348 GOK TERRITORY TO RIVERS ROA AND YALO. 



evening, when all had assembled for an evening entertainment, 

 the villagers seated themselves in a group, surrounded by our 

 porters, and began to sing a chorus. All of a sudden one of 

 them sprang out of their midst and began to load my porters 

 with opprobrium, notwithstanding that they belonged to their 

 own tribe. This very insolent attack, which was interspersed 

 with all kinds of very low jokes, was given in the quickest 

 time, and accompanied by the clapping of sticks and the shrill 

 trills of the women. Our porters appeared to take the whole 

 affair in good part, and laughed at the jokes and the obscenities 

 quite heartily. When at last the singer was tired and stopped, 

 one of the company seized a green durrah-stalk and began to 

 beat him on the back, as a sign of the greatest satisfaction 

 and appreciation. Our people then took their turn in the 

 performance, and after they had returned the compliments in 

 the same manner, the others commenced a perfect wildfire of 

 the most horrible invectives against their friends and com- 

 patriots, who only laughed, and apparently had no cause for 

 displeasure. As soon as one party was tired, the other party 

 took up the song, and this amusement continued until far 

 into the night. Such scenes often occur between the inha- 

 bitants of different villages, at a place which has been pre- 

 viously determined upon, and all parties appear to greatly 

 enjoy the fun. 



The country which joins Bauru is covered with red ferru- 

 ginous clay and intersected by many rain-gutters, along which 

 bulbous plants abound. The country is beautiful and well 

 cultivated. Village follows village, only separated from one 

 another by corn-fields, thickets of bamboo, and sometimes 

 small stretches of park-land. Grass steppe proper is first 

 noticed again on the borders of Gumro, where broad depres- 

 sions favour the growth of grass. Passing through the corn- 

 fields of the village of Dubre, in which were great numbers of 

 shrieking parrots, we arrived at a small swampy Ichor called 

 Chongo about here, but known farther north as Gulmar and 

 Lila. Notwithstanding the existence of a number of pools 

 of standing water among the high reeds, we were almost 

 able to cross the khor with dry feet. In good time we reached 

 the small station of Lobalede, which is situated on the eastern 



