A MARCH TO MONBUTTU, 1883. 439 



myself in the middle of Monbuttu, and the spell of the illusion 

 is kept up by the strange forms which surround me, and by 

 the almost overpowering splendour of the flora and fauna, in 

 which I daily meet with new forms. And yet I really 

 am in Monbuttu, and only half an hour ago King Munza's 

 daughter led her two small boys to me and told me of the 

 former splendour of her father's house. 



It was a curious chain of circumstances which changed the 

 direction of my route and led me here. You must therefore 

 have patience if my story is rather long. As the transport of 

 corn and ivory was overburdening the inhabitants of Makraka 

 and causing complaints, I conceived the wish to visit the upper 

 course of the Kibali in order to investigate the possibility of 

 navigating it, so that, if possible, I might utilise it for the trans- 

 port of ivory from Monbuttu as far as Kalika. Our station 

 of Logo, situated at the junction of the ISTzolo with the Kibali, 

 together with the station of Tambira, would then form good 

 points of support. With this idea in view, I started, and 

 intended to march via Wandi and Ndirfi southwards to Logo 

 and Tambira, where I could take up my headquarters. To the 

 west of the latter place the road led vid Gango to Kiibi 

 and Tingazi, our chief stations in Monbuttu, and to the east 

 through the Logo and Amadi districts to our stations of Kalika 

 and Wadelai. However, when I arrived at Ndirfi, such dis- 

 quieting news of the state of affairs in the Zande countries 

 came to my ears, that, instead of going direct to the south, I 

 struck west, and, passing by Tobo and Tendia, I reached our 

 station of Mundu, on the Donga. The report which had already 

 reached Lado that a large number of the Zande chiefs, sup- 

 ported by their connexions in Makraka and Monbuttu, had 

 determined to withdraw themselves from their allegiance to the 

 Government, proved here to be a fact. 



In order to make the state of affairs clear to you, I may 

 say that the chiefs mostly concerned were either those who 

 from being simple dragomans or gun-boys (faruJch), had been 

 made chiefs by the Danagla, or those freebooters who by force 

 of arms had usurped the power of the real chiefs. A chain of 

 such robber nests had been established to the west between 

 Ansea and Wando ; another along the line of the Dongu, where 



