  mail 
carriers,  who  were  recruited  from  the  natives,  or  stolen  by 
force  majeure.  Thus,  without  any  news  and  in  a  great  state 
of  uncertainty,  further  delay  on  our  part  would  have  been  fruit- 
less. Beni  and  Rutschuru  were  communicated  with  by  means 
of  reliable  messengers,  and  letters  deposited  there  for  Kirsch- 
stein. 

In  Irumu  packing  proceeded  apace.  The  day  for  departure 
dawned.  How  we  missed  our  faithful  Wassukuma  and  Manjema, 
who  knew  their  individual  loads  even  at  a  distance!  Things 


VIRGIN     FOREST     SCENERY 


Through  the  Semliki  Valley        237 

were  changed,  for  each  man  had  to  have  his  load  apportioned 
to  him  before  the  start.  We  knew,  moreover,  that  in  the  days  to 
follow  frequent  changes  of  carriers  would  take  place.  Thus  we 
resigned  ourselves  as  well  as  we  could  to  the  petty  bothers  that 
were  in  store  for  us.  Despite  all  this,  however,  and  despite 
torrents  of  rain,  the  Europeans'  faces  lit  up.  From  now  our 
course  was  directed  homewards. 


CHAPTER   IX 

IN  THE  SHADE  OF  THE  VIRGIN  FOREST 

WE  started  on  our  journey  to  the  west  on  the  1st  of  April,  1908, 
by  a  route  which  has  gained  sad  notoriety  in  the  history  of 
African  exploration.  We  followed  a  path  almost  identical  with 
that  which  Stanley  traversed  and  on  which  he  experienced  the 
greatest  hardships  and  privations  in  coming  from  the  Congo  to 
the  succour  of  Emin  Pasha,  who,  cut  off  by  the  Mahdi  revolt, 
lived  practically  a  prisoner  in  his  equatorial  province.  The  same 
vast  forest,  so  gloomily  described  in  the  pages  of  "In  Darkest 
Africa,"  lay  before  us.  This  darksome  forest,  indeed,  with  its 
storms  and  rains,  famine,  disease  and  deadly  attacks,  nearly 
proved  fatal  to  the  whole  caravan  and  reduced  it  to  a  condition 
of  utter  desperation  and  madness.  The  first  patch  of  green 
grass  appeared  to  us  as  a  token  and  promise,  as  the  olive  branch 
in  the  mouth  of  the  dove  did  to  Noah  of  old. 

We  were  travelling  along  paths  which  had  already  been 
made ;  we  knew  in  advance  where  we  should  lay  our  heads  to 
rest  from  day  to  day ;  we  were  well  supplied  with  stores ;  we 
journeyed  more  comfortably  here  than  we  did  at  first  in  the  steppe 
country,  or  in  the  volcanic  region,  and  yet  we  experienced  that 
oppressiveness  which  is  always  felt  in  this  gigantic  forest.  The 
conditions  of  travelling  alone  were  different ;  the  forest  remained 
the  same  in  its  immeasurable  and  inexorable  lonesomeness. 

The  departure  took  place  under  inauspicious  conditions  in 
streaming  rain,  which  had  set  in  violently  during  the  night, 
though  unaccompanied  by  lightning,  and  had  compelled  many 
of  us  to  wander  about  with  our  beds  as  the  water  penetrated  the 
houses.  The  confusion  usually  in  evidence  when  quarters  occu- 

238 


A     FALLEN     GIANT  :     CONGO     VIRGIN     FOREST 


The  Shade  of  the  Virgin  Forest    239 

pied  for  a  considerable  time  have  to  be  abandoned  was  still 
further  increased  by  the  breaking-in  of  two  hundred  unpractised 
Congolese  auxiliary  carriers.  Then  there  was  the  rain!  But  the 
weather  was  in  accordance  with  our  general  condition  of  depres- 
sion as  we  set  out  at  last,  accompanied  by  our  escort,  under 
Lieutenant  Boyton.  It  cleared  up  before  long,  and  after  three 
and  a  half  hours  of  marching  through  pleasant,  hilly  and  un- 
dulating steppe  land  we  reached  the  boundary  of  the  dense  West 
African  forest,  from  which  we  were  not  to  emerge  for  a  period 
of  two  months.  An  hour  later  we  reached  the  Ituri,  a  hundred 
and  twenty  metres  broad  at  that  spot.  We  crossed  it  in  a  dug- 
out, the  transit  of  our  riding  animals  causing  a  good  deal  of 
trouble,  and  went  into  camp  at  Kifuku,  the  old  Irumu,  and  the 
first  of  the  fixed  camping  quarters  which  have  been  erected 
throughout  the  whole  Irumu-Stanleyville  route  at  intervals  of 
fifteen  to  thirty  kilometres.  They  serve  for  the  convenience  of 
passing  Europeans  and  the  officials  of  the  Congo  State,  who, 
coming  from  the  Congo,  wish  to  reach  the  upper  Ituri  district 
or  Beni. 

The  serai  in  these  encampments  nearly  always  presents  the 
same  appearance ;  a  clay  hut,  usually  thatched  with  phrynium 
leaves,  and  consisting  of  two  almost  cubiform  "  rooms,"  divided 
in  the  middle  by  a  broad  corridor.  A  raised  gallery,  called  the 
barasa,  runs  under  the  wide,  projecting  roof.  The  little  brick 
houses,  often  very  pretty  ones,  at  the  stations  are  for  the  most 
part  built  on  the  same  pattern.  In  the  serai  the  floor  is  usually 
formed  of  stamped  clay,  and  a  primitive  form  of  table  is  often 
placed  in  the  hall  close  to  the  barasa.  I  have  been  reckless  enough 
to  repose  in  these  barasas,  although  aware  that  the  roofs  are  by 
no  means  always  watertight  and  fever  relapses  are  sometimes 
brought  on  from  resting  in  such  places.  As  a  protection  from 
the  rain,  I  used  to  draw  a  wrapping  of  balloon  material  over 
the  roof,  a  stuff  that  has  often  rendered  excellent  service  as 
a  covering  for  the  loads  and  as  a  rain-tent  for  the  carriers ; 
then  I  felt  safe.  These  houses,  however,  are  always  pleasant 
to  spend  a  halt  in,  especially  the  "hall,"  which  is  used  as  a 


240  In   the   Heart   of  Africa 

mess-room.  It  is  much  cooler  inside  them  than  in  the  tents, 
and  the  heat  and  blinding  glare  of  the  sun  are  never  felt  so  keenly 
as,  when  at  the  end  of  a  march,  one  emerges  from  the  shade  of 
the  native  forest  and  enters  the  clearing  around  the  serai  and 
its  village. 

At  all  these  stations  one  meets  "  Arabises,"  as  they  are  called 
by  the  Congolese,  or  "  Wangwana  "  (the  Educated  Ones),  as  they 
call  themselves  in  the  Kisuaheli  tongue.  Ethnographical ly  they 
represent  a  quite  inextricable  mixtum  com-positum  of  Arabs, 
east  coast  and  inland  negroes,  Manjema  from  west  of  Tan- 
ganjika,  and  natives  from  the  eastern  districts  of  the  Congo 
State.  They  are  offspring  and  descendants  of  those  slave  and 
ivory  hunters  with  whom  the  Belgians  had  to  wage  such  fierce 
battle,  remains  of  Tippoo  Tib's  hordes  of  the  Aruwimi-Ituri 
district,  the  Ngarruwas  and  Kilonga-Longas — the  oldest  of 
whom  still  remember  Stanley  well.  Of  course  there  are  others, 
too,  who  have  come  to  the  Congo  in  later  years  in  the  train 
of  the  Arabian  dealers.  They  speak  Kisuaheli,  richly  inter- 
spersed with  native  and  Arab  expressions,  sometimes  called 
"  Kingwana  " — the  language  of  the  Wangwana.  In  any  case, 
the  designation  Arabises  is  a  fitting  one.  They  wear  long 
Arabian  garments  and  turbans.  Many  of  them  show  the  strong 
admixture  of  Arabian  blood  very  plainly,  though  one  seldom 
meets  pure  Arabs.  There  are,  doubtless,  some  shady  customers 
amongst  them,  and  it  is  certain  that,  besides  their  lawful  business, 
they  carry  on  extensive  smuggling  in  rubber  and  ivory  over  the 
German  and  English  boundaries — after  all,  a  peaceful  and 
innocent  occupation  compared  to  that  of  the  days  of  their  youth, 
when,  before  the  establishment  of  European  rule,  the  Congo 
was  a  land  full  of  horrors.  Their  official  activity  is  limited  to 
keeping  the  stations  and  the  roads  in  order,  and  in  providing 
the  Europeans  and  carriers  passing  through  with  provisions  and 
stores.  Manioc  and  sweet  potatoes  are  principally  cultivated  in 
the  clearings,  also  rice  and  maize.  The  Wangwana  did  not  grow 
bananas  to  any  extent ;  they  complained  that  the  elephants  made 
too  much  havoc  amongst  them. 


THE    ITURI    AT    MAWAMBI 


A    FOREST    FERRY   ON    THE    ITURI 


A     BRIDGED     OBSTACLE     ON     A     CONGO     VIRGIN     FOREST     PATH 


The  Shade  of  the  Virgin  Forest     241 

The  road  which  connects  the  stations,  the  barrabarra,  may 
best  be  compared  to  a  woodland  path  or  lane.  It  winds  through 
the  great  African  forest,  about  four  metres  in  breadth,  unbroken 
by  any  glade,  the  smaller  trees  and  the  undergrowth  simply 
having  been  cut  away.  The  larger  trees  remain,  and  create  no 
obstacles,  as  the  only  part  which  is  used  is  a  well-trodden  footway 
in  the  centre.  The  negro  always  marches  in  single  file.  Should 
one  of  the  giants  of  the  forest  crash  down  and  block  the  road- 
way, it  is  usually  left  lying,  as  to  clear  it  away  would  necessi- 
tate a  good  deal  of  trouble,  hardly  proportionate  to  the  benefit 
accruing  to  the  roadway.  A  short  detour  is  usually  made  around 
the  obstacle  by  cutting  a  small  bypath  in  the  interior  of  the 
forest  or  by  building  an  extempore  bridge  across  it  or  by  making 
steps.  The  bridges  over  the  numerous  small  brooks  and  through 
swampy  dips  are  the  vulnerable  points  of  the  route.  In  parts 
they  are  simply  corduroy  roads,  though  often  sturdier  trunks  are 
laid  lengthways,  with  round  logs  and  boughs  lying  across  them, 
the  gaps  being  stopped  with  clay  and  earth.  These  construc- 
tions are  deserving  of  all  praise  and  are  quite  practicable  for 
pedestrians  and,  if  of  recent  construction,  even  for  horsemen. 
Unfortunately,  however,  they  are  also  used  by  passengers  for 
whom  they  are  absolutely  not  intended,  namely,  by  elephants. 
The  constructions,  which,  after  all,  are  only  primitive  negro 
handwork,  are  naturally  not  adapted  for  such  weights,  and  thus 
the  older  bridges  and  dams  sometimes  seem  to  consist  of  "  a 
number  of  holes  joined  together." 

Our  marches  proceeded  monotonously  from  station  to  station, 
and  the  longer  we  travelled  without  incidents  worthy  of  remark 
the  deeper  was  the  impression  made  upon  us  by  the  great  forest. 
I  believe  a  long  stay  in  this  forest  would  lead  to  heavy  mental 
depression  in  sensitive  men.  The  unutterable  feeling  of  oppres- 
sion which  makes  itself  felt  in  the  course  of  time  lies  in  the 
absence  of  any  free  view,  the  impossibility  of  permitting  the  eye 
to  rove  freely  across  a  wide  space,  or  of  once  catching  a  glimpse 
of  sky  and  earth  merging  in  the  far  horizon.  Only  a  short 

stretch   of   road   can   be  seen   ahead ;    you   are   hemmed    in   by 
2  F 


242  In   the   Heart   of  Africa 

thickets  which  prevent  you  from  penetrating  the  green  depths 
on  either  side,  and,  on  gazing  upwards,  the  dense  canopy  of 
foliage  overhead  forbids  an  untrammelled  view  of  the  heavens 
to  the  eyes  so  wearied  with  eternal  green.  On  coming  to  a  glade, 
the  green  walls  rise  implacably  up  to  a  height  of  forty  metres, 
and  the  traveller  can  only  be  compared  to  a  prisoner  who  has 
exchanged  the  narrow  confines  of  his  cell  for  the  prison  court- 
yard. The  forest  is  oppressive  in  its  monstrous  hugeness  and 
density,  filling  up  all  the  space  from  the  ground  to  the  highest 
tree-tops.  Thus  we  could  understand  how  it  was  that  the  Belgian 
officials  found  their  foret  vierge  deadening  and  soul-killing,  and 
often  spoke  with  mild  horror  of  the  march  through  the  forest 
from  Stanleyville  to  their  stations  on  the  eastern  boundary. 

To  those  coming  from  the  open  plains,  animal  life  here  appears 
to  be  extinct.  Just  as  the  ocean  voyager  can  see  little  of  the 
wealth  of  life  concealed  in  the  sea,  so  we  could  discern  nothing 
of  the  rich  animal  world  hidden  in  the  depths  of  the  interior 
of  the  forest.  It  is  true  that  we  came  across  many  tracks  of 
elephants  and  buffalo,  but  we  never  saw  the  beasts  themselves ; 
the  birds  were  silent,  and  not  even  monkeys  enlivened  the  motion- 
less trees.  It  was  not  until  we  were  a  little  way  from  Mawambi 
that  we  saw  somewhat  more  of  the  fauna.  At  the  start  monkeys 
abounded,  but  they  were  scared  away  by  Mildbraed.  He  was 
the  first  of  us  to  arrive  in  Irumu  from  Beni,  and  as  he  found  his 
hands  idle  there  he  marched  off  in  advance,  so  as  to  have  more 
leisure  for  collecting ;  he  was  to  await  our  coming  at  Mawambi. 
When  he  shot  down  the  boughs  from  the  tree-tops  he  did  not 
spare  their  four-legged  inhabitants ;  he  showed  us  some  colobus 
species,  black  mangabeys  (which  look  like  devils),  and  a  green 
monkey.  At  night  we  often  heard  elephants  in  the  darkness 
amongst  the  banana  fields  around  the  station,  breaking  down  the 
shrubs  and  generally  creating  havoc. 

Until  we  reached  Mawambi  we  had  thunderstorms  almost 
daily,  but  fortunately  they  did  not  break  out  till  the  afternoon  or 
during  the  night.  The  loamy  ground  was  in  a  state  which  did 
not  conduce  to  pleasant  travelling.  The  air  was  so  saturated 


A     STREAM     IN     THE     CONGO     FOREST 


The  Shade  of  the  Virgin   Forest     243 

with  moisture  that  the  forest  was  filled  with  a  hot-house  atmo- 
sphere and  a  disagreeable  smell  of  dank  decay  and  mouldiness. 
Sometimes  the  rain  helped  to  vary  the  deadly  monotony  of  the 
day.  At  the  station  on  the  Epulu,  which  flows  into  the  Ituru 
from  the  north-east,  I  sat  in  my  tent  on  the  6th  of  April,  in- 
different to  the  rain,  with  my  attention  riveted  by  a  perfectly 
"  new  "  newspaper  article  written  early  in  February.  Suddenly 
I  became  aware  that  I,  my  table,  and  my  chair  were  resting  upon 
a  solitary  island.  My  tent  had  been  carelessly  erected  in  a  small 
hollow,  and  all  the  rain-water  in  the  place  was  flowing  into  the 
depression.  Great  dams  and  skilfully  constructed  sluices 
eventually  diverted  the  flood  water  away.  On  another  occasion 
Schubotz  was  caught.  The  heavy  rains  had  made  his  tent-ropes 
shrink  to  such  an  extent  that  they  tore  the  tent-pegs  out  of  the 
ground,  and  the  whole  structure  fell  in,  burying  the  sleeping 
proprietor  beneath  it. 

Our  route  took  a  curved  direction  from  Irumu,  through 
Kifuku,  Cambi  ja  Wambutti,  Mokoto,  Mamulambi  on  the  Epulu, 
Songolo  and  Agwama,  to  Mawambi  on  the  Ituri.  The  river 
bends  to  the  south,  and  Stanley's  road  runs  between.  At 
Mawambi  we  were  met  by  the  Chef  de  -paste,  M.  Athanasoff,  a 
Bulgarian,  and  by  Mildbraed,  who  was  smiling  contentedly.  He 
had  evidently  had  the  best  of  it  on  this  march.  He  had 
gathered  rich  booty  amongst  the  exuberant  green  vegetation, 
and,  with  the  botanist's  trained  eye,  had  found  much  interest- 
ing material  which  would  naturally  lie  hidden  from  the  layman, 
however  great  a  lover  of  nature  and  keen  observer  he  might  be. 

Mawambi  is  only  a  small  post,  possessing  a  Commis  d'etat — 
M.  Athanasoff  already  mentioned,  the  only  representative  of  his 
nation  in  the  somewhat  motley  assortment  of  Congo  State  official- 
dom— and  a  non-commissioned  officer,  a  Swede,  the  commanders 
of  the  small  troop  of  Askari.  The  station  yields  about  a 
ton  of  rubber  monthly,  the  natives  being  pledged  to  bring  in 
three  kilogrammes  per  head  in  that  time.  About  eight  hundred 
kilogrammes  of  ivory  are  also  sent  from  this  place  to  Boma 
yearly  for  the  State. 


244  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

The  station  is  prettily  situated  on  a  hill  above  the  banks 
of  the  Ituri,  which  flows  very  broad  and  strong  at  this  point, 
but  is  not  very  deep ;  and  we  could  enjoy  a  beautiful  view  of 
it  from  the  barasa  of  the  mess-hut.  As  we  were  able  to  see  not 
only  across  the  river,  but  also  had  an  uninterrupted  view  over  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  forest,  we  felt  we  could  breathe 
freely  again. 

After  a  halt  of  three  days  at  this  pleasant  little  station,  we 
started  off  again  for  Avakubi,  in  a  southerly  direction  from  the 
river. 

Animal  life  revealed  itself  more  abundantly  as  we  proceeded. 
In  the  proximity  of  Mawambi  there  is  a  species  of  dwarf  antelope 
which  appears  to  be  very  plentiful.  They  are  caught  in  gins  and 
traps  by  the  natives,  and  brought  in  to  the  station  alive  but 
cruelly  bound,  where  they  make  a  valuable  addition  to  the  menu. 
We  hoped  to  have  been  able  to  bring  one  or  two  of  these  charm- 
ing creatures  back  to  Europe  with  us  alive.  At  first  I  let  them 
run  about  freely  in  my  room  at  Mawambi,  and  they  soon  gained 
such  confidence  that  I  could  feed  them.  Unfortunately,  these 
exceedingly  delicate  beasties,  of  which  we  obtained  five, 
succumbed  in  spite  of  the  most  attentive  care.  Two  baboons 
bagged  by  Wiese  formed  a  remarkable  capture,  remarkable  on 
account  of  their  being  met  with  at  two  hundred  kilometres  in  the 
interior,  for  it  had  always  been  assumed  that  the  margins  of  the 
forest,  with  the  natives'  fields,  to  the  fruits  of  which  they  are 
very  partial,  formed  their  particular  reserves  and  hunting 
grounds.  At  one  camp  we  got  a  young  long-tailed  monkey  from 
the  Wangwana,  an  attractive  creature,  with  dark  fur  and  a  white 
triangular  spot  on  the  nose.  She  was  perfectly  tame,  but  nothing 
on  the  dining  table  was  safe  with  her.  Owing  to  her  amazing 
Semitic-like  physiognomy  she  was  called  Rebecca.  At  Avakubi 
we  procured  a  husband  for  her,  and  we  saw  there  a  young  chim- 
panzee, who  looked  like  a  patriarch,  and  patiently  permitted  all 
kinds  of  pranks  to  be  played  with  him. 

The  feathered  inhabitants  of  the  forest  are  far  less  in  evidence 
than  one  would  be  inclined  to  believe,  as  the  height  of  the  trees 


"REBECCA" 
(Cercopithecus  Schmidt!) 


WANGIUMA    (ARUWIMI) 


The  Shade  of  the  Virgin  Forest     245 

and  the  dense  undergrowth  conceal  the  majority  of  the  species 
from  the  eye  of  the  observer.     The  birds  most  easily  discerned 
are  the  great  white  and  black  hornbill,  the  immense  turacus  and 
a  shrike,  first  discovered  to  us  by  its  sweet  song,  the  only  really 
good   forest  singer.      The  insect  world  is  very  strongly  repre- 
sented.    There  is  a  species  of  cicada,  almost  imperceptible  to 
the  eye  of  the  traveller  on  account  of  its  protective  grey  colour, 
which  matches  the  bark  of  the  trees ;  it  is  about  four  centimetres 
in  length,  and  its  exceedingly  shrill,  almost  metallic,  chirp  fills 
the  woods  with  a  noise  which,   as  Stanley  said,   surpasses  thp 
"  warbling  "  of  the  Manjema  women.    There  are  gorgeous  diurnal 
butterflies,  the  West  African  nymphalidce  predominating,  which 
flutter  in  crowds  at  the  brooks  and  moist  places  on  the  way,  or 
on  the  ordure  of  mammalia,  and  fly  up  in  clouds  in  front  of  the 
caravans.     The  beetles  are  less  noticeable,  but  at  times  goliath- 
beetles  are  to  be  found,  something  like  colossal  editions  of  the 
rhinoceros-beetles,  which  belong  to  the  very  largest  of  their  order. 
Little  black  wasps  become  a  great  source  of  annoyance  at  times ; 
they  build  their  nests,  which  look  as  though  they  were  made  of 
coarse  grey-brown  paper  and  resemble  wind-sails,  in  the  boughs 
of  trees.     They  are  often  the  cause  of  serious  confusion  in  the 
caravan  through  their  very  painful  stings.     The  ants,  however, 
play  the  chief  role  among  the  representatives  of  the  lower  animal 
world  in  this  forest.     The  termites,  or  white  ants,  erect  strange 
structures  propped  up  against  the  trunks  of  trees  which  make  one 
think  of   pileated  mushrooms ;    the  house-ants  hump  the  earth 
high  up  into  the  tree-tops,  where  among  the  boughs  they  construct 
habitations  which  bear  such  a  striking  resemblance  to  monkeys 
sitting  quietly  that  we  sometimes  grasped  our  rifles  and  very 
nearly  pulled  the  triggers.     Small  ants  cement  up  all  the  gaps  in 
the  leaves  of  the  underwood  with  earth  and  refuse,   and   fall 
fiercely  upon  any  invader  who  attempts  to  cut  his  way  through. 
Then  there  are  reddish-brown  ants,  about  the  size  of  our  wood 
ants,  which  march  in  thousands  along  the  road  in  close  forma- 
tion, a  respectful  way  always  being  made  for  them  by  all  who 
cross  their  path,  as  they  bite  fearfully.     The  most  interesting  of 


246  In   the   Heart   of  Africa 

the  ants  is  a  fairly  big,  very  slender  and  perfectly  black  ant, 
which  inhabits  the  hollow,  horizontally  projecting  branches  of  a 
small  tree,  Barteria  fistulosa;  they  present  everyone  who,  through 
ignorance  or  carelessness,  touches  their  tree  with  a  very  memor- 
able souvenir,  as  their  bite  is  so  painful  that  one  feels  it  for 
twenty-four  hours  at  least. 

It  rained  somewhat  less  now  and  it  was  considerably  warmer 
(31-32  degrees  Celsius,  atmospheric  temperature).  When  we 
stepped  into  a  clearing  after  a  march  we  were  forced  to  recoil 
from  the  glowing  heat  and  the  blinding  glare.  We  also  learned 
the  full  significance  of  tropical  storms.  They  had  a  more 
thrilling  and  terrifying  effect  here  than  in  the  open  plains.  It 
made  an  overpowering  impression  upon  one  to  watch  the  tornado 
seize  the  giants  of  the  forest  in  its  mighty  grasp,  bending  and 
tossing  them  hither  and  thither,  while  the  green  sea  of  tree-tops 
surged  and  roared  like  the  wild  waves  of  the  ocean.  I  never 
saw  this  forest  look  so  beautiful  as  when  lashed  up  to  conflict 
from  its  habitual  calm  serenity. 

On  arriving  at  the  third  station  after  Mawambi  we  found 
Commandant  Engh,  Chef  of  the  Ituri  district,  awaiting  us.  As 
he  was  to  escort  us  from  this  point,  Lieutenant  Boyton  returned 
to  Irumu.  We  were  all  very  sorry  to  part  from  him.  A  very 
agreeable  companion  and  an  excellent  adviser,  he  had  been  of 
inestimable  service  to  us  during  the  six  weeks  of  his  escort. 

On  the  22nd  of  April  we  entered  Avakubi  by  a  broad,  well- 
kept  road,  and  came  on  an  enormous  open  space  of  ground, 
where  the  Congo  flag  was  waving  from  a  tall  mast.  The  garrison 
and  all  the  station  hands  were  paraded,  no  fewer  than  seven 
Europeans  being  on  the  right  flank.  Avakubi  is  a  large  station, 
with  splendid  avenues  of  oil  palms,  straight  roads,  with  pretty 
brick-built  houses,  and  shady  mango  trees.  A  large  Wangwana 
settlement  lies  at  a  little  distance  from  the  station,  in  which  a 
few  Arabs  have  established  themselves  as  dealers.  An  official 
dinner  took  place  on  the  evening  of  our  arrival ;  the  "  official " 
part  of  it,  so  far  as  1  was  concerned,  consisting  in  the  fact  that 
I  wore  a  starched  shirt  and  a  black  tie,  for  the  first  time  since 


The   Shade  of  the  Virgin   Forest     247 

June,  1907.  Father  Superior  Wulfers,*  of  the  neighbouring 
mission,  was  also  present.  The  next  day  I  paid  a  visit  there 
alone.  The  mission  is  very  prettily  situated  in  a  glade,  and 
makes  a  cheerful  as  well  as  a  very  imposing  impression,  with  its 
new  brick-built  houses,  which,  especially  the  large  church,  bear 
a  resemblance  to  the  Romanesque  style. 

On  the  25th  of  April  we  sent  our  trusty  Askari  home.  As 
they  paraded  before  me  for  the  last  time  with  all  their  old 
habitual  discipline,  I  thanked  them  for  the  loyal  services  which 
they  had  rendered  during  the  past  twelve  months.  I  can  give 
them  an  excellent  testimonial.  Faithful,  and  more  than  faithful, 
in  their  duties,  they  never,  with  very  few  exceptions,  gave  any 
cause  for  serious  complaint.  Some  of  them  had  to  look  after  the 
safe  conduct  of  the  scientific  collection  loads  to  the  coast,  and  so 
were  separated  for  months  from  the  expedition ;  others  had  to 
hasten  with  mail  matter  from  one  safari  to  another  on  journeys 
lasting  for  weeks  at  a  time.  In  spite  of  all,  excesses  were  never 
committed.  The  conduct  of  these  soldiers  bears  eloquent  witness 
to  the  excellence  of  the  German  methods  of  drill  and  instruction, 
which  even  in  the  absence  of  superiors  shows  no  relaxation  of 
discipline. 

As  a  conclusion  to  this  chapter  I  should  like  to  attach  a 
few  general  statements  made  by  Dr.  Mildbraed  concerning  the 
forest,  in  which  he  briefly  sketches  one  of  the  most  important 
results  of  our  botanical  collections: 

"  One  often  comes  across  conceptions,  even  in  recent  works, 
regarding  the  extent  and  character  of  the  African  tropical  forest 
and  the  so-called  Equatorial  forest,  which  do  not  correspond  to 
the  reality.  I  will  quote  a  few  such  instances: 

"' ...  Its  extent  alone  is  smaller,  compared  with  the  Malayan 
and  Brazilian  forests ;  it  is  limited  to  a  relatively  narrow  strip  on 
the  Guinea  coast  to  the  Cameroons,  and  farther  south  to  the 
Gaboon  and  central  Angola.  Thence  eastwards  it  extends, 

*  Father  Wulfers  met  with  a  fatal  accident  whilst  travelling  on  duty  in  the 
spring  of  1909. 


248  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

impoverished  and  alternating  with  savannahs  in  the  Congo  region, 
to  the  great  lakes,'  etc.  Or  again,  '  The  great,  gloomy,  Equatorial 
forest,  which  has  no  connection  with  the  coastal  forests,  and 
which  was  traversed  by  Stanley,  Emin  Pasha,  Count  Gotzen 
and  a  few  other  travellers,  stretches  deep  into  the  interior  of  the 
Congo  territory.  It  cannot  in  any  way  compare,  however,  with 
the  virgin  forests  of  Brazil  or  of  the  Sunda  Islands.' 

"  Regarding  the  first  quotation,  the  point  at  issue  is  not  that 
of  a  vast  uninterrupted  forest  in  the  Congo  basin ;  it  is  an 
accepted  fact  that  broader  or  narrower  strips  alternate  with 
savannahs  there ;  in  the  second  quotation  the  existence  of  an 
Equatorial  forest  is  recognised,  but  the  character  of  tropical 
virgin  forest  and  any  connection  with  the  woods  near  the  West 
African  coast  is  not  allowed. 

"  In  contrast  to  these  statements  I  would  like  to  quote  a  sen- 
tence from  Stanley :  '  Visions  of  Brazil  may  be  conjured  up  in 
the  Congo  basin ;  the  river  itself  is  reminiscent  of  the  Amazon, 
and  the  Central  African  forests  of  the  immense  forests  of 
Brazil.' 

"  From  the  Cameroons  and  Gaboon  coasts  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  the  waves  of  an  African  virgin  forest  surge  uninter- 
ruptedly up  to  the  foot  of  the  Ruwenzori  Mountains  in  the  far 
east ;  it  is  only  laced  in  by  savannahs  like  a  narrow  strait  be- 
tween the  most  south-easterly  point  of  the  Cameroons  and  the 
Ubangi.  Now,  if  we  take  only  the  eastern  portion  of  this 
hemmed  in  part,  the  actual  Equatorial  forest,  we  perceive  an 
immense  mass  of  forest  bounded  by  the  curve  of  the  Congo- 
Lualaba  from  Coquilhatville,  on  the  Equator,  to  Nyangwe; 
farther  by  a  line  from  Nyangwe  to  the  Burton  Gulf  of  Lake  Tan- 
ganjika ;  in  the  east  approximately  by  the  western  edge  of  the 
Central  African  rift-valley ;  in  the  north  by  the  Uelle-Ubangi ; 
and  in  the  west  by  the  Ubangi  in  its  lower  course.  Then  comes 
a  junction  with  the  forests  of  the  south  Cameroons.  This  forms 
a  territory  in  round  figures  of  600,000  square  kilometres,  whose 
connection  with  the  genuine  tropical  forest  is  unbroken,  either 
by  mountains  worthy  of  the  name,  or  by  any  strips  of  pasture 


A     GLADE     IN     THE     VIRGIN     FOREST 


The  Shade  of  the  Virgin  Forest     249 

land ;    a  forest  reserve  which,   as  a  compact  whole,  cannot  be 
equalled  save  in  the  basin  of  the  Amazon. 

"The  question  remains:  Is  this  forest  genuine  virgin  forest, 
tropical  forest  of  typical  formation?  Surely  the  greater  part 
must  be.  I  will  fall  back  again  on  Stanley.  He  says  :  '  Imagine 
the  whole  of  France  and  the  Iberian  Peninsula  densely  covered 
with  trees  6  to  60  metres  in  height,  with  smooth  trunks, 
whose  leafy  tops  are  so  close  to  one  another  that  they  inter- 
mingle and  obscure  the  sun  and  the  heavens,  each  tree  over  a 
metre  in  thickness.  Then  ropes  stretching  across  from  one  tree 
to  another  in  the  shape  of  creepers  and  festoons,  or  curling  round 
the  trunks  in  thick,  heavy  coils,  like  endless  anacondas,  till  they 
reach  the  highest  point.  Imagine  them  in  full  bloom,  their 
luxuriant  foliage  combining  with  that  of  the  trees  to  obscure 
the  sunlight,  and  their  hundreds  of  long  festoons  covered  with 
slender  tendrils  hanging  down  from  the  highest  branches  till  they 
touch  the  ground,  interlacing  one  another  in  a  complete  tangle.' 
That  sounds  highly  fantastic,  but  making  every  allowance  for 
Stanley's  journalistic  heroics  and  extracting  the  kernel  of  fact, 
his  description  is  fairly  accurate. 

"  This  forest  possesses  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  the 
tropical  virgin  forest  in  the  great  height  of  its  trees,  its  numerous 
liane — the  most  striking  amongst  them  being  the  Rotan  palm — 
and  the  many  orchids  and  other  parasites. 

"  There  are  many  other  biological  peculiarities  which  prove  its 
typical  tropical  character. 

"  There  is  yet  another  question :  How  does  the  flora  of  the 
Equatorial  Forest  compare  with  that  of  the  forests  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  west  coast  ?  Are  we  to  accept  the  widespread  opinion, 
viz.,  that  it  is  inferior  in  species,  especially  of  the  endemic  order  ? 
This  question  may  be  decidedly  answered  in  the  negative,  and  I 
look  upon  this  fact  as  one  of  the  most  important  botanical  results 
of  the  expedition.  This  forest,  with  which  we  became  familiar 
in  its  most  eastern  portions,  is  in  no  way  inferior  to  the  forest 
of  the  Cameroons  and  Gaboon  so  far  as  wealth  of  interesting 

types  is  concerned.     Bipinde  in  the  Cameroons,   distant  about 
2  G 


250  In    the    Heart   of   Africa 

2,000  kilometres  from  the  collecting  centre  of  our  expedition 
in  the  Ituri  forest,  is  a  district  particularly  rich  in  endemics, 
i.e.,  species  which  characterise  that  place.  I  was  therefore 
all  the  more  surprised  on  one  of  my  botanical  excursions  to 
come  across  the  Bipinde  flora  en  masse  at  the  foot  of  Mount 
Ruwenzori.  It  may  therefore  well  be  assumed  that  the  forests 
of  the  West  African  Coast  and  the  Equatorial  forest  are  con- 
nected, not  only  geographically,  but  that  botanically  they  also 
form  one  homogeneous  whole." 


WANGILIMA     VILLAGES     ON     THE     ARUWIMI 


CHAPTER    X 

HOMEWARD    BOUND 

WE  left  Avakubi  on  the  2/th  of  April.  We  had  looked  forward 
to  the  day  with  pleasurable  anticipation  as  a  relief  from  hot 
marches  through  tangled  foliage,  and  a  pleasanter  mode  of 
travel  in  large  native  canoes.  The  Ituri,  foaming  over  the 
jagged  rocks,  rushes  wildly  through  the  centre  of  the  village, 
which  is  picturesquely  built  up  on  the  river  banks.  It  loses  its 
tempestuous  character  further  below  and  flows  along  sluggishly, 
under  the  name  Aruwimi,  its  dark  waters  forming  falls  as  it 
nears  the  valley.  There  its  navigability  begins  anew,  and  we 
found  twenty  canoes  waiting  to  carry  us  to  the  Congo. 

After  three-quarters  of  an  hour's  ride  we  arrived  at  Kifuku, 
our  point  of  embarkation.  The  rocks  there  jut  far  out  into  the 
river,  and  with  the  dark  waters  swirling  around  them  form  a 
picturesque  feature.  The  oarsmen  bustled  about  briskly  here  and 
there,  picking  up  tents  and  provisions  and  stowing  them  in  the 
boats.  A  crowd  of  folk  who  had  followed  us  out  of  curiosity 
loitered  round.  A  few  Arabs,  the  last  representatives  of  that 
arrogant  race  which  once  held  sway  in  Africa,  greeted  us  and 
handed  us  gifts  of  carved  ivory.  The  terrace-shaped  banks 
swarmed  with  throngs  of  people,  gossiping,  chattering,  and 
generally  making  a  bedlam  of  the  place  with  their  hubbub  as 
the  flotilla  at  length  set  out.  The  wildest  confusion  and  most 
deafening  din  prevailed.  All  the  boats  were  trying  to  leave 
at  the  same  moment,  and  this  caused  them  to  jamb  against  each 
other  and  crush  the  occupants,  who  started  yelling.  Some  of 
the  oarsmen  who  arrived  late  swung  themselves  into  the  first 
canoe  that  came  handy,  and  jumped  from  boat  to  boat  wildly 

25 1 


252  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

gesticulating  till  they  found  their  own.  We  endeavoured  to 
bring  order  into  the  chaos,  but  our  efforts  only  had  a  contrary 
effect.  As  everyone  was  shouting  at  once,  nobody  could  make 
himself  heard.  At  last  the  coil  was  disentangled  bit  by  bit ; 
we  were  given  our  course,  and,  accompanied  by  the  lusty  singing 
of  the  entire  crews,  our  little  fleet  sailed  out  on  its  voyage. 
Signalling  brief  farewells  to  our  friends  on  the  receding  shore, 
we  turned  our  eyes  to  the  front  and  started  on  the  last  stretch 
of  our  journey. 

The  type  of  boat  we  used  was  the  common  dug-out  canoe. 
The  craft  were  of  greater  length  than  usual,  however,  and  in 
addition  to  Europeans,  boys  and  Askaris,  they  bore  twenty 
loads  and  as  many  oarsmen,  who  were  posted  in  the  yacht- 
shaped,  cut-away  bows.  These  men  were  recruited  from  the 
Wabudu  and  Wangilima  tribes — fine  men,  whose  splendid  dis- 
play of  muscle  afforded  evidence  of  perfect  training.  Their 
naked  bodies  shone  with  grease.  They  wore  caps  on  their  heads 
made  from  the  long-haired  skins  of  apes,  or  tightly-fitting 
bonnets  smeared  with  grease  and  camwood — something  like  those 
used  by  our  ladies  at  home  when  bathing. 

Bending  down  low,  the  baharia  (rowers)  dipped  their  finely- 
carved,  copper-decorated  paddles  deep  into  the  water,  pulling 
them  out  again  with  a  peculiar  rapid  jerk  which  made  the  canoe 
vibrate  a  little.  The  men  are  excellent,  hardy  river  boatmen, 
who,  with  some  encouragement,  will  persevere  untiringly  for 
hours  at  their  work.  Whilst  paddling  they  usually  sing  melodi- 
ously and  with  a  purity  and  harmony  of  tone  that  I  have  seldom 
met  with  elsewhere. 

We  all  found  this  agreeable  mode  of  travelling  an  indescrib- 
able relief  after  our  exhausting  marches  through  the  primeval 
forest.  Lounging  in  dolce  far  niente  style,  stretched  on  a  com- 
fortable chair  under  the  protecting  awning,  we  saw  most  luxuriant 
sylvan  scenery  pass  before  us  in  an  ever-changing  panorama. 
One  might  have  characterised  this  kind  of  voyaging  as  quite 
ideal  had  not  the  troublesome  rapids  ever  and  anon  broken  the 
sweet  enchantment.  Where  the  river  is  wide — in  some  places 


WANGILIMA    OARSMEN    (1ST    POSITION) 


WANGILIMA    OARSMEN    (2ND    POSITION) 


Homeward  Bound  253 

it  has  a  width  of  1,000  metres — it  flows  along  quietly  and 
lazily,  but  where  its  waters  are  straitened  and  narrowly  confined 
by  islands  it  shoots  impetuously  in  foaming  cataracts. 

We  ended  our  first  day's  trip,  which  lasted  nine  hours,  at 
Bosobangi,  where  there  is  one  of  these  rapids.  At  this  spot 
the  river  has  a  fall  of  three  metres  and  becomes  a  cascade.  As 
the  boats  had,  of  course,  to  pass  this,  they  were  emptied,  and  the 
natives  of  Bosobangi,  who  were  familiar  with  this  kind  of  work, 
carried  the  goods,  which  were  heaped  up  on  the  bank,  round 
the  waterfall  by  a  narrow  path.  We  then  took  up  our  stand 
on  a  projecting  slab  of  rock  and  trained  our  cinematograph  on 
the  foaming  froth  of  waters.  At  a  given  signal  each  boat, 
manned  by  two  men  only,  approached  the  chute  in  turn,  and  with 
the  speed  of  an  arrow  shot  down  the  seething  waters. 

Thrilling  as  the  spectacle  may  be,  the  shooting  of  the  cataracts 
itself  is  far  from  being  the  most  agreeable  of  sensations,  as 
there  is  always  a  danger  of  capsizing.  A  slight  miscalculation 
of  direction,  or  a  cross-course  taken  by  the  boat,  may  result 
in  catastrophe. 

We  experienced  this  on  the  second  day.  I  was  sitting  in 
my  canoe  at  the  head  of  the  flotilla,  the  other  boats  following 
at  irregular  intervals,  when  we  came  to  another  rapid,  which 
we  could  discern  from  afar  by  the  white  froth  on  the  crests  of 
the  waves.  On  approaching  dangerous  spots  the  Wangilima 
were  in  the  habit  of  taking  an  experienced  pilot  on  board  from 
one  or  other  of  the  many  neighbouring  villages.  As  this  course 
was  not  pursued  in  the  present  instance — although  the  river  was 
at  high-water  mark — it  was  a  quieting  indication  that  the  passage 
offered  no  difficulty.  We  approached  nearer  and  nearer  the 
rapids,  and  soon  heard  the  rushing  of  the  waters.  The  singing 
ceased,  the  men  shipped  their  oars ;  their  whole  duty  now  con- 
sisted in  keeping  the  boat  in  the  fairway.  Involuntarily  we  sat 
erect  and  grasped  the  gunwale  with  our  hands.  A  slight  feeling 
of  uneasiness  made  itself  felt  in  the  epigastric  region.  We 
reached  the  brink  of  the  cascade,  the  canoe  tipped  lightly  up 
at  the  stem  and  shot  with  a  mad  rush  through  the  raging  torrent. 


254  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

Foam  and  spray  splashed  up  and  besprinkled  the  occupants  of 
the  "fragile  craft.  A  few  moments  more  and  we  were  through, 
gliding  forward  with  increased  speed  for  a  time,  and  the  danger, 
of  which  we  only  had  a  vague  appreciation,  was  over.  Yet  the 
jabbering  of  the  rowers,  which  immediately  increased  in  anima- 
tion, and  the  sudden  lightening  up  and  smiling  expression  of 
their  faces  warned  us  that  their  previous  apparent  tranquillity 
had  only  been  assumed. 

Turning  our  heads  we  observed  that  the  second  boat  had 
sailed  smoothly  over  the  rocky  river  bed.  The  third  one — 
Czeczatka's  "pirogue" — was  just  coming  up.  Its  bows  had 
barely  touched  the  line  of  foam  when  it  suddenly  turned 
obstinately  athwart  the  channel.  Recognising  the  danger,  a 
Congolese  Askari  sprang  up  quickly,  but  a  sudden  side-jolt  of 
the  canoe  and — he  vanished  to  rise  no  more.  The  next  moment 
the  boat  had  capsized  and  thrown  all  its  occupants  into  the  water. 
We  were  horror-stricken!  Any  idea  of  rendering  assistance  was 
out  of  the  question,  for  boat  after  boat  came  swishing  into  the 
current  quite  unstably,  and  each  one  had  quite  enough  to  do  in 
endeavouring  to  avoid  the  fate  of  the  luckless  craft.  It  was 
lying,  bottom  upwards,  jammed  in  between  the  rocks,  and  one 
boy  who  emerged  from  the  flood  succeeded  in  grasping  its  sides 
and  clambering  on  to  the  keel.  A  hand  rose  up  from  the  water 
close  by — it  was  that  of  the  non-commissioned  officer.  The  boy, 
reaching  out,  grasped  it,  and  on  the  head  following,  the  brave 
boy,  with  a  great  effort,  managed  to  pull  his  master  up  into 
a  place  of  security.  The  pressure  of  the  water,  however,  had 
loosened  the  canoe  and  it  went  floating  down  the  stream  with 
both  of  them  hanging  on  to  it.  One  by  one  the  rest  of  the 
unfortunates  appeared  on  the  surface,  some  being  borne  away 
by  the  current,  others,  who  had  already  passed  the  rocks,  making 
for  the  banks,  whilst  some  succeeded  in  saving  themselves  by 
clinging  on  to  great  stones,  where,  dripping  with  water,  they 
awaited  their  release. 

The  work  of  rescue  was  not  an  easy  one,  as  the  canoes 
were  constantly  driven  away  by  the  current.  At  length,  how- 


A     MOBAI.I     (ARUWIMI) 


Homeward  Bound  255 

ever,  we  contrived  to  throw  a  line  to  the  poor  fellows  and 
managed  to  draw  them  into  shelter.  Five  men,  alas!  were 
not  seen  again.  The  Askari,  three  Wangilima  and  a  man  of 
the  Wabudu  tribe  had  met  with  their  fate.  In  addition,  a 
great  many  articles  had  been  lost,  amongst  them  Czeczatka's 
service  rifle  and  side-arms,  his  tent,  cartridges,  and  a  tin  box 
of  writing  materials. 

After  having  convinced  ourselves  that  there  was  nothing 
further  to  be  done  in  the  way  of  succouring  the  victims  of  the 
accident,  we  prepared  to  continue  our  journey.  Czeczatka  was 
given  one  of  the  other  boats  and  I  gave  him  two  of  my  people 
to  help  make  up  the  gap  in  his  crew.  Another  did  the  same. 
Then  the  episode  was  over  and  forgotten ;  the  men  started 
chanting  their  melodious  native  canoe-songs  once  more  as  they 
paddled  tranquilly  along  the  wide  expanse  of  the  river,  their 
voices  echoing  and  re-echoing  against  the  dense  walls  of  foliage 
on  the  banks. 

The  singing  ceased  abruptly.  "  Tembo,  bana  " — "  elephants, 
master  " — shouted  the  man  in  the  bows  as  he  turned  round  to 
me.  I  jumped  up  and  saw  the  enormous  forms  of  five  elephants 
bulging  out  of  the  water,  in  which  the  colossal  creatures  were 
standing  about  half -covered  and  besplashing  themselves  in  lazy 
serenity.  I  seized  my  rifle  and  my  camera,  uncertain  what  to 
do.  The  paddles  were  dipped  very  gently,  so  that  no  noise 
might  betray  our  presence.  The  river  was  about  600  metres 
broad  at  the  spot.  The  approach  of  the  boats  appeared  to 
arouse  a  certain  amount  of  uneasiness  amongst  the  elephants, 
which  was  evinced  by  the  raising  of  their  trunks  and  the  flapping 
of  their  ears.  Creating  a  tremendous  ripple  in  the  stream,  they 
returned  to  the  bank,  where  there  was  a  young  animal  who 
appeared  to  be  in  a  very  aggressive  mood,  and  who  was  venting 
his  spleen  on  the  boughs  of  the  trees,  whilst  the  others  stepped 
out  of  their  bath  and  crashed  into  the  forest.  The  youngster 
raged  around  for  a  time  trumpeting,  and  then,  turning  in  circles 
in  the  shallow  water  near  the  bank,  sucked  up  the  water  in  his 
trunk  and  spurted  it  into  the  air.  As  no  danger  appeared  to 


256  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

threaten  our  boat,  I  dropped  my  rifle  and  picked  up  my  camera. 
Just  then  the  ill-natured  beast  took  his  departure! 

Our  river  journey  had  been  very  poor  in  respect  of  fauna. 
Besides  the  few  elephants  we  had  only  seen  one  or  two  crocodiles. 
Flights  of  grey  parrots  had  frequently  passed  over  our  heads, 
but  the  trees  seemed  almost  lifeless.  The  interior  of  the  forest 
is  alive  with  animal  life  during  the  daytime ;  it  is  only  at  night 
and  in  the  early  morning  hours  that  the  river  banks  show  signs 
of  life,  and  after  the  animals  have  drunk  their  fill  they  retire 
again  into  the  shady  shelter  of  the  thickets. 

We  reached  the  "  Awake "  rapids  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  This  place  certainly  has  a  name,  but  possesses  no 
houses,  so  we  set  up  our  tents  in  the  forest  close  to  the  water's 
edge,  whence  we  could  enjoy  a  splendid  view  of  the  rapids, 
which  stretched  the  whole  width  of  the  river.  We  were  very 
glad  to  finish  the  day's  journey,  as  the  air  on  the  water  was 
most  sultry  and  oppressive. 

In  the  evening  immense  hosts  of  flying  foxes  flew  circling 
over  our  camp.  Uncertain  as  to  whether  they  were  identical 
with  the  Kwidschwi  species,  we  brought  down  a  few  with  our 
rifles.  We  were  very  much  surprised  to  see  that  generally  two 
fell  to  the  ground  together,  instead  of  the  one  hit  only,  and  on 
falling  became  detached.  They  were  love  pairs,  who  were 
probably  whispering  tender  caresses  into  each  other's  big  ears 
during  their  aerial  flight.  We  found  them  to  be  identical  with 
the  Kwidschwi  species. 

At  Bomili  we  learned  what  a  well-kept  European  station  of 
considerable  dimensions  was  like.  Pretty,  whitewashed  houses 
stretched  out  invitingly  along  the  gently  sloping  river  banks 
before  the  eyes  of  the  weary  traveller.  Just  opposite  to  them 
the  Nepoko  flows  out  from  the  green  forest  and  joins  the 
Aruwimi,  which  here  forms  a  rushing  cataract.  As  we  were 
emerging  from  the  Zone  de  1'Haut  Ituri  to  enter  the  Zone  de 
Falls,  our  amiable  travelling  companion,  Commandant  Engh, 
turned  back  for  Avakubi  with  his  rowers.  A  Norwegian  by 
birth,  Engh  is  one  of  the  most  striking  personalities  in  the  whole 


FALLS    OF    THE    ARUWIMI    AT    PANGA 


WAR    AND    SIGNALLING    DRUM    OF    THK    ARUWIMI    NATIVKS 


Homeward  Bound  257 

Congo  State.  His  expressive  face  and  the  narrow  lips  betray 
that  his  lean  person  is  dominated  by  a  power  of  will  out  of  the 
common,  which,  in  conjunction  with  tact  and  shrewd  diplomacy, 
has  had  a  most  beneficial  effect  on  the  natives.  The  Belgian 
Government  has  placed  the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  For 
the  Zone  de  1'Haut  Ituri  comprises  the  great  rubber  reserve,  where, 
as  I  have  elsewhere  mentioned,  the  native  question  is  a  specially 
difficult  one,  and  the  administration  therefore  carries  with  it 
great  responsibility. 

Our  new  crews  showed  themselves  equally  as  experienced 
as  the  previous  oarsmen,  and  knew  how  to  navigate  skilfully  the 
long-drawn  rapids  at  Kalagwa,  which  we  had  to  pass  on  the 
1st  of  May.  As  the  river  winds  between  islands  abounding  in 
craggy  rocks  at  this  spot,  the  current  was  more  than  usually 
strong  and  was  considered  very  dangerous.  Every  boat  there- 
fore took  one  or  two  pilots  from  the  neighbouring  Mobali 
villages,  who  were  intimately  acquainted  with  the  peculiarities 
of  the  stream.  Sitting  in  the  bows,  these  men  would  indicate 
the  exact  course  with  their  hands,  and  the  trusty  crew  en- 
deavoured to  guide  the  canoe  into  the  sole  navigable  channel 
with  their  long  poles.  Most  of  the  boats  negotiated  the  three 
hours'  passage  through  the  seething  froth  in  safety,  but  Wiese's, 
Schubotz's,  and  Mildbraed's  barks  were  in  considerable  peril. 
Although  the  prophecy  that  we  should  have  to  anticipate  losing 
at  least  one  boat  at  this  spot  was  happily  left  unfulfilled,  it  was 
only  after  a  long  and  severe  struggle  that  we  were  enabled  to 
free  the  canoes  from  danger. 

When  we  arrived  at  Djambi  we  had  to  elude  the  cataracts 
by  making  a  detour  on  land.  We  came  upon  huts  for  the  first 
time  which  differed  entirely  from  the  usual  kind.  The  Wan- 
gilima,  the  ruling  tribe  in  these  parts,  cover  their  rough  huts 
with  pointed,  pyramidal  roofs  of  broad  leaves  and  brushwood. 
The  natives  told  us  that  this  covering  is  the  only  protection  they 
are  afforded  against  the  driving  rains  in  the  wet  season.  This 
style  of  architecture  appears  only  at  intervals,  and  after  another 

two  days'  journey  the  ordinary  form  of  hut  resumed  sway.     On 
2H 


258  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

entering  the  village  we  were  startled  by  the  appearance  of  an 
ape  in  human  form,  or  vice  versa.  This  apparition  resolved 
itself  before  long  into  the  headman  of  the  village.  In  order 
to  increase  his  charms,  the  fellow  had  daubed  the  whole  of  his 
body  a  fiery  scarlet  with  powdered  camwood. 

We  came  to  the  most  imposing  cataract  when  we  reached 
Panga.  These  falls  have  a  huge  drop,  and  the  roar  of  the 
boiling  waters  may  be  heard  from  afar.  The  cascades,  divided 
only  by  detached,  brush-covered  rocky  masses,  extend  the  whole 
breadth  of  the  river  and  present  a  magnificently  picturesque 
subject  for  a  painter's  brush  when  seen  in  the  light  of  the  setting 
sun.  We  did  our  best  to  secure  a  photographic  souvenir.  As 
these  cataracts  are  said  to  be  impassable  we  changed  our  boats 
and  our  crews.  Having  bidden  farewell  to  my  beautiful  canoe, 
which  had  borne  me  safely  in  spite  of  a  leak,  I  was  all  the 
more  pleasantly  surprised  to  see  it  again,  and  in  good  con- 
dition, amongst  the  new  craft.  The  men  had  succeeded  in 
taking  it  through  the  raging  torrent  on  long  liane  from  the 
bank. 

There  is  an  island  which  lies  in  front  of  the  waterfalls  on 
which  Mr.  Hannam,  the  discoverer  of  nearly  all  the  valuable 
mines  in  the  Congo  State,  lives.  This  famous  prospector  had 
also  found  conglomerate  gold  in  that  spot,  which  justified  the 
highest  hopes  and  indicated  a  possibility  of  profitable  working. 
Two  of  his  agents  were  prospecting  farther  down  the  river,  and 
apparently  were  equally  successful.  These  finds  gave  further 
witness  of  the  wealth  which  was  lying  around  in  the  soil  and 
not  being  turned  to  account.  Mr.  Hannam,  whose  frank  and 
simple  manner  charms  everyone,  is,  as  may  be  easily  understood, 
one  of  the  most  popular  men  in  the  State.  Equipped  with  a 
very  considerable  amount  of  expert  knowledge,  gained  in  the 
most  important  mining  centres  of  the  globe,  the  Congo  State 
has  taken  him  into  its  service,  and  certainly  not  to  its  own 
detriment.  For  it  was  due  to  him  that  the  abundant  wealth 
of  copper  and  gold  at  Katanga  was  discovered,  and  it  was  on 
his  advice  that  the  active  and  prosperous  industry  at  Kilo  was 


A    MOBALI    (ARL'WIMI) 


A  VILLAGE   HEAD  MAN  OF   DJAMMI 
(ARUWIMI) 


Homeward  Bound  259 

initiated.  Thanks  to  his  shrewdness,  a  whole  number  of  smaller 
metal  deposits  have  also  been  turned  to  advantage.  The  State 
shows  its  gratitude  by  giving  him  a  salary  which  should  satisfy 
the  highest  demands,  as  well  as  his  full  maintenance  whilst  in 
Africa.  As  this  is  over  and  above  adequate  for  the  upkeep  of 
a  whole  family,  a  visit  to  Mr.  Hannam  is  much  prized,  for  no 
one  ever  leaves  his  small  island  without  having  gifts  bestowed 
upon  him.  We,  too,  experienced  his  noted  hospitality,  and  when 
we  reached  Mupele,  after  another  seven  hours'  journey,  our 
glasses,  filled  with  Hannam's  champagne,  toasted  the  health  of 
the  genial  donor. 

Yet  another  incident  heightened  our  pleasure  in  tasting  the 
exhilarating  beverage  we  had  not  seen  for  months,  and  that 
was  our  first  meeting  with  a  European  lady  for  a  twelvemonth! 
We  met  five  boats  in  the  centre  of  the  stream,  which  flowed  along 
almost  imperceptibly.  Under  the  awning  of  the  first  we  saw  the 
fresh  young  face  of  the  wife  of  the  Chef  de  secteur,  Madame 
Milies,  who  for  years  has  shared  life  and  fate  with  her  spouse 
in  the  interior  of  Africa.  Although  the  animated  conversation 
carried  on  from  boat  to  boat  was  only  of  short  duration,  we  were 
strangely  moved  at  the  chance  meeting.  It  was  like  a  greeting 
from  far-off  civilisation. 

The  next  day  was  very  cool,  and  a  dense  mist  obscured  all 
view.  We  had  a  trip  of  eight  hours,  during  which  the  sun  finally 
conquered  the  fog  and  began  to  shoot  down  its  scorching  rays 
in  a  fashion  that  made  us  welcome  the  sight  of  the  Banalia  en- 
campment. On  the  journey  we  had  come  across  several  elephants 
standing  in  the  stream,  and  one  of  them  swam  the  whole  breadth 
of  the  river  in  front  of  our  boats.  On  a  similar  occasion  I  was 
successful  in  killing  an  elephant  from  the  boat. 

It  was  delightful  to  be  able  to  stretch  our  stiff  limbs  again 
after  sitting  so  long  on  the  inflexible  seats.  There  are  rapids 
in  front  of  the  station,  but  they  have  not  much  volume  of  water, 
and  there  are  shell  banks  on  the  bed  of  the  river.  Plenty  of 
young  women  go  in  for  fishing  there ;  they  remain  under  water 
for  several  minutes,  scraping  the  shells  from  the  banks.  The 


260  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

shells  are  made  into  ornaments ;  the  fish  are  similar  to  oysters, 
and  form  a  favourite  article  of  food. 

We  reached  Yambuya  by  way  of  Bakanga  and  the  Bogbodet 
rapids  on  the  afternoon  of  the  8th  of  May,  and  were  at  the 
end  of  our  "  romantic  "  journey  by  native  boat.  There  we  learnt 
that  an  early  steamer  was  coming  to  pick  us  up  and  carry  us 
to  Basoko. 

But  our  last  day  in  the  canoes  was  not  destined  to  pass  without 
accident.  The  boat  occupied  by  my  servant  Weidemann  (our 
general  factotum  in  every  sense  of  the  word)  filled  with  water 
in  consequence  of  the  stern  striking  a  submerged  rock,  and  lay 
on  its  beam  ends.  The  occupants  were  thrown  into  the  rushing 
stream,  and  as  this  boat  happened  to  be  the  last  of  the  proces- 
sion the  catastrophe  remained  unobserved,  and  it  was  a  long  time 
before  the  natives  of  the  neighbouring  village  decided  to  as- 
sist the  unfortunates,  who  were  shouting  and  wildly  signalling 
for  help.  The  canoe  was  got  to  the  bank,  fortunately  un- 
damaged, but,  sad  to  say,  a  number  of  stores,  cartridges 
and  letters,  as  well  as  a  thousand  photographic  plates,  were 

irrevocably  lost. 

***** 

Yambuya,  as  well  as  Basoko,  played  an  important  part  as 
a  base  on  Stanley's  memorable  expedition  to  Emin  Pasha's  relief, 
and  the  boundaries  of  the  old  encampment  are  still  recognisable. 
Directly  opposite  was  the  anchorage  berth  of  the  Delivrance, 
which  we  were  anxiously  expecting.  When  her  shrill  whistle  at 
length  broke  the  stillness  of  the  river  valley,  we  all  rushed  to 
the  shore  in  eager  excitement  to  feast  our  eyes  on  the  sight  of 
a  regular  steamer. 

The  Delivrance  belongs  to  the  smallest  type  of  Congo 
steamer.  She  is  furnished  with  a  large  stern-wheel,  a  deck  lying 
almost  level  with  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  an  upper  deck. 
The  latter  would  be  a  splendid  domicile  were  it  not  for  the 
wood  ashes  which  escape  from  the  funnel  and  rain  down  to 
burn  holes  in  your  clothes.  So  we  joined  our  Danish  captain 
and  made  ourselves  comfortable  on  the  bridge,  which  was  one 


A     MAN     OF     BASOKO 


Homeward  Bound  261 

and  a  half  metres  wide  and  three  metres  long.  The  captain's 
is  the  only  cabin. 

I  paid  a  visit  to  the  great  liane  plantation  of  Patalongo, 
in  company  with  Dr.  Mildbraed  and  M.  Lemoine,  Chef  de 
paste,  a  very  droll,  sociable  fellow.  So  far  as  I  am  aware, 
it  is  the  only  settlement  where  liane  alone  are  cultivated.  When 
I  was  there  there  were  as  many  as  320,000  Landolphia  and 
200,000  Clitandra  seedlings  on  800  ha  of  ground.  The  planta- 
tions are  partly  situated  in  the  clearings  of  the  forest  itself,  and 
partly  in  places  which  have  been  specially  grubbed  out ;  the 
latter,  which  admit  the  full  influence  of  the  sun,  appear  to  be  the 
better  adapted  to  the  purpose.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  here, 
too,  the  full  development  of  the  plantation  is  hindered  in  con- 
sequence of  the  lack  of  permanent  labour.  Only  the  most 
skilful  hands  can  be  utilised  for  the  work,  and  the  State  engages 
each  man  in  most  cases  for  a  period  of  twelve  months. 

The  slow  growth  of  the  liane — which  permit  of  no  tapping 
till  they  have  been  planted  for  twenty  years — deals  a  death-blow 
even  to  such  a  fine  plantation  as  the  one  mentioned.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  huge  pecuniary  outlay  and  lack  of  advantageous 
return,  the  State  has  been  forced  to  cease  further  attempts  in  this 
direction,  and  to  content  itself  with  the  cultivation  of  the  rubber 
tree. 

Meanwhile,  all  our  loads  had  been  stowed  on  board  the 
Deltvrance,  and  we  weighed  anchor  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
loth  of  May.  Soon  the  revolutions  of  the  great  stern-wheel  were 
driving  us  along  the  Aruwimi  with  an  easy  celerity  to  which 
we  had  long  been  strangers.  After  a  few  hours  of  rapid  journey- 
ing, in  the  course  of  which  we  had  to  steer  a  very  zig-zag  course 
in  consequence  of  the  frequent  sandbanks,  we  anchored  at 
Mogandju  and  passed  the  night  there,  after  a  very  entertaining 
evening  in  the  society  of  some  very  pleasant  Belgian  gentle- 
men. 

Mogandju  is  the  best-kept  station  on  the  whole  length  of  the 
Aruwimi.  It  is  surrounded  by  extensive  coffee  and  cocoa  plan- 
tations, and  rubber  trees  are  also  cultivated.  Attempts  have 


262  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

been  made  to  grow  cotton  plants.  It  would  be  premature  to  pass 
any  final  judgment  as  to  their  ultimate  chance  of  prospering, 
but  the  healthy  appearance  of  the  plantation  indicated  that  the 
soil,  at  least,  was  promising. 

After  hearty  farewells  we  proceeded  on  our  course,  accom- 
panied by  the  retiring  Chef  de  paste  at  Mogandju,  M.  Bisteau, 
who  was  going  home  on  furlough  on  finishing  his  "  terme."  The 
whole  village,  with  all  the  head-men,  had  hurried  up  to  view 
his  departure,  and  one  read  genuine  sorrow  in  their  faces  at 
having  to  lose  their  kind  and  honoured  master.  They  pressed 
around  him,  stretching  out  their  hands  and  entreating  him  to 
return  to  them,  and  as  long  as  we  could  see  them  from  the 
steamer  they  kept  on  waving  adieux.  The  feeling  they  exhibited 
was  really  genuine  and  a  sign  of  the  firmly  cemented  mutual 
interest  existing  between  superior  and  subordinates. 

Tranquil  and  unconcerned,  we  enjoyed  the  beautiful  passage, 
until  a  violent  shock  made  the  ship  tremble  and  took  us  for  a 
moment  out  of  our  course.  We  had  run  with  full  force  against 
a  sunken  reef  falsely  marked  on  the  chart,  or  not  marked  at 
all,  and  the  water  was  pouring  with  irresistible  force  through  a 
great  leak  on  the  port  side  into  the  hold  where  our  baggage 
was  lying.  Although  the  crew  bailed  continuously  they  could 
not  keep  pace  with  the  constant  stream  of  water ;  the  bow  sank 
deeper  and  deeper  and  the  vessel  threatened  to  sink.  Nothing 
remained  but  to  beach  the  ship.  We  steamed  with  full  power 
against  the  brushwood  on  the  northern  bank.  In  vain!  The 
Delivrance  recoiled  like  a  ball  from  the  boughs,  oscillating 
violently.  "  Full  steam  astern,  hard  a-port,  and  full  steam 
ahead  across  the  river ! "  came  the  orders,  which  were  executed 
with  admirable  coolness.  Then  we  saw  the  flat  shore  of  a  village 
on  the  further  bank.  To  lessen  the  top-weight  we  all  descended 
to  the  lower  deck,  which  was  nearly  submerged.  We  exerted 
the  engines  to  their  uttermost  and  steered  straight  for  the  bank 
— still  fifty  yards,  thirty,  ten,  and  then  a  terrible  crash!  The 
steamer  lurched  heavily  over,  righted  herself  and  rode  firm.  A 
hurrah  of  relief  escaped  our  throats.  Our  brave  boys,  however, 


A    CONGO    STERN-WHEEL   STEAMER 


A    PLANTATION    AT    BARUMBU,  CONGO 


Homeward  Bound  263 

had  not  waited  for  the  usual  style  of  landing,  but  had  sprung 
overboard  pell-mell. 

After  the  vessel  had  been  emptied  of  all  goods  and  luggage, 
the  necessary  repairs  were  begun.  Not  until  sunset  were  we  able 
to  continue  our  interrupted  voyage.  We  did  not  regret  the 
halt,  however,  for  dusk  was  just  settling  down  in  the  virgin 
forest  and  stillness  reigned,  uplifting  our  spirits  in  an  atmo- 
sphere of  calm  serenity.  From  behind  the  clouds  the  gleaming 
disc  of  the  moon  emerged  in  all  its  silvery  splendour  and  dis- 
seminated that  indescribable  tropical  charm  over  the  surrounding 
scenery  which  calls  up  such  an  unconquerable  yearning  in  the 
heart  of  a  lover  of  nature.  That  feeling,  which,  in  spite  of  all 
dangers  and  hardships,  always  draws  him  again  to  the  vast 
mysterious  territory  of  unexplored  Africa.  We  sat  mute  on  the 
deck,  deeply  stirred  by  the  fairy-like  scene. 

After  some  hours  a  glimmer  of  light  appeared  in  the  far 
distance,  then  a  second,  then  several.  We  were  nearing  our 
destination.  Lying  alongside  the  quay  close  to  the  outer  wall 
of  Basoko,  we  could  discern  the  outlines  of  a  large  steamer. 
It  was  the  Flandre,  which  was  going  to  bear  us  down  the  Congo. 
We  approached  at  half-speed.  Orders  were  given.  "Stop  her! 
Back  her !  "  and  we  made  fast  alongside.  The  officials  of  the 
station  were  waiting  to  greet  us  with  the  Commissaire  general, 
Commandant  van  Vert,  at  their  head.  When,  accompanied  by 
him,  we  trod  the  wide  streets  of  Basoko,  we  almost  fancied  we 
had  returned  to  European  civilisation  again.  And  when  later, 
for  the  first  time  for  a  twelvemonth,  we  lay  in  comfortable 
European  beds  and  ran  over  the  events  of  the  past  year  in  our 
minds,  we  were  able  to  close  our  eyes  in  slumber  with  a  feeling  of 
perfect  contentment.  All  troubles  and  dangers  had  been  happily 
surmounted.  The  voyage  in  front  of  us  on  the  Congo  was  only 
child's  play.  The  work  of  the  expedition  was  finished. 

*  *  *  •  * 

Basoko  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important  stations 
on  the  Upper  Congo.  It  is  an  old  fortified  encampment  of 
Stanley's,  which  has  played  a  considerable  part  in  the  history 


264  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

of  the  Congo  State,  especially  at  the  time  of  the  Arab  rising. 
The  fort  consists  of  towers  and  walls  provided  with  loopholes, 
extending  along  the  Aruwimi.  This  extensive  post  comprises  a 
considerable  number  of  European  dwelling-houses,  magazines, 
barracks,  a  hospital  and  a  prison.  Broad,  shady  avenues  of 
well-kept  mango  trees  give  the  place  a  pleasant,  homely  look. 
The  Commissaire  general,  who  commanded  the  Aruwimi  district 
at  the  time,  escorted  us  round  and  pointed  out  the  fruits  of  his 
and  his  predecessors'  work. 

We  took  the  opportunity  to  examine  one  of  the  larger  store- 
sheds.  It  was  filled  with  cases  of  all  sizes  containing  the  multi- 
farious articles  with  which  the  State  pays  its  workers.  Whole 
shiploads  of  stuffs,  wire  and  beads,  lay  heaped  up  together  with 
mountains  of  straw  hats,  leather  belts  and  other  European 
articles  in  bulk,  which  probably  sprang  from  some  Brussels  or 
Antwerp  bazaar.  Ready  money  is  not  used  in  the  Upper  Congo. 
The  State  pays  for  its  labour  in  kind,  fixing  the  value  itself, 
and  in  this  way  satisfies  at  the  same  time  all  civilised  wants 
felt  by  the  natives. 

Basoko  bears  a  bad  reputation  on  account  of  its  climate. 
Malaria,  black-water  fever,  and  dysentery  have  been  fatal  to 
many  Europeans.  They  found  a  last  quiet  resting-place  in  the 
cemetery  on  the  western  side  of  the  station  under  the  shadow 
of  the  palms  and  the  mango  trees.  A  long  row  of  cairns,  con- 
structed of  bricks  and  lime,  bear  the  name  and  date  of  death  of 
those  buried  there.  Formerly  hardly  a  year  went  by  without  one 
or  two  names  being  added  to  the  list  of  those  who  had  passed 
away.  Matters  are  improved  to-day.  The  progress  made  in 
tropical  medicine,  the  most  brilliant  success  of  which  has  been 
prophylactic  quinine,  has  robbed  malaria,  and  with  it  black-water 
fever,  of  a  good  many  of  its  terrors,  and  dysentery  has  decreased 
with  a  more  accurate  knowledge  of  its  causes.  Yet,  in  spite 
of  all,  these  illnesses  are  always  the  greatest  dangers  connected 
with  a  sojourn  in  the  tropics. 

I  may,  perhaps,  in  this  space  be  permitted  a  brief  word  as 
to  the  state  of  health  of  the  members  of  the  expedition.  Ex- 


A    MAN    OF    BASOKO 


CONGO     STEAM  KRS 


Homeward  Bound  265 

cepting  the  misfortunes  that  overtook  Raven  and  Weiss,  scarcely 
one  fell  seriously  ill — that  is,  sufficiently  so  to  be  confined  to  bed 
for  any  time.  Slight  attacks  of  malaria,  dysentery  and  fever 
occurred  at  times,  but  were  of  an  entirely  harmless  nature.  I, 
personally,  escaped  all  sickness.  The  only  one  who  suffered  a 
violent  malarial  crisis  was  Sergeant  Czeczatka.  In  his  case  the 
fever  assumed  a  very  threatening  character.  He,  however,  was 
also  the  only  one  who,  as  he  himself  confessed,  did  not  keep 
strictly  to  the  Koch  malaria  prophylactic,  as  we  had  done,  viz., 
one  gramme  every  seventh  and  eighth  day. 

We  had  to  devote  our  two  days'  stay  at  Basoko  entirely  to 
the  wearisome  work  of  packing.  Our  special  investigation  work 
was  concluded,  and  all  our  apparatus  and  the  latest  collections 
we  had  acquired  during  the  journey  down  the  Aruwimi  had  to  be 
packed  in  such  a  way  that  they  could  be  confided  with  an  easy 
mind  to  the  hold  of  the  Flandre,  and  then  consigned  to  a  for- 
warding agent  at  Leopoldville  for  transhipment  to  Europe. 
When  the  last  chest  had  been  securely  nailed  down  and  duly 
marked,  and  had  vanished  into  the  bowels  of  the  Flandre  we  all 
breathed  freely  once  more,  and  had  a  feeling  of  holiday  gaiety 
when  we  stepped  aboard  the  ship,  which  awaited  our  departure 
on  the  1 4th  of  May. 

The  Flandre  is  not  a  particularly  fine  vessel  externally,  any 
more  than  the  other  steamers  which  navigate  the  upper  Congo. 
She  is  similar  in  type  to  the  Delivrance,  but  is  far  larger,  and 
is  driven  by  two  stern-wheels.  Suitability  for  the  work  required 
was  made  the  sole  consideration  in  constructing  all  the  steamers. 
The  difficult  conditions  ruling  the  waters  of  the  Congo,  the 
numerous  shoals  which  shift  from  time  to  time,  etc.,  have  to  be 
taken  into  account,  so  that  the  boats  are  given  the  smallest 
draught  possible.  Thus  in  order  that  the  cubic  space  may  not 
be  diminished,  a  proportionate  breadth  and  a  high  superstructure 
have  to  be  allowed.  The  resultant  structure  has  not  anything 
very  shiplike  about  it.  The  comfort  and  convenience  of  the 
interior  arrangements,  however,  soon  reconciled  us  to  a  lack  of 
mere  external  finish.  These  vessels  have  two  superposed  decks, 

2  I 


266  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

the  lower  serving  partly  as  a  cargo  hold  and  partly  as  quarters 
for  the  black  passengers  and  crew.  On  the  upper  level  there  is 
accommodation  for  Europeans.  There  are  about  sixteen  cabins 
amidships,  arranged  in  two  rows,  with  their  doors  and  ports 
opening  on  to  the  promenade  deck,  a  passage  way  of  about  one 
and  a  half  metres  width  encircling  the  whole  vessel.  We  took 
our  meals  in  a  spacious  part  of  the  foreship,  behind  the  captain's 
cabin,  where  there  was  a  full  passage  for  the  air,  and  protection 
from  the  rain  in  the  shape  of  curtains  which  could  be  let  down. 
Taken  all  in  all,  the  Flandre  greatly  surpassed  our  expectations 
with  regard  to  the  comfort  of  a  Congo  steamer.  Our  feeling  of 
gratitude  was  still  further  increased  by  the  kindness  of  the 
Government  in  having  placed  the  steamer  exclusively  at  our  dis- 
posal. Thus,  excepting  ourselves,  there  were  only  four  Belgians 
who  had  accepted  my  offer  of  a  passage  and  had  come  aboard 
with  us. 

Basoko  is  one  kilometre  distant  from  the  confluence  of  the 
Congo  and  the  Aruwimi.  So  we  still  awaited  the  great  moment 
when  we  should  gaze  on  the  mightiest  river  of  the  continent, 
yet  the  actual  sight  of  it  was  far  less  impressive  to  us  than  it 
seemed  to  have  been  to  the  earlier  trans-African  travellers 
Stanley  and  Count  Gotzen.  Our  fourteen  days'  passage  down 
the  Aruwimi  had  accustomed  us  to  the  sight  of  huge  expanses 
of  water,  so  that,  naturally,  we  could  scarcely  be  seized  with 
the  same  feelings  that  filled  our  predecessors  at  the  sight  of  the 
Congo  after  their  long  years  of  hardship,  privation,  famine  and 
danger.  Thus,  we  hardly  noticed  the  Congo,  or  any  particular 
difference  between  the  familiar  picture  of  the  lower  Aruwimi  and 
this  new  stream,  which  did  not  appear  much  broader.  The  reason 
of  this  lies  mainly  in  the  fact  that  during  our  entire  Congo 
passage  we  never  received  the  full  impression  of  its  immense 
breadth  and  might,  although  at  its  widest  spot  it  exceeds  thirty 
kilometres,  for  countless  islands,  sometimes  a  mile  in  length, 
succeed  one  another  in  an  almost  unbroken  chain  and  obstruct  the 
view. 

The  district  chief  at  Basoko  had  recommended  us  to  inspect 


Homeward  Bound  267 

the  Barumbu  plantation,  which  lay  only  an  hour  away  by 
steamer,  and  very  kindly  escorted  us.  This  big  plantation  lies 
close  to  the  river  bank,  and  on  it  are  grown  cocoa,  coffee,  rubber, 
and  cotton.  The  cultivation  of  the  two  last-named  is  in  its 
infancy,  but  the  other  two  are  already  producing  excellent  results. 
The  cocoa  harvest,  for  instance,  amounted  to  thirty-four  tons 
for  the  four  months  preceding  our  arrival.  The  higher  officials 
of  Basoko  possess  a  kind  of  Tusculanum  in  Barumbu,  a  stately, 
spacious  house  beautifully  situated  on  a  hill  in  the  centre  of 
palm  groves  and  blooming  gardens,  from  which  a  wonderful  view 
of  the  river  framed  by  the  primeval  forest  is  obtained. 

Without  doubt  there  are  more  interesting  journeys  in  Africa 
than  a  voyage  on  the  Congo.  For  instance,  it  is  not  so  full  of 
diversity  or  so  absorbing  as  travelling  on  the  Uganda  Railway. 
Yet  it  would  be  unjust  to  condemn  it  as  being  devoid  of  charm, 
as  the  Congo  officials  do.  We  enjoyed  the  agreeable  and  new 
experience  of  sitting  at  table  and  having  the  forests  and  villages 
passing  before  our  eyes  as  if  we  were  present  at  a  panoramic 
performance.  Considerable  demands  are  made  upon  the  captain 
during  this  trip.  With  straining  eyes  he  has  to  "  read  "  the  water, 
that  is  to  say  he  has  to  look  out  for  the  least  curling  or  roughen- 
ing of  the  surface  which  betray  the  presence  of  shoals,  and  avoid 
them  by  constant  zigzagging.  He  dare  not  leave  his  post  forward 
on  the  upper  deck  during  the  course  of  the  voyage.  Behind  him 
a  reliable  black  takes  the  helm,  and  on  the  lower  deck,  under  the 
incessant  scrutiny  of  the  captain  are  two  other  darkies  who 
measure  the  varying  depth  of  the  water  with  two  long  poles.  It 
is  no  uncommon  event,  however,  for  a  steamer  to  run  aground,  in 
which  case  it  may  have  days  or  weeks  to  wait  until  it  can  be 
floated  with  the  assistance  of  another  vessel.  We  were  mercifully 
spared  that  misfortune,  thanks  to  the  captain  and  the  high  level 
of  the  water.  Of  course  we  only  steamed  by  daylight ;  at  night 
we  anchored  anywhere,  if  possible  at  some  village.  These  halt- 
ing places  serve  at  the  same  time  as  depots  for  wood,  which  is 
used  exclusively  for  firing  in  consequence  of  the  lack  of  coal. 
The  supplementing  of  these  wood  stores  is  a  business  which  is 


268  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

left  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  natives.  One  load  does  not 
suffice  for  the  daily  consumption  of  a  i5O-ton  steamer  of  the 
Flandre  type.  Our  fuel  had  to  be  replenished  more  than  once 
during  the  course  of  the  day.  Fortunately  the  banks  of  the 
Congo  are  well  timbered,  and  there  is  wood  in  abundance.  The 
forest  region  ceases  just  before  the  Kasai  estuary  and  steppe 
country  takes  its  place.  We  often  peered  through  our  glasses  in 
the  hope  of  espying  game  of  some  sort,  and  in  fact  we  occasion- 
ally discerned  medium  sized  red  antelopes,  and  once  the  great 
head  of  an  elephant  who  was  dreamily  flapping  his  enormous 
ears.  The  river  fauna,  too,  grew  more  abundant.  Thus  far  we 
had  not  met  with  any  crocodiles  or  hippopotami  on  the  Congo. 
We  met  them  now  in  rich  abundance.  The  river  was  animated 
with  pelicans,  flamingoes,  and  screaming  sea-eagles ;  it  was  quite 
amusing  to  see  the  crocodiles  lying  lazily  stretched  on  the  bare 
yellow  bank  apparently  in  happy  family  union  with  the  long- 
shanked  flamingoes  and  pelicans.  They  appeared  entirely  in- 
different to  the  passing  steamer. 

Up  to  the  present,  traffic  on  the  upper  Congo  and  on  the  lower 
reaches  of  its  great  tributaries  has  been  maintained  exclusively 
by  the  Congo  Free  State  steamers.  Any  private  vessels  belonging 
to  privileged  trading  companies,  or  the  scattered  mission  stations, 
cannot  at  present  be  taken  into  consideration.  There  are  about 
forty-five  steamers  in  the  fleet,  varying  from  about  thirty-five  to 
five  hundred  tons  each.  Three  of  the  largest  are  used  for  cargo 
traffic  entirely.  The  second  larger  type,  like  our  Flandre  and 
two  sister  ships,  have  a  tonnage  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons, 
and  are  intended  mainly  for  passenger  traffic.  There  are  other 
types  and  sizes  also  down  to  thirty-five  tons.  The  steamers 
leave  Stanleyville  and  Leopoldville  every  fourteen  days,  the 
larger  type  alternating  with  the  smaller.  The  journey  from 
Leopoldville  to  Stanleyville  is  accomplished  in  about  three  weeks 
according  to  time-table.  In  the  reverse  direction,  down  stream, 
about  fourteen  days  are  requisite.  We  took  only  eleven  days, 
having  no  cargo  to  load  at  any  point. 

During  the  course  of  our  trip  we  frequently  passed  boats  which 


Homeward  Bound  269 

were  not  so  well  equipped  as  the  Flandre.  As  the  State  looks 
upon  economy  as  of  more  importance  than  celerity  in  the  despatch 
of  its  goods  and  its  agents,  and  there  is  not  much  room  to  spare 
in  the  small  steamers,  a  small  craft  in  the  shape  of  a  lighter  or 
barge  is  sometimes  attached  alongside  the  vessels.  We  saw  one 
of  these  a  few  days  out  from  Basoko.  There  were  twelve  passen- 
gers, agents  d'Etat,  on  board,  and  only  nine  available  berths. 
Three  of  them  had  to  camp  on  the  deck,  which  was  not  any  too 
spacious. 

Military  stations  on  the  upper  Congo  are  so  numerous  that  we 
arrived  at  one  daily,  and  we  always  met  with  a  most  cordial 
reception.  One  day  we  anchored  at  Lisala,  one  of  the  great 
depots  for  troops  of  which  I  have  made  mention  in  another  place. 
This  large  encampment  occupies  an  elevated  position  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Congo  and  commands  a  beautiful  view  of  the  broad 
river  and  its  maze  of  islands. 

Soon  after  leaving  Lisala  we  passed  the  spot  where,  only  a  short 
time  previously,  the  Ville  de  Bruges,  a  thirty-five-ton  steamer, 
had  been  thrown  on  her  beam  ends  by  a  hurricane  which  had 
swept  up  the  stream  with  terrific  force.  Nearly  all  on  board  lost 
their  lives,  including  six  whites.  Some  of  the  Europeans  suc- 
ceeded in  swimming  to  the  banks,  but  were  killed  by  the  natives 
who  had  flocked  to  the  scene  in  the  hopes  of  wreckage,  and  fell 
victims  to  cannibalism.  Only  one  white  escaped,  a  Finn,  and, 
clinging  to  a  plank,  he  was  swept  down  the  stream.  Two  days 
later  he  was  found  on  an  uninhabited  island,  half  crazy  with 
hunger  and  the  perils  through  which  he  had  passed.  Unfor- 
tunately the  poor  wretch  understood  no  language  but  his  own. 
Thus  the  sole  living  witness  of  the  catastrophe  was  unable  to 
give  any  account  of  it  whatever.  The  wheel-house  of  this  ill- 
fated  vessel  still  projected  from  the  water,  a  dumb  token  of  the 
sad  accident  and  a  forcible  reminder  that  even  a  harmless- 
seeming  trip  on  the  Congo  has  its  dangers. 

We,  too,  had  our  share  of  bad  weather  during  the  voyage. 
It  vented  itself  in  torrential  rains  and  tropical  thunderstorms, 
which  burst  down  upon  us  from  a  serene  sky  with  such  force 


270  In   the   Heart   of  Africa 

that  the  banks  of  the  river  were  completely  obscured  by  the  rain. 
At  these  times  the  captain  had  no  means  of  keeping  his  course, 
and  we  had  to  anchor  immediately.  Where  a  strong  wind 
accompanied  these  downpours  we  endeavoured  to  find  some 
tolerably  sheltered  spot  near  the  banks,  where  we  often  stayed 
for  hours  until  the  weather  cleared.  Heavy  morning  mists,  too, 
frequently  delayed  us  in  starting. 

We  arrived  at  Nouvelle  Anvers,  which  is  one  of  the  largest 
stations  of  the  interior,  and  officered  by  fifteen  white  men,  on 
the  1 7th  of  May.  Its  numerous  substantially  built  structures 
give  an  excellent  impression.  The  mission  church  really  amazes 
one  by  its  size  and  its  dignified  beauty,  and  is  an  excellent 
example  of  the  building  powers  possessed  by  the  negroes  when 
under  proper  European  control.  The  station  is  situated  in  the 
centre  of  a  district  that  is  visited  heavily  by  sleeping  sickness. 
This  is  a  fact  borne  witness  to  by  a  hundred  patients  who  were 
lying  in  the  local  hospital  undergoing  the  atoxyl  treatment. 
The  State,  as  I  have  previously  mentioned,  is  fully  alive  to 
the  terrible  danger  of  this  plague,  which  is  spreading  more 
and  more  in  the  Upper  Congo,  and  spares  no  efforts  in  combating 
it.  In  the  big  hospital  laboratory  at  Leopoldville  the  origin 
and  treatment  of  this  dire  disease  forms  a  subject  of  most  serious 
scientific  study,  but,  so  far,  no  positive  and  lasting  success  has 
resulted. 

Coquilhatville,  our  next  stopping  place,  is  the  terminus  of 
the  telegraphic  connection  with  the  coast.  It  is  a  very  attractive 
looking  spot  and  lies  in  the  midst  of  beautiful  horticultural 
gardens.  The  Commissaire  Royal,  M.  Henry,  a  special  ambas- 
sador from  the  sovereign,  was  stopping  there.  He  was  travelling 
under  supreme  commission  of  State  to  examine  into  the  conditions 
of  the  stations  and  the  state  of  the  natives,  and  was  to  report 
later  direct  to  His  Majesty.  These  visits,  which  are  repeated 
at  intervals,  prove  beyond  doubt  that  the  Government  is  actuated 
by  the  best  of  motives,  and  does  all  in  its  power  to  protect  the 
natives  from  any  injustices. 

Twenty  minutes'  steaming  sufficed  to  bring  us  to  Eala,  the 


Homeward  Bound  271 

botanical  experimental  garden,  which  we  had  the  pleasure  of 
inspecting  in  the  company  of  its  director.  It  serves  scientific 
and  practical  aims  jointly.  Amongst  its  numerous  products  may 
be  mentioned  rubber,  gutta-percha,  cocoa,  tea,  vanilla,  coca, 
patchouli,  and  other  articles.  It  was  a  visit  of  especial  interest 
for  our  botanist,  and  a  pleasure  to  us  laymen  to  see  amongst 
the  thousands  of  plants  the  producers  of  such  old  and  familiar 
articles  of  common  household  use  as  tea,  vanilla,  and,  if  you 
like,  patchouli. 

Next  day  we  reached  Irebu,  a  great  military  depot.  Eight 
hundred  black  soldiers  were  being  drilled  into  shape  at  the 
time  of  our  visit.  We  had  the  pleasure  there,  long  denied  us, 
of  dining  in  the  company  of  a  lady,  Madame  Jeauniaux,  wife 
of  the  Commander  of  the  military  depot.  After  dinner  we 
had  a  regular  concert — songs  with  harmonium  accompaniment. 
It  quite  stirred  us  to  hear  German  songs  sung  in  a  very  pretty 
voice  by  a  lady,  especially  after  having  had  nothing  better  in 
the  way  of  music  than  our  hoarse  old  gramophone  for  a  year. 

On  the  following  morning  we  left  on  our  four  days'  voyage 
to  Leopoldville,  the  terminus  of  our  steamer  journey.  These 
passed  quickly,  as  the  scenery  was  always  changing.  We  only 
passed  small  posts  at  this  part  of  the  Congo,  the  duty  of  whose 
occupants  is  to  look  after  the  maintenance  of  the  telegraphic 
connection.  This  duty  is  a  very  severe  one,  for  the  lines  to  be 
controlled  are  of  great  length  and  extend  over  many  miles  of 
fever-laden  swamps.  The  officials  are  constantly  compelled  to 
take  exhausting  journeys  in  order  to  repair  the  damages  inflicted 
by  the  elephants,  or  otherwise. 

After  passing  the  mouth  of  the  Kasai,  one  of  the  largest 
tributaries  of  the  Congo,  we  crossed  Stanley  Pool  on  the  24th, 
a  great  water  basin  of  two  hundred  square  kilometres.  Heavy 
fog  lay  on  the  water  and  forced  us  to  anchor  again.  When  the 
sun's  rays  at  last  pierced  the  vapour,  the  white  houses  of  Brazza- 
ville were  gleaming  in  the  distance  from  the  northern  shore,  and 
those  of  Leopoldville  from  the  southern.  Not  wishing  to  miss 
the  opportunity  of  seeing  the  capital  of  a  French  colony,  I  had 


272  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

communicated  the  day  before  with  the  Governor  of  the  French 
Congo,  who  resides  at  Brazzaville.  As  seen  from  the  river,  the 
town  lies  prettily  situated  on  the  high  banks,  which  are  thickly 
covered  with  trees  and  gardens.  A  trim,  winding  road  leads  up 
from  the  river  to  the  fine  Government  residence,  which  is  sur- 
rounded by  beautiful  verdant  grounds,  and  whither  we  were 
conducted  by  two  officials,  who  had  been  specially  sent  to  receive 
us.  After  having  been  presented  to  the  various  assembled 
officials,  we  set  out  on  a  brief  tour  of  inspection  of  the  hospitals, 
schools,  barracks,  and  other  buildings,  which  made  a  very 
favourable  impression  on  us  as  regards  French  colonial  work. 
As  time  pressed,  we  departed  from  Brazzaville  after  a  three 
hours'  stay,  and  a  quick  trip  across  the  pool  landed  us  in 
Leopoldville  at  noon. 

The  importance  of  this  point  as  the  starting  port  of  the 
shipping  to  the  Upper  Congo,  as  the  central  trading  place  for 
the  interior  and  the  seat  of  the  higher  administrative  authorities, 
is  indicated  by  its  immense  extension  along  the  southern  bank  of 
the  Pool.  The  quay  was  alive  with  traffic  and  the  harbour  was 
crowded  with  Congo  steamers  of  all  sizes.  Some  were  laid  up 
for  cleaning  and  repairs.  Steamers  are  put  together  here  from 
iron  plates  made  in  Europe,  and  then  launched.  Close  to  the 
quay  lies  the  railway  terminus  of  the  Matadi-Leopoldville  Rail- 
way. The  district  chief  and  the  commandant  of  the  garrison 
came  along  to  welcome  the  Flandre,  and  handed  us  letters  and 
newspapers  from  Europe,  an  event  which  always  gave  us  pleasure. 
In  the  afternoon  we  went  for  a  walk  through  the  town,  and  were 
very  much  struck  by  the  large  number  of  factories,  which 
appeared  to  be  in  a  flourishing  condition.  During  our  journey 
through  the  Congo  State  we  had,  so  far,  not  come  into  contact 
with  any  private  enterprises.  The  State  is  the  only  commercial 
agency  in  so  far  as  the  native  demand  is  concerned,  which  deals 
with  the  bartering  in  stuffs,  beads,  etc.  The  streets  and  houses 
in  Leopoldville  are  clean  and  attractive  in  every  way.  Sleeping 
sickness  forms  a  subject  of  the  most  vital  interest ;  only  a  short 
time  ago  cases  of  trypanosomiasis  were  almost  unknown  amongst 


ATMOSPHERIC    ACTION    ON    QUARTZ    ROCKS 


MATADI 


Homeward  Bound  273 

the  white  men.  Unfortunately,  they  have  increased,  and  the 
chief  physician  of  Leopoldville  assured  me  that  very  few  months 
pass  without  some  European,  smitten  with  the  fell  disease,  being 
brought  into  hospital. 

We  were  most  courteously  treated  by  the  authorities,  who 
had  kindly  placed  an  express  train  consisting  of  three  carriages 
at  our  disposal  to  take  us  from  Leopoldville  to  Matadi.  In 
order  to  break  the  journey  of  480  kilometres,  we  spent 
the  night  at  Thysville,  about  half-way,  in  an  excellent 
hotel  belonging  to  the  railway  company.  The  port  lies  740 
metres  above  sea  level  and  nearly  500  metres  higher  than  Leo- 
poldville, and  the  pleasant,  cool  climate  it  enjoys  makes  it  a 
favourite  resting  place  for  weary  travellers  coming  from  both 
directions.  Leaving  early  next  morning,  we  travelled  along  a 
track  of  railway  which  is  admirably  and  skilfully  laid  out. 
Although  no  tunnels  have  had  to  be  made,  and  very  few  bridges 
were  necessary,  many  other  difficult  obstacles  have  had  to  be 
surmounted.  The  embankment  all  along  the  line  is  in  first-class 
order.  All  the  employees,  including  engine-drivers,  inspectors, 
and  repairers  of  the  line,  are  blacks,  who  carry  out  their  duties 
with  all  the  skill  and  adroitness  of  Europeans.  The  track  has 
a  pretty  sharp  descending  gradient  a  little  way  before  reaching 
Matadi.  It  crosses  several  rushing  mountain  streams  and  deep 
ravines,  and  winds  around  steep  slopes.  Three  or  four  serpen- 
tine tracks  followed  close  on  each  other  and  reminded  us  of 
certain  venturesome  Alpine  mountain  railways. 

At  the  last  station  before  reaching  Matadi  the  line  bridges 
the  Mposo,  an  important  confluent  of  the  Congo,  which  rushes 
past  deep  down  in  the  valley,  and  immediately  after  passing  it 
we  caught  sight  of  the  latter  majestic  river  once  more,  which  we 
had  not  seen  since  leaving  Leopoldville.  Framed  in  by  lofty 
mountains,  the  broad  and  mighty  stream  tears  onward  to  the  sea. 
On  arriving  at  5.30  in  the  afternoon,  we  found  a  considerable 
number  of  Europeans  waiting  on  the  station  platform,  partly  to 
greet  us  and  partly  for  the  ordinary  scheduled  train,  due  shortly 

after  ours.     We  were  received  by  the  Vice-Consul,  Herr  Schmidt, 
2  J 


274  In   the   Heart   of  Africa 

and  by  the  Commandant  at  Matadi,  and  shown  to  our  quarters, 
enjoying  some  very  pretty  views  of  the  town  and  harbour  on  the 
way.     Matadi   is  a  place  of  considerable  importance,   as  it  is 
virtually  the  seaport  town  for  the  whole  of  the  Congo  State. 
Ocean-going  steamers   are  able  to   navigate   the  stream  up  to 
this  point.      Numerous  Government  and  private  buildings  reach 
from  the  harbour  to  fairly  high  up  on  the  hills.     All  the  build- 
ings are  constructed  of  iron   and  corrugated  iron,   and  conse- 
quently lacked  the  cheerful  appearance  of  the  stations  we  had 
been  accustomed  to  meet  on  the  Upper  Congo.      The  town  does 
not  bear  a  very  good  reputation  on  account  of  the  great  heat 
which   prevails,    the   mountains   around   shutting   out   all    fresh 
breezes.     The  place  seemed  better  than  its  repute  to  us,  probably 
because  we  had  grown  accustomed  to  high  temperatures.     Two 
vessels  were  lying  in  the  harbour — the  Albertville,  a  4,ooo-ton 
steamer  belonging  to  the  Compagnie  Beige  Maritime  du  Congo, 
which  plies  every  week  between  Antwerp  and  Matadi,  and  the 
Governor-General's  yacht  Hirondelle,  which  was  to  carry  us  to 
Boma   next    day.     During   our   rest   at   Vice-Consul    Schmidt's 
hospitable  house  we  learned  that  within  a  few  days'  time  we 
should  be  able  to  leave  Boma  by  the  English  steamer  Mandingot 
of  the  Elder  Dempster  line,  which  runs  to  the  Cameroons. 

Next  morning  the  smart  little  Hirondelle  took  us  to  Boma 
in  two  and  a  half  hours.  The  Governor,  M.  Fuchs,  was  un- 
fortunately confined  to  his  room  by  indisposition,  but  he  had 
asked  his  secretary  and  the  Commandant  de  force  publique 
kindly  to  meet  us  at  the  landing  jetty.  We  forgathered  later 
at  the  Governor's  residence.  He  has  lived  for  fifteen  years  on 
the  Congo,  and,  having  traversed  the  whole  territory  through 
and  through  in  the  course  of  years,  has  become  one  of  the 
foremost  living  authorities  on  the  subject.  In  consequence 
of  his  excellent  personal  qualities,  his  courtesy,  kindness, 
and  great  experience,  he  is  held  in  very  high  esteem,  and 
we  shall  not  soon  forget  the  pleasant  hours  we  passed  in  his 
house. 

Boma  lies  in  the  midst  of  green  gardens  and  shady  avenues. 


Homeward  Bound  275 

The  hospital,  the  official  and  the  private  buildings  lie  a  little 
distance  away  from  the  river ;  the  city  proper,  the  commercial 
part,  the  factories  and  the  negro  quarters  extend  along  the  bank. 
A  steam  tramway,  on  which  officials  are  allowed  a  free  pass, 
connects  both  parts.  An  experienced  guide  accompanied  us  on 
a  tour  of  inspection  of  the  chief  buildings  and  their  internal 
arrangements :  the  native  hospital,  which  is  built  in  conformity 
with  all  modern  hygienic  ideas,  the  barracks,  the  school,  the 
prison,  etc.  The  latter  contains  a  separate  part  intended  for 
white  men,  which  consists  of  thirty  single  cells  of  equal  size  and 
a  common  mess-room.  This  arrangement  has  proved  to  be 
necessary  in  case  it  should  happen  that  twenty  Europeans  should 
be  simultaneously  expiating  their  offences,  which  for  the  most 
part  consist  in  the  oppression  of  the  natives.  Everything  we 
saw  in  Boma  pointed  to  practical  experience  and  exemplary 
method.  As  we  promenaded  through  the  jardtn  publique  next 
day  (Ascension  Day)  at  the  hour  when  the  ilite  of  Boma  was 
wont  to  air  itself,  we  listened  to  the  strains  of  a  negro  band 
and  enjoyed  hearing  many  a  familiar  tune  again. 

In  the  meantime  the  captain  of  the  Mandingo  had  telegraphed 
from  Loanda  announcing  that  he  would  arrive  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Congo  at  noon  on  the  2pth  of  May.  We  were  to  be  taken 
there  by  the  Wall,  a  small  Congo  State  steamer  which  plies 
between  Boma  and  Matadi.  The  Governor  and  other  gentlemen 
courteously  saw  us  aboard  the  Wall,  and  in  glorious  weather, 
with  hearts  rejoicing,  we  steamed  to  the  open  sea,  which  we  had 
not  seen  for  a  year. 

Sunk  in  thought,  we  gradually  approached  the  mouth  of  the 
Congo,  hardly  observing  the  gradual  receding  of  the  river  banks 
and  the  slowly  changing  colour  of  the  water,  till  our  attention 
was  aroused  to  the  proximity  of  the  ocean  by  freshening  breezes 
and  an  increased  pitching  of  the  boat.  Then,  having  drawn 
abreast  of  the  large  islands  which  lie  in  the  channel  and  obstruct 
the  view,  we  saw  the  ocean  at  last,  stretching  blue  and  limitless 
before  us.  The  waves  were  glittering  in  the  sunlight  as  if 
they  were  spangled  with  gold,  and  their  crests  were  curling  with 


276  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

foam.  A  small  black  cloud  on  the  horizon  indicated  the 
approach  of  the  Mandingo.  x 

We  were  soon  alongside  the  fine  vessel,  just  as  she  was  letting 
her  anchor  drop.  In  a  rolling  sea  the  Mandingo  took  us  and 
our  impedimenta  aboard,  and,  weighing  anchor  again,  stood 
out  towards  the  north.  The  Wall  dipped  her  flag  in  a  farewell 
salute  whilst  the  flag  of  my  native  country  was  hoisted  at  our 
peak. 

We  stayed  a  brief  period  at  the  Cameroons,  and  paid  a  day's 
visit  to  Lome,  the  capital  of  Togo,  but  the  expedition's  explora- 
tion work  was  completed.  Time  will  never  efface  the  impressions 
we  had  received.  We  had  roamed  over  sun-scorched  steppes 
and  through  boundless  primeval  forests ;  passed  over  four 
immense  lakes  and  snow-capped  mountains,  and  had  gathered 
a  rich  store  of  memorable  experiences  indeed.  We  were  return- 
ing home  buoyed  up  with  the  knowledge  of  having  done  our 
duty,  and  having  assisted,  as  far  as  in  us  lay,  in  the  unravelling 
of  many  important  scientific  problems.  , 


CHAPTER   XI 

RESULTS   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

IN  the  spring  of  1909,  at  the  opening  of  the  exhibition  in  the 
Zoological  Gardens  at  Berlin,  which  was  intended  to  afford 
all  those  interested  in  colonial  and  scientific  matters  a  preliminary 
survey  of  the  results  of  the  expedition,  exclamations  of  surprise 
could  frequently  be  heard  escaping  the  lips  of  learned  men  in 
respect  of  the  great  extent  and  remarkable  variety  of  the  exhibits. 
Few  of  those  present  had,  up  to  that  moment,  harboured  the 
remotest  idea  that  our  expedition  would  bring  back  such  a 
notable  mass  of  interesting  scientific  material  as  a  result  of  its 
twelve  months'  exploration  work.  Yet  the  exhibition  building 
only  contained  a  comparatively  insignificant  proportion  of  the 
collections  sent  from  Africa.  The  limited  space  at  our  disposal 
had  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  and  it  was  also  adjudged 
wise  to  present  merely  a  characteristic  selection  to  the  public, 
which  would  not  fatigue  the  eye. 

In  any  case,  the  interesting  botanical  specimens,  the  maps 
and  charts  carefully  drawn  up  by  the  aid  of  the  photo-theodolite, 
the  geognostic  samples,  the  innumerable  exhibits  in  spirits,  the 
hides  and  skulls,  and,  certainly  not  least,  the  rich  ethnographical 
collections,  with  the  numerous  pictures  of  peoples  and  places, 
all  served  to  convince  expert  and  experienced  judges  that  every 
member  of  the  expedition  had  done  all  in  his  power  to  fulfil 
his  own  particular  duty.  In  one  word,  the  expedition  had 
worked. 

I  will  now  give  a  brief  summary  of  the  main  outcome  of 
our  labours,  more  especially  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  may 
not  have  an  opportunity  of  perusing  the  scientific  volumes  which 

277 


278  In    the   Heart   of  Africa 

are  to  follow  this  narrative.  Any  final  judgment  concerning  the 
value  of  the  scientific  results  attained  by  the  expedition  will  not 
be  possible  yet  for  a  considerable  time. 

As  regards  topography:  the  so-called  "white  spot,"  i.e.  the 
territory  north  of  Mpororo,  between  the  Kagera  and  the  Kaki- 
tumbe,  was  thoroughly  surveyed  in  two  plane  table  surveys  on 
a  scale  of  1 : 100,000,  with  an  area  of  2,700  square  kilometres. 
Further,  the  volcanic  region  beginning  at  the  northern  point  of 
Lake  Kiwu,  nearly  up  to  the  3Oth  degree  of  longitude,  was 
surveyed  on  a  scale  of  I  :  100,000,  with  an  area  of  2,500  square 
kilometres.  One  hundred  and  thirty  stereographic  views  were 
taken  of  fifty-one  theodolite  stations,  which  were  computed  later 
by  the  stereo-comparator,  and  which  have  yielded  a  positive 
groundwork  for  the  survey  of  the  country.  Observations  of 
altitude  were  taken  at  three  hundred  and  fifty  various  points  by 
means  of  the  barometer  and  the  thermomenter.  After  finishing 
the  plane  table  surveys,  attention  was  devoted  to  the  road 
surveys,  which  were  revised  and  amplified  by  means  of  the  photo- 
theodolite  and  by  astronomical  observations.  This  work  went 
on  without  intermission ;  when  our  topographer  fell  ill  it  was 
still  supervised  by  him  from  his  invalid  hammock.  Longi- 
tudinal, latitudinal  and  time  computations  were  made  with  the 
assistance  of  eight  chronometers.  Magnetic  observations  were 
taken  at  fourteen  stations  with  deviation,  magnometer  and 
standard  compass.  Two  maps  covering  an  area  of  8,670  square 
kilometres  have  now  been  completed  and  are  ready  for  the 
printer. 

Our  geological  investigations  in  the  north-western  part  of 
German  East  Africa,  especially  the  geological  cartographical 
survey  of  the  "white  spot,"  went  hand  in  hand  with  the  topo- 
graphical work.  Working  conjointly,  our  geologist  and  topo- 
grapher succeeded  in  making  a  geological  profile  chart  of  Bukoba 
right  through  Karagwe  and  Ruanda  to  Kissenji  on  Lake  Kiwu. 
Close  attention  was  given  to  the  contingent  possibility  of  useful 
minerals  being  discovered.  Search  made  in  this  direction  led  to 
the  finding  of  veins  of  iron  ore  in  the  quartzites.  Further, 


Results  of  the  Expedition          279 

valuable  material  was  gained  for  the  observation  and  diffusion 
of  ferruginous  conglomerates,  which  up  till  then  had  been 
erroneously  termed  bog-iron-ore.  Bornhardt  in  his  fundamental 
work  on  the  surface  configuration  and  the  geology  of  German 
East  Africa  had  already  suggested  that  this  mineral  species 
is  by  no  means  identical  with  our  swamp-ore,  but  he  wrongly 
connected  its  origin  with  the  underground  water.  Time  was  also 
devoted  to  the  study  of  the  various  forms  of  atmospheric  dis- 
integration which  were  encountered ;  also  to  the  hot  springs  of 
Mtagata  in  Karagwe,  Irungatscho  and  Maji  ja  moto.  During 
Kirschstein's  stay  of  half  a  year  in  the  volcanic  and  lake 
territory  he  explored  the  Virunga  volcanoes  to  the  north 
of  Lake  Kiwu  with  regard  to  their  formation,  the  erup- 
tive effects  of  their  magma,  their  subsoil  and  their  tectonic 
relations.  Investigations  which  were  made  respecting  the 
earlier  water-level  and  extent  of  Lake  Kiwu  and  Lake  Albert 
Edward,  and  especially  as  to  their  origin  and  mutual  relations, 
finally  led  to  the  conclusion,  supported  by  geological  and 
palaeontological  remains,  that  these  two  lakes  formed  a  common 
water-basin  before  the  birth  of  the  volcanoes,  which  stretched 
out  45  kilometres  northward  beyond  the  present-day  northern 
shores  of  Lake  Albert  Edward.  Altogether  twenty-eight 
loads  of  stone  and  rock  were  collected.  Seventeen  of  these 
fall  to  the  share  of  the  volcanic  territory ;  the  north-western 
portion  of  German  East  Africa  accounts  for  five  (west  shore  of 
Lake  Victoria,  Karagwe,  North  and  East  Ruanda);  the  fos- 
silised molluscous  fauna  of  Lake  Kiwu  yielded  two,  and  four 
loads  came  from  the  western  margin  of  the  Central  African 
rift-valley  and  from  the  Congo  basin.  A  preliminary  report  of 
the  geologist's  researches  will  be  found  in  the  Mitteilung  a.  d 
Deutsch.  Schutzgeb.,  Jahrgang,  1908,  page  168. 

The  expedition's  botanical  spoils  comprise  3,466  specimens. 
The  larger  part  has  already  been  arranged  and  classified  at  the 
Royal  Botanical  Museum  at  Berlin.  So  far  forty-nine  new  liver- 
worts have  been  found,  and  a  cursory  inspection  of  the  feather- 
mosses  leads  one  to  believe  that  this  figure  may  be  increased ; 


280  In    the    Heart   of  Africa 

233  new  species  and  four  new  families  of  phanerogamous  plants 
were  also  found.  Particular  interest  attaches  to  the  collections 
from  the  Rugege  forest  and  from  the  volcanic  region,  which 
fill  up  a  considerable  gap  in  our  knowledge  of  African  alpine 
flora.  A  scientific  treatise  dealing  with  these  collections  has 
already  appeared  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Royal  Prussian 
Academy  of  Science,  Berlin,  for  the  year  1909,  entitled : 
"Die  Vegetationsverhdltnisse  der  zentralafrikanischen  Seen-zone 
vom  Viktoria-See  bis  zu  den  Kiwu-Vulkanen.  B eric ht  iiber  die 
botanischen  Ergebnisse  der  Expedition  des  Herzogs  Adolf 
Friedrich  zu  Mecklenburg,  1907-1908."  (J.  Mildbraed.)  The 
most  important  result  obtained,  however,  is  the  establishment  of 
the  fact  that  a  large  number  of  botanical  families  and  species 
which  had  hitherto  been  believed  to  be  limited  exclusively  to  the 
forests  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  west  coast,  really  reach  as 
far  as  to  the  region  of  the  upper  Ituri,  almost  to  the  foot  of  the 
Ruwenzori  chain,  and  that  therefore  the  great  African  hylaea 
forms  one  homogeneous  botanical  whole. 

Schubotz  throws  light  on  the  zoological  work  done  in  a 
preliminary  report  published  by  him  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Berlin  Society  of  Naturalists,  year  1909,  No.  7  (Vorldufiger 
Bericht  uber  die  Reise  und  die  zoologischen  Ergebnisse  der 
deutschen  Zentralafrika-Expedition,  1907-1908,  von  Hermann 
Schubotz).  The  collection,  which  was  transferred  to  the  Berlin 
Zoological  Museum,  comprised  all  sections  of  the  animal  king- 
dom, and  consisted  numerically  as  follows:  834  mammals  (hides, 
skeletons,  skulls,  specimens  in  methylated  spirits),  800  bird- 
skins,  173  reptiles,  204  amphibious  animals,  708  fish,  1,452 
decapods,  686  molluscs,  7,603  insects  and  several  hundreds  of 
smaller  forms,  1,181  arachnidae,  167  myriopoda,  637  worms 
(oligochaeta,  hirudinidae,  nematoidea,  cestoidea,  and  turbellaria), 
40  glasses  of  plankton,  4  glasses  of  bryozoa,  27  spongiae,  and 
various  swamp  and  moss  specimens.  The  classification  of  this 
material  by  learned  experts,  which  unquestionably  contains  a 
great  number  of  new  forms,  especially  among  the  lower  animals, 
will  be  a  labour  of  some  years.  There  are  a  considerable  number 


Results  of  the  Expedition          281 

of  new  vertebrates  too.  Twenty-five  new  species  of  birds  were 
discovered,  the  classification  of  which  was  greatly  facilitated  with 
the  aid  of  Reichenow's  great  work  on  African  ornithology. 

The  ethnographical-anthropological  results  were  as  follows: 
1,017  skulls  and  about  4,000  ethnographica  were  collected,  4,500 
people  measured,  700  photographs  and  thirty-six  plaster  of  paris 
masks  taken  (eight  Batwa  and  five  Wambutti  amongst  them),  and 
87  phonograms  and  37  languages  recorded.  A  preliminary 
report  from  Czekanowski's  pen  on  the  anthropological-ethno- 
graphical labours  of  the  expedition  during  the  period  from  the 
ist  of  June,  1907,  to  the  ist  of  August,  1908  (including  an  ethno- 
graphical chart  of  the  Nile-Congo-Intermediate  territory),  is  to 
be  found  in  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  Ethnologie,  Jahrgang,  1909, 
volume  V. 

Such,  in  broad  outlines,  are  the  scientific  results  of  our  ex- 
pedition into  the  heart  of  Africa  in  so  far  as  they  can  be  summed 
up  at  present.  They  have  not  been  left  without  recognition  by 
the  critical  experts  of  the  Royal  Berlin  Museums,  and  should 
they  on  closer  investigation  prove  to  be  a  valuable  contribution  to 
our  knowledge  of  Equatorial  Africa,  as  is  confidently  expected, 
we  shall  think  ourselves  fully  rewarded  for  our  labours  and 
hardships. 


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