Page:The empire and the century.djvu/828

 instance, as Laboré, Muggi, and Kiri, recalling the times when Emin Pasha and his lieutenants devoted all their energies to the introduction of a semblance of good government among the wild tribes of the Shuli, the Madi, and the Bari.

Past all these places the river flows on, at times raging at the obstructions placed in its path, and testifying to its indignation by the turbulence of its waters at every fall and rapid; at others, pursuing for a brief period an undisturbed course, between wooded islands, where small villages find shelter under a leafy shade. Again it tears through wild and narrow gorges, bounded by precipitous cliffs and rocky crags, until at length, as the mountains recede farther from the valley, it winds through a rolling expanse of woodland, much broken by ravines and ridges, the favourite abode of the lord of these forests—the mighty elephant. With each succeeding league the country becomes more open, and the granite hills are more isolated and further apart At length the conical peak of Rejaf is sighted—a sign that the mountainous country is coming to an end and that the land of the marshes is approaching. Finally, at 445 miles from the Ripon Falls, and not far from the station of Gondokoro, the river issues from the region of rapid, rock, and forest, through which it has for so long followed a troubled course, and enters upon the second and more peaceful phase of its career. At this point the scenery changes abruptly, as does the character of the stream itself

The narrow, rocky bed, the straight course, and the heavy fall in the levels, are replaced by a muddy bottom, a flat slope, and a broad channel, winding through grassy islands in a constant series of bends and sharp curves. Instead of high banks, bush-covered hills, deep ravines, and forest land, on either side now extend wide swamps, full of tall reeds, and interspersed with shallow lagoons and innumerable channels.

The width of the Nile Valley in the marsh country is considerable, in places being as much as eight or nine