MINERAL WEALTH. 201 mineral riches. The presence of such is, indeed, hardly to be expected, at least to judge by the geological formation of that part of the country which up to the present time has been occupied. Iron is obtained, as in the surrounding districts, from bog ore, and in the form of plates it serves as an article of barter. The presence of metallic iron—the Negroes assert that it is meteoric iron*—at Jebel Tinna, or Tenna, was previously reported, and samples of it were sent to Europe. I “may just note in passing that there are vague reports of the presence of coal (brown coal ?) in the south-east. But so long as the Egyptian Government does not interest itself in an exploration of the land to the east and south of Monbuttu, perhaps as far as the Congo (really not a difficult task), many. weighty questions regarding this country will remain unanswered. May the near future bring us a better prospect! Further investigations were rendered impossible by the late season of the year and my desire to pass through the Logo district before the occurrence of high water. On our return journey to Gambari’s headquarters we had found all the rivers very swollen and many flooded, so that a two days’ stay at Bellima, where we had to wait for porters, had been a wellearned rest. Unfortunately, bad news reached us here from the north, so that we were compelled to retrace our steps just when we had reached the entrance to the unknown, to give up all the enticing projects of a journey towards the east, and to choose at once the most direct path to the north. Accordingly, we took the old road from Bellima to Mbaga’s village, Negunda, where a new station is to be built. From here we struck a new path, which brought us to the confluence of the Dongu with the Kibali. The configuration of the country was very monotonous, but we passed two rocky mounds called Mellu. The descent towards the river on the other side of these rocks presented a striking change in the character of the vegetation. The plants were just like those seen on steppes, largeleaved and leathery, and there were no high trees. The rapid * The stone is hematite. Concerning the stone axe which came from Jebel Tinna, which was made from that stone by a totally different race to the one inhabiting Monbuttu, the reader will find information in the “ Zeitschrift ftir Ethnologie,” vol. xvi., Verhandlungen, page 294.—G. S, and R. ANDREE.