JOURNEY ACROSS THE GREAT PYGMY FOREST 29 



that might have been prowling round our little encampment. At night 

 I used to fasten my tent to the trunks of trees and surround the. camp 

 with a zariba of small trees. We never had a guard at night. 



"The first Europeans I met after leaving the forest were two Belgian 

 officers at a place called Mawambi, on the Ituri river. Just after reach- 

 ing that place I again struck Stanley's route, and marched for ten days 

 along the banks of the Ituri to the village of Avakubi. Traveling here 

 was very difficult, in fact almost as bad as in the great forest. The tracks 

 were all overgrown and the country practically uninhabited. Its only 

 occupants were cannibals. At Avakubi, which place I reached on Octo- 

 ber 20, I got two large dugout canoes and embarked on the Aruwimi. 

 The natives rigged up a little covering on one of the boats for protection 

 from the sun, and this nearly cost me my life. I was in this boat and we 

 were just starting down a strong rapid when the craft began to sink, and 

 I was unable to get free of the covering. I eventually got to the surface 

 in an exhausted condition, but I lost a large number of photographs. 

 Ten days' journey down the Aruwimi brought us to its junction with the 

 Kongo at Basoko. This was regarded as a very quick journey, but we were, 

 of course, going down-stream. During this section I passed through the 

 country of the cannibal Bangwa tribe, a very warlike people, who are 

 noted for their wonderful workmanship in iron, which they make into 

 spears, knives, etc. They are at present more or less cowed by the 

 Belgians, but I doubt if this condition of affairs will be permanent, and 

 I believe the Belgians will have trouble with them yet. 



"There are many Kongo State posts down the Aruwimi with white 

 officers, and apparently they manage to keep on fairly good terms with 

 the cannibals by whom they are surrounded. Personally I was received 

 most kindly by these cannibals. They are, it is true, warlike and fierce, 

 but open and straightforward. I did not find them to be of the usual 

 cringing type, but manly fellows who treated one as an equal. I had no 

 difficulty with them wdiatever. At one place I put together the bicycle 

 I had with me, and, at the suggestion of these people, rode round their 

 village in the middle of a forest. The scene was remarkable, as thou- 

 sands of men, women, and children turned out, dancing and yelling, to 

 see what they described as a European riding a snake. At Basoko on 

 thf Kongo I embarked in the river steamer Ville de Bruxelles and came 

 down the river, calling at stations en route. After a journey of 600 miles 

 in the boat I reached Leopoldville on November 24. There I joined the 

 railway, which I may say is one of the most wonderful things I have 

 Been in Africa. I traveled in an armchair in an excellent saloon car- 

 riage, and finally reached Matadi, wdience I proceeded to join the Portu- 

 guese mail steamer for Lisbon." 



Asked in conclusion for information concerning the many 

 reported military movements on the Kongo, Mr Lloyd replied: 



"According to report, baron Dhanis was on an expedition in the Kasai 

 district, ami from what I heard he was experiencing great difficulty, 

 especially in the matter of transport, owing to the swampy character of 



