at once attacked by millions of mosquitoes, who will not allow
us to eat our dinner in peace. Fortunately I find an old pair of kid
gloves and with my head covered with a silk handkerchief and my legs in
high hunting boots, prepare for the onslaught. The mosquito here bites
through duck trousers and socks with great ease, but his trunk cannot
reach through the thickness of a sleeve of a coat and a flannel shirt,
so with suitable clothes, one can gain a little peace, except for the
constant humming round one's ears. A cigar or pipe is no protection at
all, but the insects will not face the smoke of a wood fire. Since
people cannot either, however, that is not much use. As it was, the few
bites swelled up badly and completely upset the theory held by many,
that after a few months in the Congo, the mosquito bite has no effect.
It is some gratification--but not much--to think they only gained an
extract of goat and chicken, instead of a solution of good juicy fresh
meat.

On the 29th we passed Yumbi and Bolobo. At the latter place great
numbers of natives came to the beach to trade with our crew and black
passengers who bought dried fish and kwanga. In the evening we reach
Sandy Beach, opposite which, is _Lonely_. island so called because it is
the last island on the river before it narrows to pass through what is
known as the canal. Here the banks are flanked with hills which are a
welcome sight after the dead level of the forest higher up.

Next day we arrive at Kwamouth and after taking some cargo from the
Kasai on board move on to a large Wood Post. It is not a very
interesting or lively occupation watching people cut wood in the forest
and stack it on the beach, and these Posts are sometimes used as places
of punishment for refractory Europeans, whom it is thought desirable to
isolate for a time. The strict paternal system is carried out throughout
the State and methods of punishment are adopted which are rarely if ever
found elsewhere. For minor offences the Europeans are fined by stopping
their pay for a certain number of days and sometimes a man is revocated,
which means he is sent home without being paid for the six months or
year previously. In this way men who drink hard when they have the
opportunity, who are habitually insubordinate, or who are undesirable,
are weeded out rapidly. Penal offences are of course tried in the Courts
and punished with imprisonment. It is indeed curious after travelling in
America