The River Is, Indeed,
A Magnificent One, Often More Than A Mile Broad, And Adorned With
Many Islands Of From Three To Five Miles In Length.
Both islands and banks
are covered with forest, and most of the trees on the brink of the water
Send down roots from their branches like the banian, or `Ficus Indica'.
The islands at a little distance seem great rounded masses
of sylvan vegetation reclining on the bosom of the glorious stream.
The beauty of the scenery of some of the islands is greatly increased
by the date-palm, with its gracefully curved fronds and refreshing
light green color, near the bottom of the picture, and the lofty palmyra
towering far above, and casting its feathery foliage against a cloudless sky.
It being winter, we had the strange coloring on the banks which
many parts of African landscape assume. The country adjacent to the river
is rocky and undulating, abounding in elephants and all other large game,
except leches and nakongs, which seem generally to avoid stony ground.
The soil is of a reddish color, and very fertile, as is attested
by the great quantity of grain raised annually by the Banyeti.
A great many villages of this poor and very industrious people
are situated on both banks of the river: they are expert hunters
of the hippopotami and other animals, and very proficient in the manufacture
of articles of wood and iron. The whole of this part of the country
being infested with the tsetse, they are unable to rear domestic animals.
This may have led to their skill in handicraft works.
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