The Eastern Congo 



first through a series of acacia park lands and then, as we 

 approached the lake, past the extensive palm-covered swamps 

 that overgrow the estuary of the Ruindi River. On our 

 left hand stood the abrupt spurs of the Central African Rift 

 Mountains which run from here right out on to the western 

 shores of the lake. Beyond them lies the unexplored country 

 of the cannibal Bahuni, untrodden as yet by white man. 



At Siko Moyo we were glad to find a comfortable reed rest- 

 house built on the sandy foreshore. The l^lake water, which 

 always seems to be turbid with organic matter, we found to be 

 slightly brackish and on this account not pleasant to drink. 



The lake itself, which stands at an elevation of three 

 thousand feet above sea level, is said to have an area of 

 approximately eight hundred and thirty square miles, and 

 is fifty-two miles long by twenty-four in breadth. 



At certain times of the year, principally in December, 

 what, in the distance, looks like heavy smoke clouds, some- 

 times as much as half a mile in length by three hundred feet 

 in height, are to be seen moving slowly across it. These 

 are in reality clouds of tiny may-flies, the pupae of which 

 are first noticeable as a reddish-brown film covering many 

 hundred square yards of the surface of the lake. From 

 this stage they suddenly hatch out, and rising quickly en 

 masse, give the impression of having suddenly appeared 

 from nowhere. Huge clouds of these insects are continually 

 seen sweeping across the lake and to get into such a cloud 

 is a most unpleasant experience. The natives of Lake 

 Victoria as well as of Lake Edward collect and eat these 

 insects in the form of baked cakes.* 



* They are also found on Lake Nyasa, and I think on Tanganyika. 

 — H. H. J. 



Il6 



