[104]Boma was visited by Messrs. Bulpett and Jessen in June, 1904. The inhabitants were found to be very friendly, and a certain amount of grain was obtainable from them. Iron wire—not brass—was what they asked for in payment. Crops in Boma are harvested in June. The maximum temperature registered on the Boma-Musha plateau was 85° F.
[105]Messrs. Bulpett and Jessen reached a point about 30 miles N.N.E. of Mount Naita in June, 1904, and report that this plateau appeared very rocky and cut up by water courses, which contained water in pools in June. The land seemed uninhabitable and unsuited to cultivation.
[106]For description, vide [p. 136.]
CHAPTER VII.
SOUTH-WESTERN SUDAN.
THE BAHR EL GHAZAL.
1. Introductory.
Introduction.The Bahr El Ghazal was re-occupied by the troops of the Sudan Government during the winter of 1900-1901. Before their advent the most recent detailed descriptions of the country (not counting the necessarily superficial writings of the Marchand Expedition in 1898) date from pre-Dervish days (e.g., Junker, Schweinfurth, etc.). Although there has not been time or opportunity for the whole of the country to be subjected to a searching examination since 1901, still, sufficient is known to prove that great changes have taken place in the province since 1881. Roads and places have disappeared, the face of the country has in many parts completely changed, and tribes have disappeared, have been thinned out, or have emigrated to other territories.