136 Land Magnetic Observations, 1914-20 



capital of the Tchad Territory of French Equatorial Africa, and is one of the most impor- 

 tant towns of central Africa. There are two French trading stores, known as ' ' factories," 

 but the greater portion of the 80 Europeans are military officials. 



Before the war, the chief route to Fort Lamy from the coast was by way of Braz- 

 zaville on the Congo to Bangui on the Ubangui River, and thence northward to Fort 

 Crampel on the Shari River. A more direct route is from Lagos to Kano in Nigeria by 

 rail and thence by horse and carriers eastward through Maidugari to Fort Lamy. North- 

 ern Nigeria is flat, and the road is practicable for carriage or automobile. 



A caravan route from Fort Lamy to Tripoli crosses the Sahara by the Oasis Belma, 

 but owing to the unsettled state of Tripoli and the presence of numerous bands of brigands 

 at the oases, this route has been practically abandoned the last few years. The route 

 eastward to Khartum on the Nile, however, is serviceable for wheeled traffic, passing 

 by way of Abeshr, El Fasher, and El Obeid. The latter place is in rail communication 

 with the Nile. The Ouhame-Nana Trading Company at Fort Lamy runs a small steamer 

 twice monthly up the Shari River to Fort Archambault and in the wet season it reaches 

 Fort Crampel. The same steamer also makes irregular trips to Lake Tchad and also 

 up the Logone River to Bongor and Lai. 



At Fort Lamy the party was most hospitably received by the governor, Colonel 

 Ducarre, and the administrator, Captain de Ferrer, and every possible courtesy and 

 assistance was extended by the French authorities. 



The southward journey, commenced September 18, was by the way of the Logone 

 River to Lai, thence overland to Gor, where the party turned westward to Baibokoum 

 in the Cameroun and thence continued southward over the divide to Carnot on the 

 Sanga River. Going down the Sanga, the party reached Ouesso, at its confluence with 

 the Ngoko River, November 21, 1919. 



The small steamer not being available, the journey to Lai by the Logone River was 

 made in a "baleiniere," a 2-ton iron boat made of galvanized iron plates bolted together. 

 A curved cover of matting amidships provided quarters for the traveler, and was large 

 enough to take a camp bed. The end of the rainy season was approaching, the river was 

 in flood, and the surrounding country inundated. Hence, very poor progress was made, 

 as the crew of 10 natives were not able to use the poles but were forced to paddle the boat 

 close in to the flooded banks. For the comparatively short distance of 250 miles to Lai, 

 24 days' travel was necessary, a day often lasting from 6 a. m. to 10 p. m. The weather 

 was hot, with stormy afternoons and n r ghts, and the scores of tsetse and other biting 

 flies by day, together with the swarms of bloodthirsty mosquitoes by night, made the 

 trip very unpleasant. 



In the dry season, this district is One of the finest game countries of the world, and 

 abounds with lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, hippopotami, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, all 

 kinds of antelope, bush swine, ostriches, etc., but now the rank grass 10 to 12 feet high 

 effectively hid all game during the passage of the party. All this region was formerly 

 the favorite hunting grounds of the slave raiders from Nigeria and northern Africa. 

 The tribes are pagan, and lacking organization and means of defense were an easy prey 

 to the Arabs. The most interesting tribe we saw was the Mousgoum. Their high mud 

 houses resemble huge shells standing on end, or inverted fluted funnels with the stems 

 broken off short. To put an end to the depredations of the slave raiders, the men made 

 the women hideous by inserting large disks of lead or copper into the lips, both upper 

 and lower. These disks are 2 to 3 inches in diameter and produce a horrible distortion 

 of the mouth. 



Around Bongor the Banana tribe inhabits both banks of the river. They are a very 

 simple people who have not yet reached the village stage, but live in families, with their 

 huts surrounded by fields in which they grow a variety of sorghum. Bongor was reached 



