﻿642 MR. G. E. J. PEEUMONT ON THE GEOLOGY OE THE [Aug. 1905, 



from Matadi, a line of railway, 260 miles long, crosses the moun- 

 tainous belt of the Sierra de Cristal, and reaches the Upper Congo, 

 which becomes once more navigable at Stanley Pool. From there 

 large steamers ply regularly on the river, and cover in about 18 

 days the distance between Leopoldville and Bumba. Thence two or 

 three days more enable the traveller to reach Ibembo, port of entry 

 of the "telle, situated on the Eiver Itembiri, a direct tributary of 

 the Congo. 



The means of communication in the Uelle district are somewhat 

 more primitive, and consist generally, either in using native canoes 

 for travelling over the rivers (frequently full of rapids), or else 

 in tramping overland along the native paths. Eoads for wheeled 

 traffic do not yet exist, although the Government is now laying 

 some out. 



As in most parts of Africa, the work of exploring and of collecting 

 observations in the Uelle is rendered somewhat tedious, if not 

 actually difficult, by the nature of the country and its local con- 

 ditions. In the Equatorial Forest one feels almost as if buried 

 underground ; the field of observation is reduced to the narrow 

 strip of the native footpath, and one goes often a day's march 

 before meeting with any rocks in situ. In the vast plains of the 

 north the same difficulties are found again, caused here by long 

 grass, through which it is often necessary to cut a road. Only for 

 three months in the year, after the grass has been burnt, can this 

 obstacle be considered as slight. 



The climate, though far from being as bad as it is represented, is 

 nevertheless not one which conduces to the exertion of a maximum 

 of energy in the field. 



Itinerary. 



I will now try to give a brief idea of the ground covered in 

 our itinerary. 



The object of the first part of our journey was to reach Ndoruma, 

 the northernmost station of the State in the Uelle district. Pro- 

 ceeding by the Eiver Itembiri, from Ibembo, to Buta, we crossed 

 here, overland towards the north, and reached the Uelle at Bima. 

 From Bima we then followed the Eiver Uelle quite closely, and for 

 the most part, by land-route, up to Niangara. Thence we proceeded 

 across country in a northerly direction to Ndoruma. From this 

 locality, which was for some time our base, we had the opportunity 

 of seeing the country directly north of it, and of inspecting also the 

 district east of it, as far as the hills of Mount Bundukwa. 



The second portion of the journey comprised a visit to the country 

 situated between Dungu and the neighbourhood of Mount Gaima ; 

 thence towards Farach and the Lado Enclave, through the central 

 part of the Nile Territory, as far as the Nile itself. Finally, returning 

 from the Nile Territory, we traversed the mountainous portion 

 of the Uelle district, situated near Arebi, and later took a route 

 more to the south, in order to visit Mount Tena. We returned to 

 Buta by Poko, Zobia, and the Li pod on gu Falls on the Eubi. 



