346 GOK TERRITORY TO RIVERS ROA AND YALO. 



JcJior, and passing many small camps erected by the numerous 

 fishers. I saw dams and weirs in the Jchor-bed. to stem the 

 current, showing that the people are keen fishermen, and the 

 numerous pitfalls in the high grass indicated their love of hunt- 

 ing. Leaving the klior, the soil became again stony, and steppe- 

 wood took the place of the high grass. Then followed small 

 villages surrounded by fields ; they were especially numerous in 

 the district of Mabongo. 



No platforms were to be seen in this district ; the small huts 

 of the Mittu, which stand upon the ground, very much resemble 

 birds' nests. I also noticed here lounge-benches such as are 

 common among the southern tribes. The small tobacco planta- 

 tions were hedged round. The tribal marks of the Beli are 

 scars radiating from the glabella over the forehead, and the 

 extraction of the four lower incisors. The men have their 

 upper lips, and the women both lips, bored ; they wear in 

 them large quartz balls or plates, or pieces of wood ornamented 

 by brass nails. The hair is twisted into locks, each lock being 

 drawn through a plate of iron, and these plates almost com- 

 pletely cover the head. Khor Lila forms the boundary here 

 between the Agar and the Beli, but several Beli villages have 

 been erected across the khor, for the Beli are very fruitful, 

 and if it were not for the slave-trade, they would soon com- 

 pletely fill the country. Beyond Nyang, where, as in all the 

 villages of this district, the people obtain their water from wells, 

 grass steppe, light woods, and beautiful groups of bamboo in- 

 termingle, and numerous butter-trees form a striking feature 

 in the landscape. A large depression filled with water and 

 frequented by many water-birds is situated at the entrance of 

 the village of Mabongo, which gives its name to the district. 



Our small station bears the same name. It is occupied by 

 a single Dongolaui, who rules like a sultan ; his huts stand 

 in a large bamboo enclosure, and his immense corn magazine, 

 which is erected upon a platform, held already enough corn to 

 supply Lado for four or five months, and the harvest is not yet 

 gathered in ! What a shame it is ! 



A pool named Mangillihi marked the spot where we entered 

 the district of Jer ; there were many butter-trees near (called 

 by the Beli, kit to), as well as tall tamarinds, together forming 



