CROSSING A FRONTIER 117 



a few miles to the west. The heat down there was 

 intense, beating down mercilessly from above and 

 upwards from the sandy salt soil ; indeed, Katwe 

 has the reputation of being the hottest place in 

 Uganda, which I can very well believe, and we 

 were not a little glad when we found ourselves near 

 our journey's end. 



But here an unexpected difficulty confronted us. 

 The little river Nyamkassam, which forms the 

 boundary at present between Uganda and the 

 Congo State, though usually fordable with ease, 

 was that day swollen by some sudden storm in 

 Ruwenzori, and had become a deep, rushing torrent. 

 We searched the bank for a possible crossing, and 

 made a considerable noise to attract the attention 

 of some one on the opposite bank, until the white 

 figure of the Belgian officer in command of the 

 post appeared and shouted to us to come across. 

 We splashed through the more or less shallow over- 

 flow until we cam^e to the ordinary bed of the stream, 

 ten yards or so of racing water, too deep to wade 

 and far too swift for us to swim across. On the 

 other bank stood the Belgian with his army of about 

 forty rather ragged-looking scoundrels, but efficient 

 enough soldiers, as we found out afterwards. He 

 suggested our going round by the lake, which 

 meant a walk of two hours more, or waiting until 

 the waters subsided, which might have kept us 

 where we were for a day, or perhaps a week. 

 Neither of these proposals commended itself very 



