320 BITI TO BUFI.

latter is divided by a reed fence into an outer and an inner compartment, the former containing two large huts, each about fifteen feet in diameter, with neat mud walls about three feet high, and a lofty conical roof. These two huts serve as a dwelling-place for the master of the house. The inner compound, or harem, contains six smaller huts. The whole arrangement is really curious, especially here, where the ground is not swampy, and where termites are only seldom found, so that there appears to be no real reason for such a method of housebuilding.

The station of Bufi consists of a collection of such buildings, those occupied by the Danagla differing only by their greater filth from those of the rest of the population. Hach building was originally surrounded by a bamboo fence, but these are for the most part broken down, which is strange, for here leopards carry off people in the day-time from out of their houses, as we had an opportunity of witnessing. ‘To each homestead belong small gardens, in which are grown maize, bamias, onions, a species of white bean, and egg-apples (Solanum melongena); cotton appears to flourish here. The tomato has not yet found its way here, but I saw bananas, lemons, and bitter oranges, and the papaw-tree, which I had brought with me from Uganda, had spread from station to station as far as this place. The plants cultivated in addition to those just named are the usual species of grain, sweet potatoes (with red skins), as well as the mlokhia (Corchorus) which always follows the Arabs, Gynandropsis, Hibiscus cannabinus, &c. Here at any rate a great deal could be done in the way of agriculture, as water is plentiful and the people very numerous. But unfortunately the slave-trade has been in full swing here, and no one thinks of using his existence for any other purpose than to rob, to plunder, and to deal in slaves.

The river, which is called by the natives, Doghurguru, makes a great bend near the station, and then assumes an almost due northerly direction. After flowing through the Bufi district, it passes through the country of the Kich, a division of the Dinka, including the Jemid, Lau, and other tribes, and is known there by different names, such as Nam-Lau (the river