rushed out and collected the hailstones, with which we made iced drinks, this feeling soon wore off, the natives tersely remarking that it was no good making medicine against the white man, who only ate it.

Lusambo was blessed with a half-wild herd of cattle, the bulls from which herd we broke in without much difficulty and used for riding. For this purpose they are most useful, as their huge horns enable them to push through thick grass or light bush with comparative ease. They are not at all afraid of swampy ground, but plunge and struggle through it without hesitation. On the 18 th of August I started with the Commandant on an expedition to visit Gongo Lutete and Lupungu, on the way to Katanga in the south. On the following day, having crossed the Sankuru, I had my first experience of travelling in the great forest.