Bor — Gondokoro.

79 Place.

Miles. Kilometres.

% d S!2i • « g » fal-H Description.

Pole west bauk (April, 1903) to mark 5° 30'.

Western forest Old Anglo - Egyptian station of Kiro.

17 Kiro (Congo F.S.)

Mongalla* 14 448 71 4.51 4.56 73 460 7J,0 474 763 across in a westerly direction. In thus crossing the swamps, an excellert idea of the general section of the valley is obtained. In the centre the flats are, perlpan.s, 2 feet above the water ; towards the sides they rise to a lieight of 4 feet and sometimes 4 feet 6 inches. The lower portions are marked by a series of lagoons. These marslies are only, however, swamped when the river is in flood, and even then not to any great depth, as the total flood rise is not more than 4 to 5 feet over summer level. Tlie valley averages 8 to 10 miles in width. The forest and thick bush e.xtend to a long distance away from the river. Progress throu>>h this forest is only possible by means of the elephant tracks, whicli are very numerous. At mile 438 the channel again bifurcates, the two branches reuniting 5 miles up-stream. Thei-e are so many island< and so many side cliannels, that it is almost, if not quite, impossible to find the whole stream contained in one single channel, and this is the case the whole way between Bor and Gondokoro. The river varies immensely in width. In places it is from 200 to 300 yards broad, and in others only 80 to 90 yaids. As tlie Bahr E! Jebel is ascended the average dejith decreases, and throughout the reacli between Kiro and Lado is rarely more than from 6 to 9 feet. At mile 451 the river touches the western forest edge, having traversed the marshes. The trees on this side are, as a rule, finer than tliose in the eastern forest. The bank, at the water's edge, is from 3 to 4 feet high, but rises rapidly to a height of 12 to 16 feet above the water. At mile 456 used to be an Anglo-Egyptian station, 1901 (west bank), now abandoned. The scenery here is very fine, and luxuriant tropical vegetation abounds. Giant Euphorbia are a marked feature of the landscape. The whole of the banks and most of the trees are covered with a velvety-looking mass of creepers. A blufl, 10 to 12 feet high, juts out into the stream, but the action of the current is so strong that the fiiable soil is being rapidly eaten away. The face of this cliff" is perforated by myriads of holes, made by a very beautiful and tiny species of bee-eater. These birds have rose-coloured wings with bionze-coloured bodies. They add much to tlie beauty of alovely scene. At mile 400 from Lake No, the station of Kiio, the most northerly in the Lado Enclave, is situated on the western bank. The latitude of Kiro is apparently between 5" 12' and 5° 13' north. The erosion caused by the river here is very great, large masses of the sheer cliff", which is 15 to 20 feet over the summer water-level, are constantly falling into the Nile. It seems probable that unless they take protective measures the Belgians will be forced to retire their houses some distance back from the water. Kiro is a picturesquelooking ])lace. The huts are well laid out and neatly built. The cantonment is surrounded by a brick wall, with places for guns, parapet, and ditch. The Commandant's house is a comfortable-looking structure, with a good thatched roof and a deep verandah. The forest surrounds the station. The garrison consisted in January, 1903, of some sixty-five men. It possessed a small steamer (the "Van Kerckhoven," called after the leader of the first Congo Expedition to the Nile, 1889 ; the boat is clumsy and draws 4 feet of water ; but having been brought in sections overland from the west coast she is entitled to respect), and several steel sailing boats. The negro .soldiers dift'er largely in type from the inhabitants of the Nile valley. In figure they are short and squat, and some of them are much tattooed. They are recruited from the West Coast, and from the ti ibes in the Congo valley generally, and make excellent and very mobile soldiers. Upon an island opposite the station vegetables and paw-paw trees are grown. Beyond this there appears to be little cultivation. Kiro is extremely unhealthy in the rainy season. In two years the Belgians lost 9 Europeans and 300 natives from fever. Black-water fever is not uncommon here, and guineaworm is a prevalent complaint. One-and-a-half miles up-stream of Kiro two fair-sized lakes are enclosed by tlie western forest. These evidently receive the drainage of tlie high land from a considerable distance. On the east bank a khor, passable for small steamers, runs north-north-east, rejoining the river just north of Kiro. From here to mile 467 the river skirts the western bank. Everywhere severe action is taking place, and many trees have fallen into the water. Three miles on another large lake opens out in the forest. At one end of it the Iado mountain forms a background, making an imjjcsing picture. At mile 468 another bifurcation occurs. The western branch follows the forest as far as Lado, but navigation in summer by this channel is difficult. The eastern branch crosses the marshes. There are several connections between the two channels. The I'iver now averages from 250 to 300 yards in breadth. At mile 472 the eastern forest is again reached. Here there is a good wooding station, as the trees and high land come down close to the water's edge. Most southerly post on the Nile of Sudan Government (occupied 1901), situated on east bank.

Garrison two companies. A gimboat is always stationed here, in addition to which there is usually a steamer at the disposal of the Commandant for administrative purposes.

* For further description vide p. 146,