The Eastern Congo 



forbidding. However, we stood and waited with our boys 

 and baggage around us for the little soldier with the lamp, 

 who was busy talking to the engine driver. His talk was 

 soon over, however, and his little bright face turning to 

 us asked us in broken English to " step this way " and 

 he would make us as comfortable as possible, and telling 

 us he had had a message by telephone from a friend of his 

 in Kigoma to expect us, and that he had some hot coffee 

 ready. Before we left Gottorp we were fast friends with 

 this little man and a more delightful companion I never 

 wish to meet ; nothing was too much trouble ; he would 

 insist upon doing everything, and made us thoroughly at 

 home in his best room. Perhaps one day " Petit Albert " 

 may read this and know how much we appreciated his 

 kindly nature. 



On the other side of the Malagarasi River are the Gottorp 

 salt works, and a large factory erected by a German company 

 for the evaporating process. There are several salt springs 

 on the concession but the only one in use is found to be 

 sufficient to meet the present demand. The brine is pumped 

 into reservoirs and then run off into shallow boiling pans 

 to be evaporated. The demand, which is increasing, for 

 this fine white salt is already extensive, and a very handsome 

 annual profit is made. Although at this time it was in the 

 hands of the Belgians, it has, I believe, to be handed over 

 to the original German concessionaires. 



Whilst waiting at Gottorp for our porters, it was necessary 

 to start to train the four raw natives whom I had engaged 

 as insect collectors. I had attempted to train two such 

 during my stay at Kigoma, with the result that I lost both 

 my nets and cyanide bottles in the complete disappearance 



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