these useless elephants' tusks is
regarded as a very generous trader. In the afternoon the _Flandre_
continued her journey threading her way between the numerous islands in
Stanley Pool, and finally tied up to the bank of the island of Bamu
which is French territory. This island enjoys the distinction of being
the only one in the Congo which has an owner, for all the rest are
declared to be no man's land by international treaty. It is reputed to
be full of game, and we go ashore to look for it, but return without
seeing anything. As the mosquitoes prevent all sleep in the cabin, we
arrange to make up a bed on deck and obtain a better night's rest, for
it is comparatively cool here in the evening in the open.

I am very anxious to bathe next morning, but the captain strongly
disadvises for the currents are very strong here, and the river is full
of crocodiles. In the midst of breakfast we are startled by the report
that the ship is on fire, and smoke is seen to be issuing from the fore
hatch, under which much of the wood used for fuel is stored. None of the
Europeans however, are more excited than the natives, who, leisurely and
with due deliberation, hand up buckets of water. Nothing indeed could
make a native hurry. The captain seems a trifle upset, and states that
it may be necessary to run on a rock, and thus make a hole in the bows
and flood the hold. This seems to be rather a desperate remedy, but no
one shows the slightest interest. This appeared curious at the time;
since however, it has transpired that fires in the holds are of common
occurrence, and that as the ships are all of iron, they usually burn
themselves out without harming anything. Soon after however, the captain
with an alarmed look, rushes up on deck and said that a terrible crime
or a great mistake had been committed. It appeared that by some error,
our cases of beer and some others belonging to Commandant Sillye had
been left on the beach at Kinshasa. Immediately we anchored last night a
native boatswain, or capita, was sent with six men in a canoe to fetch
them and ought to have returned by midnight. Nothing however, was heard
of the boat until now when the capita appeared and told a harrowing
story. He found the cases all right and started to return across the
river, but as it began to blow hard, he thought it better to make for
land and wait until the morning before trying to find the ship. He
succeeded in landing on the island of Bamu and soon