24 
II. THE JOURNEY 
his hand he guides the ship, without any map before 
him, from the main stream into a narrow side channel, 
from this into the lake, and from the lake back into the 
main stream ; and so again and again. But he has 
worked up and down this stretch of water for sixteen 
years, and can find his way along even by moonlight ! 
The current in the lower part ofTheTiver is sluggish, 
but it is very different higher up, though it nowhere 
becomes as strong as that of the Rhine. Invisible 
sandbanks and tree trunks floating just below the 
surface demand very cautious navigation, and the boat's 
average speed is not more than eight miles an hour. 
After a long run we stop at a small negro village, 
where, stacked on the river bank, are several hundred 
logs of wood, such as bakers often use, and we lie to in 
order to ship them, as wood is the fuel used for the 
engines. A plank is put out to the bank ; the negroes 
form line and carry the logs on board. On the deck 
stands another negro with a paper, and as soon as 
ten logs have passed, another on the plank calls to 
him in musical tones, “ Put a one.” When the 
hundredth log comes, the call, in the same pleasant 
tone, is, “ Put a cross.” The price is from four to 
five francs a hundred, which is rather high when one 
considers that the logs are all windfalls and only have 
to be collected. 
The captain abuses the village elder for not having 
had logs enough ready. The latter excuses himself 
with pathetic words and gestures. At last they come 
to an agreement that he shall be paid in spirits instead 
of in cash, because he thinks that the whites get their 
liquor cheaper than the blacks do, so that he will make 
a better bargain. . . . Every litre of alcohol pays two 
