282 Capt. B. Alexander on the 
After the fourth day of our iournev the forest became less 
thick, and the Kola-nut tree {Cola acuminata) was plentiful. 
The trade in Kola-nuts in the countries north of the Gold 
Coast is most important. In the dry season_, large caravans 
of cattle, bred in Moshi, and in the districts about the E-iver 
Niger, pass through Gambaga and Salaga on their way to 
Ashanti, where the cattle are exchanged for Kola-nuts, which 
the merchant takes back with him into the Soudan, where 
they are much prized and are in great demand. 
At Kintampo (1055 feet), eight days^ march from Kumassi, 
the forest gives way to stretches of undulating country, which 
rise gradually to Gambaga. Kintampo marks the southern 
boundary of the Northern Territories. The western frontier 
is formed by the Black Volta River, the northern by the. 11th 
parallel of north latitude, and the eastern by the German 
province of Togoland. 
The country here is covered with dwarf trees — chiefly 
acacias and a species with long scanty leaves — interspersed, 
with scrub and coarse grass. The latter grows to a height of 
nearly six feet during the rainy season, and causes, in many 
places, impassable obstacles, until it has been burnt by the 
natives after the rains. The country is watered by two 
large rivers — the Black Volta and the White Volta, — 
which separate at the village of Debre, and by other 
smaller affluents and streams, which generally retain water 
throughout most of the year and become much swollen 
during the rains. Along the banks of these rivers and 
streams there are belts of thick woodland, interspersed 
with large well-proportioned trees and groves of small 
bamboos ; and these belts, always green, mark the windings 
of the watercourses through stretches made monotonous by 
dry grass and the almost uniform expanse of stunted tree- 
growth. Beyond Gambaga (1310 feet), to the northward, 
the land-level falls 700 feet, and the country becomes less 
undulating, while it is uplifted here and there into cone- 
shaped hills of from 100 to 600 feet in height, the tree- 
growth giving way in raauy localities to open stretches, 
covered with guinea-corn and maize. 
