CHAPTER XVII 



DOWN THE CONGO TO THE COAST 



' Erret, et extremos alter scrutetur Iberos. 

 Plus habet hie vitae, plus habet ille viae.' 



Claudian. 



Among the many agreeable recollections that I have 

 of travelling in Africa, two stand out pre-eminent 

 above the rest. One is of coming suddenly into 

 the comfort and luxury of the Sudan Railway, 

 after jogging on the back of an evil-tempered 

 camel for many weary days over the burning desert ; 

 the other is of the almost intoxicating sense of 

 restfulness which we felt in gliding down the Congo 

 in canoes, after trudging over the hideous wilderness 

 of Manyuema. It is likely enough that, if we had 

 been going in the other direction, we should have 

 been just as much relieved to land after paddling 

 for weeks up against the current ; but we were 

 going downstream, and we were not in any hurry 

 — two things which mean comfort in travelling. 



The canoes on the Upper Congo are very long 

 dug-out canoes, some of them nearly loo feet 

 in length. There is usually a little roof of leaves, 

 supported on four posts, in the middle of the canoe, 



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