DOWN THE LOGONS RIVEE 111 



for it with his hands, and presently pulled it out and 

 carried it back to his hut. 



As at Lake Lere, the natives use baskets with such 

 narrow necks that a fish, having once entered, cannot 

 turn to get out again. Another method of fishing 

 is by a series of nets along the banks, which being 

 raised from time to time are found full of fish. Some- 

 times the natives walk the river in line dragging a 

 huge net, somewhat on the trawl principle. 



As we floated down the river one peaceful afternoon 

 a large walled city came into sight, occasional palms 

 and foliage trees peeping above the high mud wall. 

 Only a few feet of land lay between it and the Logone, 

 and, as we approached, this was darkened with figures 

 of men, many of whom were clad in skins that hung 

 over the shoulders both before and behind. We had 

 come to Musgum, famous for its beauty. It is about 

 two miles in circumference, and is enclosed in a 40- 

 feet high wall. We stepped inside the gateway and 

 found ourselves in a narrow street that skirted the 

 edge of a water-meadow, green with a plant that is 

 used for fodder for the cattle. Behind it rose the mud 

 wall, built in tiers, so that the thickness grew ever 

 less and less towards the top, constructed thus so 

 that the defenders might be in a good position to 

 repel attacks from hostile raiders. 



Tall, picturesque houses tapered upwards, and women 

 and children peeped from behind them, or gathered in 

 the enclosures to gaze at us strangers. 



In a large open space cattle were gathered for the 

 night, and farther on the street degenerated into a 

 series of byways, where there was only just room to 

 pass between the houses. One hut had become a 



