100 A NATURALIST IN MID-AFRICA. 



cate little white mushrooms, or red or yellow forms, 

 besides slimy Myxomycetes and black dots of Peris- 

 poriaceae. It is, of course, the moisture and rapid 

 decay of everything that produce this effect. 



Once in the forest I came across a swarm of 

 locusts. Driven upwards by a strong east wind, 

 they had arrived at about 7,000 feet and were 

 covering every branch in heaps, unable to rise 

 higher on account of the wet which clogged their 

 wings. 



At last, after I had refused to have any more 

 guides, I discovered the two paths which lead over 

 the mountain in this part to the Wawamba country 

 and reached the summit at two places. That at 

 the Yeria, which the natives had kept very dark, is 

 a very fair path during the lower portion, as the 

 natives constantly bring down bamboos for their 

 houses. These are tied in bundles and hauled down. 

 This is the only way in which the forest can ever 

 be utilised, and it would not be at all difficult to 

 slide the trunks down to one of the larger rivers, by 

 which they might possibly be floated down to a 

 navigable part of the Wind or Durro, and even 

 perhaps to the Kuisamba. 



From this summit of the Yeria I could just catch 

 a glimpse of the Semliki valley, on the west, before 

 the clouds again shrouded everything in mist. 

 Probably, however, it is by the Winii valley that 

 the best pass could be obtained. 



I went on to this valley after satisfying myself 



