ingenious sun dial, and a heliometer. Walking inland along the central
avenue, we pass some native shops, one of which bears the interesting
name of _Williams Brothers_. In many of the verandahs, native women
wrapped in highly coloured cloths but with bare feet and legs, are
working sewing machines or tending their children. Further on is a space
laid out in regular squares, in each of which is a well built wooden
house raised on piles, and an ornamental garden, the flower beds being
bordered either with sea shells or with glass bottles pushed neck
downwards into the sand, leaving about two inches projecting above the
surface. A little further on is an hotel facing the sea in which is
apparently poor accommodation and not much to eat or drink. Beyond this
is the native village, consisting of square huts and rough gardens in
which some potatoes seem to be growing in spite of the soil and
temperature.

Only about twenty Europeans live at Banana and their chief excitement is
the arrival of the steamer. Most of them indeed came off to dinner and
held a kind of concert in the saloon afterwards. All night long winches
and men were creaking, groaning, and shouting, as some of the cargo was
put overboard into two large lighters. It was not however, destined for
Banana and was transshipped here only to lighten the _Leopoldville_ so
that she could pass a certain bar higher up the river. The cargo
consisted of coal in the shape of brickets, cement, rice, oil, cloth,
clothes, beads, salt and general provisions. As soon as sufficient had
been removed, the two lighters were attached one to each side of the
ship and we started up the main stream, which here runs between the
south or Portuguese bank and a series of islands. All these are covered
with dense forest the only living things visible being great black
eagles with white wings. On the left bank of the river we pass Malela, a
station for collecting bamboos, and soon after Kissange on the opposite