THE TOBACCO OF LAUDA. 231 front of one house I noticed a gourd with seven holes, into which were stuck pieces of straw; the woman who lived there had had several children, but lost them all, and this was a charm to prevent the recurrence of the catastrophe.

The chief of Lauda came to visit us, bringing with him a present of tobacco, which is cultivated in his territory. Like all Lattika tobacco, it is made into flat round cakes, which, when required for use, are powdered. The method of prepara-‘tion is as follows:—As soon as the leaves have obtained the necessary maturity, they are pounded until the stalks and leaves form one mass; this paste is made into a large heavy bundle, which is wrapped in leaves and exposed to the heat of the sun for a time; the drying process is then completed in the shade. When the bundle is opened, its contents are found to have become mouldy; it is exposed to the sun for a second time, then finely ground, and finally a little water is added to it, and it is formed into a paste, from which the cakes already mentioned are made. Throughout the whole district of the upper White Nile these cakes are called aniet, and are much sought after. The best tobacco in Latuka grows on Jebel Molong.

Our stay here had been almost too long, and as we had still much work before us, and a long way to go, we were obliged to move forward. Keeping the cloud-crowned Jebel Lafit, a long mountain chain, to our left, we had to cross a sandy plain covered by burrows, until we arrived at a wide but still passable swamp. It is impossible for me to say much about the next portion of our route as far as Khor Bicher, because a terrible thunderstorm overtook us, and in a few moments the country was transformed into a lake, through which we hurried forward, wading up to our ankles in water. In the park land through which we passed two groups of very dark rocks were visible ; Khor Bicher itself was scarcely fordable, and caused a delay of over an hour, as it was so much swollen by the rain, and its banks are so steep. Shortly after, we had to cross Khor Koz, which is much more important, and comes from Tarangole. Near it lies the large village of Eyakke, picturesquely situated among hills, and surrounded by green corn-fields, and a forest of Balanites. Eyakke is the first village in Chief Latome’s