102 UGANDA AND THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN.

hours more we entered what looked like the mouth of a large river, but which we found to be only a narrow channel between some islands. Our two pilots were quite at a loss to know where they were, so, seeing some people who had come to the beach to stare at the strange craft, we put them ashore to make inquiries. The scenery here was superb, as most of the land was lofty, with steep banks or precipitous cliffs, clothed with a wealth of vegetation for which I was quite unprepared. Indeed, no traveller in Africa can form any just estimate of the fertility and luxuriance of the vegetation within the rainy belt, unless he has actually visited it, for the forests outside this zone, even in the river valleys, are poor when compared with those within the region of perpetual rain. When our guides returned, having obtained some idea of our position, we resumed our voyage, and during the rest of the day we were occupied in threading our way through the winding channels between groups of lovely islands.

Night fell, and found us still some way from the mainland ; at last, however, about eight o'clock, we cast anchor off a large village, and our guides, who told us we had now really reached Uganda, left us to convey the intelligence to Mtesa.

Next day we were visited by the chiefs of the neighbouring villages, who brought us presents of milk, fruit, meat, and vegetables, and our Wang'uana brought wonderful accounts of the beauty of the