256 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



The scenery is beautiful and has more variety than that 

 of most African rivers. Although it flows through forest 

 country, that is as a rule very monotonous, the trees along 

 the banks are gay with the colours of all the seasons. 

 In the mass of foliage, the tender lemon green of spring- 

 growth and the russet and gold of Autumn mingle with the 

 green of summer and the darker tones of clustering palms. 

 Here and there the white stems of tall cotton-trees and the 

 feathery lace-work of leafless branches stand out against the 

 mass of varied colour. Not only does this bright bordering 

 illuminate the river line, but in places on the right bank 

 spreads right up the slopes of the hills. 



Soon after leaving Djabbir we had evidences that we 

 were coming into the land of the okapi. Once or twice at 

 the Mobengi villages on the left bank we found native hunters 

 wearing bandoliers made of the striped part of the skin. We 

 could not get much information from these men except that 

 we might find the okapi in the forest three days to the south, 

 and that it was called rtdumha, the Bangala name for the 

 animal and the one by which we afterwards found it was 

 known throughout the "Welle region. As we journeyed up 

 the river, GosUng never relaxed his efforts in seeking informa- 

 tion, and near Angu it became evident that that place would 

 be the most suitable from which to make an attempt to find 

 the okapi, in fact Angu is the only part near the AVelle where 

 it is met with. Here we arrived on January 25. It is a 

 small Belgian post situated on the extreme edge of the 

 forest ; the country to the north on the right bank is the 

 usual bush, with a few forest belts in places intersected by 

 streams. 



