STANLEY POOL. 125 
reached it long before Mr. Stanley had been able to 
transport his goods and his men thither to found a station, 
so that the Franco-Italian, as it were, had the first choice 
of a site. I can only suppose that, in spite of the affection 
the natives bore him, they did not place much ground at 
his disposal, and that De Brazza fixed on Mtfwa because 
he could not get anything better. He may also have 
looked across at Kallina Point, and hoped to secure that 
some day, and then be able to shut up the mouth of the 
Pool if necessary. This promontory is a red cliff, rising 
abruptly some fifty feet from the water, nearly opposite 
Mfwa, on the southern bank of the expanding river. 
Kallina Point might from its commanding situation be 
called the Gibraltar of the Pool, as from its easily fortified 
summit artillery could sweep the narrowing end of this 
lake and render the further descent of its waters by an 
encmy well-nigh impossible. Of course in conjunction 
with “ Brazzaville,” its possession by a hostile party could 
completely interrupt water communication between Léo- 
poldville and the upper river. 
A fearful current races round this cliff, difficult to stem 
even in a steamer, but really dangerous for native canoes 
going against the stream. Here, in December, 1882, 
Lieut. Kallina, an Austrian member of the Expedition, 
was drowned. He would insist on ascending the Congo 
in a small native canoe, being too impatient to explore the 
mysteries of the unknown to wait for the departure of the 
monthly boat which revictuals the stations of the upper 
river. As he was a very tall man, and for some reason 
chose to seat himself on a large chest in the stern, he 
rendered the balance of the canoe very unstable. The 
little craft was badly steered, met the rush of the current 
broadside as it whirled round this point, and was instantly 
capsized. Lieutenant Kallina was drowned, and his name 
has since been given to this redoubtable headland. 
The people inhabiting the shores of Stanley Pool belong 
to the Ba-teke race, but they would seem to be compara- 
tively recent arrivals, and to have dispossessed the older 
inhabitants and driven them into the interior or absorbed 
