A MARCH TO MONBUTTU, 1883. 430 myself in the middle of Monbuttu, and the spell of the illusion is kept up by the strange forms which surround me, and by the almost overpowering splendour of the flora and fauna, in which I daily meet with new forms. And yet I really am in Monbuttu, and only half an hour ago King Munza’s daughter led her two small boys to me and told me of the former splendour of her father’s house.

It was a curious chain of circumstances which changed the direction of my route and led me here. You must therefore have patience if my story is rather long. As the transport of corn and ivory was overburdening the inhabitants of Makraka and causing complaints, I conceived the wish to visit the upper course of the Kibali in order to investigate the possibility of navigating it, so that, if possible, I might utilise it for the transport of ivory from Monbuttu as far as Kalika. Our station of Logo, situated at the junction of the Nzolo with the Kibali, together with the station of Tambira, would then form good points of support. With this idea in view, I started, and intended to march wid Wandi and Ndirfi southwards to Logo and ‘'ambira, where I could take up my headquarters. ‘To the west of the latter place the road led wid Gango to Kubi and Tingazi, our chief stations in Monbuttu, and to the east through the Logo and Amadi districts to our stations of Kalika and Wadelai. However, when I arrived at Ndirfi, such disquieting news of the state of affairs in the Zande countries came to my ears, that, instead of going direct to the south, I struck west, and, passing by Tobo and Tendia, I reached our station of Mundu, on the Dongu. The report which had already reached Lad6 that a large number of the Zandé chiefs, supported by their connexions in Makraka and Monbuttu, had determined to withdraw themselves from their allegiance to the Government, proved here to be a fact.

In order to make the state of affairs clear to you, I may say that the chiefs mostly concerned were either those who from being simple dragomans or gun-boys (farukh), had been made chiefs by the Danagla, or those freebooters who by force of arms had usurped the power of the real chiefs. A chain of _ such robber nests had been established to the west between Ansea and Wando; another along the line of the Dongu, where