i66 TO LAKE ALBERT EDWARD 



from the almost daily hurricanes, which sweep west- 

 wards across the lake. I shall never forget one 

 of these storms, which interrupted the course of 

 our dinner one night. Without a moment's warning 

 all the porters' and askaris' tents disappeared from 

 off the face of the earth, and ours would have 

 followed suit but for the prompt action of the 

 askaris, who supported the poles inside and held 

 on to every rope outside, until the storm ceased 

 as suddenly as it began. A tremendous downpour 

 of rain swelled the ranks of the inside pole-supporters, 

 until there were so many people in the tent that it 

 could not possibly have been blown down. Our 

 beds were reduced to swamps and dinner was a 

 failure, but we were lucky to have kept a roof 

 over our heads. 



Another unpleasant feature of our stay at Kazinga, 

 as well as at other places on Lake Albert Edward, 

 was the swarms of small grey flies, which emerge 

 from the lake in immense clouds, and smother 

 everything that they come near ; they put out 

 your feeble candles, fill your food, and get into 

 your lungs, so that you almost wish for a storm 

 to drown or drive them away. 



What with storms and flies and ill-mannered 

 chiefs, we were not sorry when we were able to 

 send back our escort to Mbarara, cross the river, 

 and move round to the north end of the lake, and 

 so leave Uganda for the last time. 



That part of the Congo Free State which lies 



