THE MADI OF BORA. 13 



the men I saw were naked, except a young man who wore a 

 small apron of cotton thread. Iron ornaments seem to be very 

 much esteemed ; many of the people have their lips pierced, as 

 well as the rims of their ears, in which short pieces of straw 

 are stuck. I saw bracelets of ivory and of hippopotamus and 

 python skin, and girdles made of the thin scales of a land shell. 

 There were no women visible. The principal chief is named 

 Lonya, and lives a little farther up the stream ; unfortunately, 

 he did not make his appearance until our boat had already 

 started, and though he called to us, we could not manage to 

 turn back. Meantime the trade in wood had come to an end, 

 and an abundant supply of firewood was laid in. We now 

 continued our journey through huge masses of floating plants. 

 Both banks are shut in by chains of hills. Above Bora nume- 

 rous tawfs combine with banks of mud to form a kind of barrier, 

 through which the steamer slowly made its way from one channel 

 to another. I may remark that, on the whole, the river is not 

 very deep in comparison with its considerable breadth. Where 

 the papyrus growth permits a view of the shore you frequently 

 see steep banks of red clay, usually dotted with houses and 

 bananas. 



To-day again a regular tropical thunderstorm broke over 

 us. We are in the month of July, but in the middle of the 

 Rharif, and as the rain lasted a long time, we anchored in 

 the river two hours after sunset. An awning was put up, 

 and the whole company of crew and passengers retired shivering 

 under their ox-skins and coverings. The rain continued until 

 eleven in the evening. About an hour and a half before sun- 

 set we had passed the spot where on Gessi's map are written 

 the words, " Branch to the west." I have recently been able 

 to convince myself that the stream which was supposed to be 

 there does not exist ; but there is a branch to the west, which 

 joins the river again after flowing round an island. 



The journey was resumed at 3.10 a.m. before break of day, 

 although we were all shivering. The sunrise presented us 

 with .a magnificent spectacle. The broad majestic stream, 

 now freed from all vegetation and obstructions, was gilded 

 by the rising sun, and we could see the tall red cliffs, the 

 wooded hills ascending gradually to the lofty azure mountains, 



