CHIEF RIONGA AND FAUVERA. 281 



year, and the men told off to reoccupy it had only been there 

 fourteen days. On the north bank of the river there are 

 several large villages, inhabited by Shifalu, and indeed the 

 whole district near the rapids is named, both by the Shuli and 

 the Wanyoro, Shifalu, but by the Waganda, Chopi. 



Kionga, the chief of this district, was little altered, but was 

 perhaps rather more stupid than he used to be, owing to his 

 indulgence in mivdnge and spirits. Fauvera is well situated, 

 and surrounded by fine large forests. It possesses a heavy, 

 grey, loamy soil, which produces good crops, especially of maize. 

 The river yields abundance of fish, of the species common in 

 these countries, but a longer stay might reveal many new 

 kinds. A kind of python is very frequently found on the river- 

 bank just below the station, which lies about twenty feet above 

 the level of the water. Specimens eight to ten feet long are 

 often killed, and are freely eaten, while the fat is considered a 

 specific for rheumatism and for earache. Hyasnas and leopards 

 are nightly guests, and are very troublesome. Birds are seen 

 in large numbers. 



The road from Fauvera to Koch is rendered very interesting 

 by its beautiful scenery. Clumps of tall trees, generally tama- 

 rinds or sycamores, festooned with luxuriant climbing plants, 

 alternate with open acacia wood [Acacia gummifera, A. campyla- 

 cantha, A. albida, A. fistula) ; but euphorbias, doleb and date 

 palms, and the slender Dracaenas, with their leafy crowns, are 

 especially striking. Their presence imparts to the forest a 

 genuinely tropical appearance, which is increased by the 

 abundance and beauty of the underwood, and contrasts very strik- 

 ingly with the tediously uniform woods on the northern bank. 



Koch (Koki), which is perhaps the best- situated station of 

 the province, will scarcely be tenable, for Kionga is by no 

 means to be depended on, and lately has been actually refrac- 

 tory. The Nile here flows almost due south and north, and the 

 left bank is free from all obstruction, but the papyrus fringing 

 the opposite bank is all the more luxuriant, and Rionga's island, 

 Nyamezi, which lies just opposite the station, is completely 

 covered by it. Of course, mosquitos are not absent, either here 

 or in Fauvera. 



The river (Nile) appears to have no general name among 



