Having At Length Started, We Arrived In The
Afternoon At The Kafoor River, At A Bend From The South Where It Was
Necessary To Cross Over In Our Westerly Course.
The stream was in the
centre of a marsh, and although deep, it was so covered with
thickly-matted water-grass and other aquatic plants, that a natural
floating bridge was established by a carpet of weeds about two feet
thick.
Upon this waving and unsteady surface the men ran quickly across,
sinking merely to the ankles, although beneath the tough vegetation
there was deep water.
It was equally impossible to ride or to be carried over this treacherous
surface; thus I led the way, and begged Mrs. Baker to follow me on foot
as quickly as possible, precisely in my track. The river was about
eighty yards wide, and I had scarcely completed a fourth of the distance
and looked back to see if my wife followed close to me, when I was
horrified to see her standing in one spot and sinking gradually through
the weeds, while her face was distorted and perfectly purple. Almost as
soon as I perceived her she fell as though shot dead. In an instant I
was by her side, and with the assistance of eight or ten of my men, who
were fortunately close to me, I dragged her like a corpse through the
yielding vegetation; and up to our waists we scrambled across to the
other side, just keeping her head above the water.
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