92 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



was always so much to be done on the morrow were dreaded 

 by me as a terror. But insomnia is experienced more or less 

 by all white men after having lived a year in Africa. 



In the course of the reed-cutting we came upon a gigantic 

 live turtle, weighing nearly 100 lb., with a shell of a pale- 

 lemon colour. We kept it in one of the boats for some days, 

 and the Budumas who saw it said that they had never seen 

 one like it before. But the natives of the Shari told me they 

 were to be found in that river. 



Beyond the reed-belts we found good water with an average 

 depth of 5 ft. The aspect of this part of the Lake was quite 

 different from that of the Yo basin. Instead of the small, 

 flat islands of the latter, there were big island-stretches 

 which formed continual promontories ahead, over-lapping 

 one another on either side of our course. The channel 

 was sometimes not more than 100 yards wide, at others it 

 formed large bays as much as two miles across and lined 

 with belts of dark-green maria, 10 to 30 ft. in height and 

 relieved by the red-brown feathery branches of mimosa 

 trees. On emerging from the reeds into the open water, 

 we fell in w^th a large Buduma j&shing-fleet of forty canoes. 

 It was evening and all were busy in preparation for casting 

 their nets. Up to this time the Budumas had always run 

 away, but now much to our surprise their chief (or Kachella) 

 saluted us and offered to show the way to the other side. 

 He was a man past middle age, tall and gaunt-looking, but 

 his face was kind. He was a chief of some importance and 

 had a large following. Before our boats were made fast for 

 the night, the water around became lively w4th men and 

 small boys wading and racing to get first to us, many holding 



