State, consists of supplying 600 rations of fish per week to the
plantation of Bikoro, a ration consisting of a whole, a half, or a
quarter of a fish according to its size. For this they are paid 600
mitakos--or about 23/--. They also supply bamboos and baskets, but it is
very plain that if the people worked hard, they would certainly not
require as long as 40 hours a month to accomplish their tasks. The fish
are caught in nets made of thin bamboo lashed together by a tough
creeper, which are arranged in the lake. Sometimes it happens that the
fishermen are unfortunate and then they buy from their neighbours who
take advantage of the scarcity value and charge them more than they will
receive from the State. A village might thus be out of pocket by the
transaction, but as each one has its turn, probably by the end of the
year no one has lost or gained.

In the Mission school men, women, and children are learning to read and
write the native language, and some have mastered also the rudiments of
arithmetic and French. Some of the classes are held in the school-room
and others under trees near at hand. An assistant missionary, Mr.
Whitman, helps Mr. Clarke, while Mrs. Whitman teaches in the school.

On August 20th we start for Bikoro under a threatening sky. It is indeed
soon apparent that a tornado is crossing the Lake towards us, for great
banks of dense clouds advancing rapidly from the south west now obscure
the sun. It would be impossible to travel through the storm, so we turn
the boat and make for a creek which bounds Ikoko on the east. Only just
in time, we reach a native hut, as a terrific storm bursts overhead.
The rain descends in sheets accompanied by vivid green lightning and
crashes of thunder. Fortunately the roof is water-tight, but the mud
floor of the hut has worn down below the level of the ground outside and
soon the water pours through the door and is nine or ten inches deep