CHIEF RIONGA AND FAUVERA. 281 year, and the men told off to reoccupy it had only been there fourteen days. On the north bank of the river there are several large villages, inhabited by Shifali, and indeed the whole district near the rapids is named, both by the Shuli and the Wanydro, Shifalu, but by the Waganda, Chopi.

Ridnga, the chief of this district, was little altered, but was perhaps rather more stupid than he used to be, owing to his indulgence in mwénge and spirits. Fauvera is well situated, and surrounded by fine large forests. It possesses a heavy, grey, loamy soil, which produces good crops, especially of maize. The river yields abundance of fish, of the species common in these countries, but a longer stay might reveal many new kinds. <A kind of python is very frequently found on the river-. bank just below the station, which lies about twenty feet above the level of the water. Specimens eight to ten feet long are often killed, and are freely eaten, while the fat is considered a specific for rheumatism and for earache. Hyzenas and leopards are nightly guests, and are very troublesome. JBirds are seen in large numbers.

The road from Fauvera to Koch is rendered very interesting by its beautiful scenery. Clumps of tall trees, generally tamarinds or sycamores, festooned with luxuriant climbing plants, alternate with open acacia wood (Acacia gummifera, A. campylacantha, A. albida, A. fistula); but euphorbias, doléb and date palms, and the slender Draczenas, with their leafy crowns, are especially striking. Their presence imparts to the forest a genuinely tropical appearance, which is increased by the abundance and beauty of the underwood, and contrasts very strikingly with the tediously uniform woods on the northern bank.

Koch (Koki), which is perhaps the best-situated station of the province, will scarcely be tenable, for Ridnga is by no means to be depended on, and lately has been actually refractory. The Nile here flows almost due south and north, and the left bank is free from all obstruction, but the papyrus fringing the opposite bank is all the more luxuriant, and Ridnga’s island, Nyamezi, which lies just opposite the station, is completely covered by it. Of course, mosquitos are not absent, either here or in Fauvera.

The river (Nile) appears to have no general name among