Again, Lord Cromer contrasts the peaceful, settled state and the confidence of the tribes under English rule on the Nile as compared with those on Belgian territory; yet within a few months of his visit a whole British force was annihilated on the Bahr el Ghazal, while in the Game Ordinance published last year it stated: “The whole of the left bank of the Nile is at present closed to sportsmen, owing to the unsettled state of the natives.” Since my return I see that yet another British force has been severely handled by the natives. Through the whole of my Congo trip, absolutely alone, I wandered about, visiting 50 different tribes and hundreds of villages, armed as a rule with a camera, umbrella, and, at times, a collecting gun. Yet I had no unpleasant experiences; on the contrary, I was received with kindness far different to any I ever met with when hunting among British African natives. As I went up the Nile I heard the same stories Lord Cromer did—as to how all the natives were flying across the river from the Belgian country owing, I was told, to ill-treatment. As I spent a month hunting all the district 40 miles inland from Lado and Kiro, looked after by the two big Bari chiefs, Kenion and Fariala, I took great interest in learning all I could, and, owing to my capitow talking Arabic, the chiefs’ favourite language, I had excellent chances for finding out all I wanted. To my question as to whether many of their tribes went over the river, and why, they replied: “A few boys ran away the other side, but mostly bad boys who won’t work.” Asked again, if a few good men went, and, if so, why, they answered: “English pay in money; some boys, if once had money, like it better than being paid in cloth or beads,” but no mention of ill-treatment. Lord Cromer considers because the native villages happen at these particular posts to be several hours’ distant, that this is also owing to bad treatment. I wish to point out that the villages must either be right on the Nile bank, or inland where they are, for the whole country between is waterless during four months. Another reason given for not living on the Nile was that in olden days the few who did so were all killed or taken prisoners by the Dervishes; hence the survivors kept clear of waterways. Again, there are no sites for villages near the river, as nearly all the banks, lying low, are covered with marsh and _sudd_, harbouring millions of mosquitoes, whereas a few miles inland there is good water, not a single mosquito, plenty of game, with good grass and tillage land. [Illustration: Village near Coquilhatville. A Native Attempt to Copy the European Style.] When I visited Gondokoro every one was complaining at having the station on the Nile, instead of a few miles inland, for similar reasons.