to travel in her and thus altered my original plan of descending direct to the Congo.  The Rubi is about three times as wide as the Likati and also flows through dense forest which is only broken here and there by Wood Posts.  Although the water is high and the current strong the Milz which is a twin-screw steamer, travels well and early on the third day we arrive at Buta.  The Post is being moved and some brick houses have already been built, one of which is placed at my disposal.  After settling in it I call upon Baron de Rennette, the Commissaire of Uele which is a very important District for through it runs the path to the Nile and it has frontiers both to French and English territories.  The Lado Enclave, however, is governed separately by a special official.

One now realises fully the extreme difficulty and expense of transport across Africa.  Take for example a bale of cloth shipped at Brussels and addressed to Bomokandi.  It is very possible that this will be transhipped at Banana into a lighter which will be towed to Matadi; secondly it will travel by train to Leopoldville; thirdly by steamer to Bumba beyond which point the larger vessels do not run; fourthly by small steamer to Ibembo; fifthly by canoe to Dzamba during which journey it has to be carried by hand past some rapids; sixthly by the Milz to Buta and seventhly by hand to Bomokandi.  Every basket of rubber and point of ivory exported and every box of food or bale of cloth imported is indeed constantly being transhipped and then conveyed by various methods a few hundred miles on its journey.  The example given is by no means an extreme one, and many others could be traced in almost any direction.  The reason is simple.  Although the whole of Central Africa is traversed by rivers which eventually flow into the Congo, both the main river and its tributaries are in places impossible to navigate owing to the rapids.  Great efforts are, however, being made to overcome these obstructions.  Wherever possible railways are being constructed and roads made to avoid them the latest great work initiated being the automobile road through Uele.  It is indeed impossible now to carry by hand the great amount of merchandise passing up and down the country, even if the natives were willing to undertake the task.  This is, however, the very work they dislike most and during my visit an immense quantity of stores was lying at Buta and could not be forwarded owing to lack of porters.  The automobile road will change all this, for trains of waggons carrying the merchandise will then be quickly and easily towed by road engines.  Passengers will also be conveyed in a similar manner and it is reasonable to prophesy that in five or ten years time it will be possible to cross Africa from the Nile to Banana without travelling a single mile in canoes or on foot.