MINERAL WEALTH. 2 or 



mineral riches. The presence of such is, indeed, hardly to be 

 expected, at least to judge by the geological formation of that 

 part of the country which up to the present time has been 

 occupied. Iron is obtained, as in the surrounding districts, 

 from bog ore, and in the form of plates it serves as an article 

 of barter. The presence of metallic iron — the Negroes assert 

 that it is meteoric iron * — at Jebel Tinna, or Tenna, was 

 previously reported, and samples of it were sent to Europe. I 

 may just note in passing that there are vague reports of the 

 presence of coal (brown coal ?) in the south-east. But so long 

 as the Egyptian Government does not interest itself in an 

 exploration of the land to the east and south of Monbuttu, 

 perhaps as far as the Congo (really not a difficult task), many, 

 weighty questions regarding this country will remain unan- 

 swered. May the near future bring us a better prospect! 



Further investigations were rendered impossible by the late 

 season of the year and my desire to pass through the Logo 

 district before the occurrence of high water. On our return 

 journey to Gambari's headquarters we had found all the rivers 

 very swollen and many flooded, so that a two days' stay at 

 Bellima, where we had to wait for porters, had been a well- 

 earned rest. Unfortunately, bad news reached us here from 

 the north, so that we were compelled to retrace our steps just 

 when we had reached the entrance to the unknown, to give 

 up all the enticing projects of a journey towards the east, and 

 to choose at once the most direct path to the north. Accord- 

 ingly, we took the old road from Bellima to Mbaga's village, 

 Negunda, where a new station is to be built. Erom here we 

 struck a new path, which brought us to the confluence of the 

 Dongu with the Kibali. The configuration of the country was 

 very monotonous, but we passed two rocky mounds called 

 Mellu. The descent towards the river on the other side of these 

 rocks presented a striking change in the character of the vege- 

 tation. The plants were just like those seen on steppes, large- 

 leaved and leathery, and there were no high trees. The rapid 



* The stone is haematite. Concerning the stone axe which came from Jebel 

 Tinna, which was made from that stone by a totally different race to the one 

 inhabiting Monbuttu, the reader will find information in the " Zeitschrift fur 

 Ethnologie," vol. xvi., Verhandlungen, page 294.— G. S. and R. Andree. 



