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 

 wiedersehen 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 



