166 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



banks, and very refreshing and unexpected is the sight of 

 this narrow stream, with its deep water and clean-cut 

 banks clothed in bright green, winding so sinuously, that it 



ONE OF THE STEEL BOATS ON THE RIVER YO 



almost seems to be wandering aimlessly through the sandy 

 plain like a river that has lost its way. After the broad 

 currents of the Benue and its tributaries, the first sight of 

 the Yo reminds one rather of an English trout stream, as it 

 flows smoothly along with a current of little over a mile an 

 hour through fresh green grass. Beyond both banks stretch 

 undulating sandy plain the surface of which is broken 

 only by burnt-up grass and occasional thickets of mimosa, 

 with a few palm-trees. Now and again there appears a 

 little patch of cultivation surrounding a native village. 

 Isolated pools and backwaters along its course tell of the 

 sudden rises in the rainy season, when the river overflows 

 its banks. These are very beautiful with their fringe of 



