Homeward Bound 
259 
initiated. Thanks to his shrewdness, a whole number of smaller 
metal deposits have also been turned to advantage. The State 
shows its gratitude by giving him a salary which should satisfy 
the highest demands, as well as his full maintenance whilst in 
Africa. As this is over and above adequate for the upkeep of 
a whole family, a visit to Mr. Hannam is much prized, for no 
one ever leaves his small island without having gifts bestowed 
upon him. We, too, experienced his noted hospitality, and when 
we reached Mupele, after another seven hours’ journey, our 
glasses, filled with Hannam’s champagne, toasted the health of 
the genial donor. 
Yet another incident heightened our pleasure in tasting the 
exhilarating beverage we had not seen for months, and that 
was our first meeting with a European lady for a twelvemonth! 
We met five boats in the centre of the stream, which flowed along 
almost imperceptibly. Under the awning of the first we saw the 
fresh young face of the wife of the Chef de secieur^ Madame 
Milies, who for years has shared life and fate with her spouse 
in the interior of Africa. Although the animated conversation 
carried on from boat to boat was only of short duration, we were 
strangely moved at the chance meeting. It was like a greeting 
from far-off civilisation. 
The next day was very cool, and a dense mist obscured all 
view. We had a trip of eight hours, during which the sun finally 
conquered the fog and began to shoot down its scorching rays 
in a fashion that made us welcome the sight of the Banalia en¬ 
campment. On the journey we had come across several elephants 
standing in the stream, and one of them swam the whole breadth 
of the river in front of our boats. On a similar occasion I was 
successful in killing an elephant from the boat. 
It was delightful to be able to stretch our stiff limbs again 
after sitting so long on the inflexible seats. There are rapids 
in front of the station, but they have not much volume of water, 
and there are shell banks on the bed of the river. Plenty of 
young women go in for fishing there; they remain under water 
for several minutes, scraping the shells from the banks. The 
