The Eastern Congo 



The fourth and last day of our voyage, which brought 

 us into Kabalo, took us past Ankora, the administrative 

 centre of the district on the mouth of the Luvua River which 

 flows out of the north end of Lake Mweru. The small 

 town of Kabalo being built amidst marshy surroundings 

 is uninviting and mosquito ridden ; it forms the terminus 

 of the short section of railway completed during the war, 

 connecting the Upper Congo River (or Lualaba) with Albert- 

 ville on Lake Tanganyika. The bi-weekly mail train leaves 

 Kabalo at 6 a.m. and reaching Albertville at sundown, 

 takes twelve hours to do the hundred and sixty-five miles. 

 Half way along its length, this line follows the Lukuga 

 River very closely, and much beautiful and wild river 

 scenery is passed. There appeared to be no change in the 

 surrounding bush, all the trees and shrubs in the open 

 forest were old friends, familiar to me farther south in 

 Northern Rhodesia and the Chambezi Valley. 



Our little train puffed into Albertville at sundown to- 

 wards the end of June, 1919. Fortunately for us, as at 

 Kabalo, there is a limited accommodation for travellers 

 which consists of wooden huts, near the railway, belonging 

 to the Compagnie des Grands Lacs, for the use of which 

 five francs per day is charged. 



Albertville, which is partly built on a narrow strip of 

 foreshore and partly above on the high sandstone cliffs, 

 lies almost on the sixth degree south of the equator, and 

 close up to the only outlet of the Tanganjdka waters, where 

 the Lukuga River has its source. The volume of water 

 which flows through this gap in the western wall of the 

 lake, changes according to the seasons, but of recent years 

 there has been no large overflow, its tendency being to 



8 



