luable assistance. The town of Coquilhatville
consists of rows of brick houses standing in their own gardens and
fronting on avenues. It may seem that one insists unnecessarily on the
fact that the houses are brick in all the towns, a fact which the
European would accept as a matter of course. The traveller however knows
that in most tropical countries, wood is usually employed instead, as
being easier to obtain and work. Indeed in the United States, the
country seats of even the very wealthy are generally constructed chiefly
of that substance. Bricks however, are by no means easily made in the
Congo, for in many places the soil is very sandy and it is therefore
difficult to make the brick bind. Again, lime is very scarce and all
manner of substances are used to make mortar. Among these the ant hills
are much in favour, for it has been observed that these structures which
are often thirty feet high and in proportion great in diameter, never
disintegrate in the heaviest rain. When dug out and mixed with sand
their substance makes an excellent mortar. Again, the shells of oysters,
which abound in some parts of the river are also used to make mortar
with good results. The roofs are thatched with palm leaves wherever
obtainable, and if well constructed are quite water tight. Glass windows
are not much used, for as much air as possible is desirable and the
verandahs are so broad that rain rarely enters. The openings are thus
closed only by shutters or by wire gauze to keep out the numerous
insects.

Living here is very expensive. The usual money is the mitako, but the
native likes salt and will sometimes take cloth if he fancies it. He is
however, very independent, and on one occasion a native refused 14/- in
cloth for a single duck. Fowls and eggs are about the same price as in
the West End of London, but the latter are very scarce. Fruit is
however, cheap, as it is abundant. Near the town is a large coffee and
cocoa plantation arranged in square fields, separated by avenues of
palms, which both form grateful shade and yield much palm oil. On each
field is a large board on which is painted the number of bushes. Papye,
coeur de boeuf, bananas and pineapples abound.

The system of work in every Post is exactly the same, so that a
description of it as witnessed in Coquilhatville would equally do for
every place in the Congo. At 5.30 a.m. reveille and at 6 a.m. roll call
of all the Europeans and native workers who then, led by