As Far As The Eye
Can Reach To The E.S.E., There Is A Succession Of Large Open Sheets Of
Water Where A Few Days Ago We Saw Nothing But A Boundless Plain Of Marsh
Grass, Without One Drop Of Water Visible.
These sheets of water mark the
course of a river, but each lake is separated by a dam of floating
vegetation.
The volume of water is very important, and a stream is
running at the rate of three miles an hour. Nevertheless, although in
open water, we now find ourselves prisoners in a species of lake, as we
are completely shut in by a serious dam of dense rafts of vegetation
that have been borne forward and tightly compressed by the great force
of this new river. It is simply ridiculous to suppose that this river
can ever be rendered navigable. One or two vessels, if alone, would be
utterly helpless, and might be entirely destroyed with their crews by a
sudden change that would break up the country and inclose them in a trap
from which they could never escape.
"We passed the night at anchor. Many hippopotami are snorting and
splashing in the new lakes.
"April 10. - After a hard day's labour, a portion of the fleet succeeded
in cutting through the most serious dam, and we descended our old river
to the dubba, or dry mound, where we had first discovered vestiges of
the traders. The No. 10 steamer arrived in the evening. The river is
wider than when we last saw it, but is much obstructed by small islands,
formed of rafts of vegetation that have grounded in their descent.
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