BUFI TO BUMBEK. 



323 



very beautiful and well-kept hands. Save for a girdle round 

 her waist, she was perfectly nude. In her right nostril 

 there was a highly polished iron nail with a broad head, and 

 with this exception, she wore no ornaments. Her frisure was, 

 on account of the circumstances, dressed in the fashion in vogue 

 here, and her chignon was transformed into a number of curls 

 and rolls, which reached down to her shoulders. It was de- 

 lightful to see with what ease she entered my hut, took a chair 

 and sat down, whilst the dragoman, her brother-in-law, who 

 accompanied her, was obliged to stand. It is very easy to 

 recognise the different social positions of the women here by 

 their behaviour. 



4. From Bufi to Eumbek. 



k£rIMU — A BAND OF MUSICIANS — BUTTERFLIES — PONCET'S OLD ZERlBA — 

 THE YALO CATARACTS — FERTILITY OF THE LESI COUNTRY — PILE- 

 DWELLINGS OF THE LOFI — CHIEF DOJERA, A HERCULES — THE AGAR 

 COUNTRY — AYAK A NEST OF SLAVE-DEALERS— THE ANIMAL WORLD — 

 FORDING THE YALO. 



We had to march for about a quarter of an hour up-stream 

 before reaching the ford, where the " good road " was said to 

 begin. The water there only reached just up to the breast, so 

 that the passage of the river (260 feet broad) was accomplished 

 with considerable rapidity. The road then led over a difficult 

 stretch of stiff mud, which could not be passed without con- 

 siderable disarrangement to the toilet ; this was followed by 

 the swamp of Tiinjuru, which was covered by high grass and 

 stretched out to a distance of nearly a mile on either hand. 

 The muddy gutter through which we waded was very deep in 

 some places, and caused many an amusing scene. After passing 

 through some cultivated land and by a number of isolated home- 

 steads, then through several swamps and swampy Ichors, the 

 road led over a monotonous district covered by steppe wood or 

 acacia bushes, until we reached a welcome resting-place near a 

 large mass of gneiss. Although an extensive view is obtained 

 from the top, it unfortunately provided nothing of interest with 



