" POSHO " 



blue sky, formed a fitting background to the bushy 

 country in the Enclave. Mount Emin Pasha to the 

 south-west stood out clearly above the range. The great 

 Wliite Nile, shimmering in the sun on its way to enrich 

 the arid wastes of Egypt, lay before us. In a very short 

 time all the loads, together with mules and donkey, had 

 reached the camp and tents were soon run up. 



Further up the well-kept road was the Government 

 Station or Boma, a trim little place with its old mud and 

 grass buildings, each with a verandah around it. There 

 are the Commissioner's offices, large storeroom and post- 

 office, standing on a square piece of ground surrounded 

 by a large number of very beautiful trees. Leading 

 from the Commissioner's house to this verdure-clad spot 

 is a very fine avenue. 



In the morning, when the Commissioner is seen 

 approaching, the bugle rings out, a dozen or so Askaris 

 in khaki uniforms, with short knickers, red sash and fez 

 of the same colour, fall in with their rifles, and give the 

 salute. The Union Jack flutters from a tall staff in the 

 centre of the square. The Commissioner is the only white 

 man in Koba. Once we leave Koba with its rude ideas 

 of civilization we shall go long before seeing another 

 white face. Perchance one may meet an occasional 

 hunter, or a traveller taking the trip home from Uganda 

 via Lake Albert and the Nile to the Mediterranean. 



Some eight miles away to the north there is a mission 

 station in charge of some very excellent people, but Koba 

 itself consists of the Boma and one or two Indian stores. 



A meat market occupies a small patch of very bare 

 ground with one solitary tree. Around the tree on 

 market days a crowd of jabbering semi-naked savages 

 are wont to haggle over the price of a piece of the ox 

 which hangs from a branch of the tree. Every one talks 

 excitedly, nobody listens. Indians display an assort- 

 ment of cheap coloured cloths, gaudy shirts, beads, and 



49 E 



