itself. At this time — 18th May 1892 — there were no other stations on the Kasai, though now there are several dozen on this river and its tributaries.

The natives, too, have become friendly, and bring in great quantities of India rubber, which is found everywhere in the forest, to trade. At Benabendi, at the mouth of the Sankuru, we stopped a couple of days. Here a Frenchman was established, who was doing a roaring trade in rubber and ivory. The Sankuru River is only from half a mile to a mile wide, and is very deep, with a slow current. It is in every respect a marked contrast to the Kasai; there are few islands in it, and the banks are clothed with forest down to the water's edge. Hippopotami are rare, and all other game, with the exception of monkeys, is, owing to the denseness of the forest, invisible; as