CHAPTER VIII 
THROUGH THE SEMLIKI VALLEY TO THE KILO GOLDFIELDS 
On the first day’s march in the New Year, we were wandering 
through acacia forests and finding many fresh elephant tracks. 
We traversed steep, romantic, rocky regions up to Karimi on the 
Semliki, where we crossed. At this point we passed the equator 
for the sixth time on our travels, for, apart from our journey 
across the Indian Ocean, we were given the further, opportunities 
of passing it on Lake Victoria, and again when near Kasindi. 
On the day following we set up camp at the mission station 
of St. Gustave, where we were most hospitably received by 
Father Superior Farinelli. This mission, which had only been 
established about a year, had been levelled to the ground by a 
hurricane, and they had recently been celebrating its restoration. 
The houses and the chapel, constructed of matetey gave a very 
trim and pleasing impression. This was still further enhanced 
by the kindly demeanour of the mission brethren, who are 
specially esteemed by the Congolese on account of their avoidance 
of political affairs. 
At our next camp, Sambia, after a hot, tedious march over 
somewhat flat country, we were agreeably surprised to meet 
Creydt, the Austrian cavalry captain, who, on hunting bent, 
had marched thither over Fort Portal. On the 13th of January 
we caught a glimpse in the distance of the spruce-looking houses 
of Beni, resting on the plateau of a hill of large circumference. 
Before reaching it, however, we had to pass in intense heat over 
many deep gullies which intersected a broad grass steppe. The 
latter presented a somewhat novel botanical aspect, as it was 
almost exclusively grown over with borassus palms. Many old 
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