64 THE SOCIETY FOE THE PEESEEVATION OP 



strong troll incr-rod, should get a big hug. There were also many 

 snakes taking a bath in the warm water. 



We at length reached the mouth of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, and I 

 hesitated to ascend it, as the navigable; stream is very narrow, and 

 I doubted the feasibility of returning in the face of an adverse 

 wind ; but Mr. Tottenham, who was engaged on measurements 

 for the Irrigation Department, passed in his steamer, going up 

 stream, and promised us a tow on his way back, so we ventured 

 some way. The thermometer stood at 110° Fahrenheit, which is 

 exceptional for February, and the melting moisture of this sudd 

 we found decidedly enervating, while the Culex fatigans and other 

 sorts — I think there are at least a dozen species of disease-carry- 

 ing gnats in this region — were very trying. Very thin, flexible 

 boots reaching above the knee are desirable, with gauntlet gloves 

 to protect the wrists, but all houses and boats used by Europeans 

 should have a refuge made mosquito-proof by wire netting. Con- 

 sidering the number of valuable lives sacrificed in this region from 

 malarial fever, one would think that the authorities would make 

 this an absolute rule. It seems to be now established that a heavy 

 weekly dose of quinine is much more effective as a preventive than 

 a small daily one. 



Papyrus had largely taken the place of reeds. It is in itself 

 a graceful plant, though it becomes monotonous when nothing else 

 is visible for days together. Its stems and tufted flower-heads, 

 twelve feet above the surface, are often festooned with masses of 

 purple convolvulus. When the boat drifts close to this swamp- 

 forest, the eye penetrates into watery arbours and small lagoons, 

 in which lesser birds disport themselves. The am batch grows 

 hero also. It reminds one of the mangrove in Florida. The wood 

 is extraordinarily buoyant, and a fagot of it makes a serviceable 

 canoe. The water is too deep for wading birds, but a water-hen 

 scarcely bigger than a sparrow runs over frail surface-weeds, and 

 a minute edition of our blue kingfisher darts about in the shadows. 

 A conspicuous coot, with rufous back and white beak, stands sentry 

 on floating blocks of sudd, while immense flocks of finches dash 

 about overhead with curious synchronised movements. 



The solitary Deleb palm, a few miles up the Bahr-el-Ghazal, 

 is a conspicuous landmark. It is a good centre for ' Mrs. Gray's ' 

 antelopes, which abound on the banks of the Khor Deleb, but the 

 grass burning was very backward in these wet regions. Moreover, 

 the noise made in splashing through the water makes approach 

 almost hopeless. Doubtless in March or April there would be many 

 burnt spaces, and these animals would bo much easier to find. 

 The Khor Deleb is a much wider sheet of water than the true 

 channel, and to a casual observer would seem to be the main 

 stream. 



About twenty-five miles up the Bahr-ol-Ghazal we made an 

 excursion inland, if it can properly be so called when it was 

 largely through water, often breast-deep. Some way from the 

 main stream we encountered a deep khor, 200 yards wide, of open 



