216 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



the intention of reaching the Ubangui by descending the river 

 Tomi. Meanwhile, Jose taking the boats by a stream called 

 the Nunna, which is about twenty yards wide and falls into 

 the Gribingi half a mile above the station, met us at the 

 point where the road crosses the river, three hours' march 

 from Fort Crampel. Here we camped while the boats were 

 taken to pieces and everything got ready for an overland 

 journey. The passage of the Nunna was made with 

 difficulty owing to the trees which almost met over the water 

 the whole way. 



Our road followed the French route for supplying the 

 Shari and Chad ^regions from the Congo ; this route was 

 originally opened up by Gentil, who afterwards descended the 

 Gribingi from the po'nt where Fort Crampel now stands. 

 From that time it had been regularly used by the French, 

 although the Gribingi is not altogether a navigable river. 

 7500 loads were sent up annually to the Territoire du Chad, 

 with the result that the country was beginning to feel the 

 strain severely of supplying so much labour and food. The 

 French since then have opened up a new route by the 

 Kumi and Fafa, small rivers which connect with the Bahr- 

 Sara, a river we have already mentioned as flowing into 

 the Shari below Archambault. Communication on the 

 Shari is kept up for seven and a half months in the year by 

 single-keeled, steel barges, about 30 ft. long and 3 ft. in 

 the beam, worked by polers. During the rainy season most 

 of the traffic is done by a stern wheeler which can ascend 

 the Gribingi as far as Fort Crampel. 



After the boats had been taken to pieces, I and Jose 

 went forward with the sections, while Gosling waited behind 



