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THE BEST DANCER ON THE UBANGI : BANZYVILLE, CONGO EREE STATE 



of rubber packed and sent over to Ant- 

 werp was over three hundred tons, and 

 this year (1907) I am told on good au- 

 thority that over four hundred tons are 

 expected. 



Particular stress is laid on the obliga- 

 tion imposed upon the concessionaries 

 concerning the planting of rubber-produc- 

 ing plants, as well as the preservation of 

 the forests. Under the Societe des Sid- 

 tanats immense plantations of ire were 

 being made, and from what I could see, 

 and I saw a good deal, the country under 

 their concession was being greatly bene- 

 fited by the exploitation. 



At the post of Yacoma, Congo Free 

 State, great plantations were made of 

 rice, wheat, Indian corn, and extensive 

 plantations of rubber, the Functunia 

 elastica, commonly called the ire, which 

 was the most suitable rubber plant for 

 that particular climate. 



It was near Archambault (on the 

 Shari River) that I found the custom of 

 elongating the lips more exaggerated than 

 in any other part of Africa, the women 

 actually inserting small wooden or tin 

 saucers in their upper lip and sometimes 

 in both lips. The photographs which I 

 took (see pages 723-726) will show 

 better than a description how ghastly this 

 fashion is. It was most ludicrous to hear 

 these young ladies talk, especially when 

 they had two plates, one in the upper 

 and one in the lower lip, as these clapped 

 like castanets, and the voice became nasal 

 and unmusical. 



These women were otherwise well- 

 formed anatomically and quite statuesque 

 when young. They adorned their ankles 

 and arms with brass rings and wore shell 

 ornaments round the neck. The plates in 

 the lips were occasionally removed, when 

 the upper lip hung down so low in a loop 



