These
Precipitous Rocks Were All Primitive, Frequently Of Granite And Gneiss,
And Mixed In Many Places With Red Porphyry.
In the clefts were beautiful
ever-greens of every tint, including giant euphorbias; and wherever a
rivulet or spring glittered through the dark foliage of a ravine, it was
shaded by the graceful and feathery wild date.
Great numbers of hippopotami were sporting in the water, but I refused
to fire at them, as the death of such a monster would be certain to
delay us for at least a day, as the boatmen would not forsake the flesh.
Crocodiles were exceedingly numerous both in and out of the water;
wherever a sandy beach invited them to bask, several monsters were to be
seen, like trunks of trees, lying in the sun. On the edge of the beach
above high-water mark were low bushes, and from this cover the
crocodiles came scuttling down into the water, frightened at the
approach of the canoe. There were neither ducks nor geese, as there were
no feeding-grounds: deep water was close to the shore.
Our boatmen worked well, and long after dark we continued our voyage,
until the canoe was suddenly steered to the shore, and we grounded upon
a steep beach of perfectly clean sand. We were informed that we were
near a village, and the boatmen proposed to leave us here for the night,
while they should proceed in search of provisions. Seeing that they
intended to take the paddles with them, I ordered these important
implements to be returned to the boats, and a guard set over them, while
several of my men should accompany the boatmen to the reported village.
In the meantime, we arranged our angareps upon the beach, lighted a fire
with some drift-wood, and prepared for the night. The men shortly
returned, accompanied by several natives, with two fowls and one small
kid. The latter was immediately consigned to the large copper pot, and I
paid about three times its value to the natives, to encourage them to
bring supplies on the following morning.
While dinner was preparing, I took an observation, and found our
latitude was 1 degree 33 minutes N. We had travelled well, having made
16 minutes direct northing.
On the first crowing of our solitary cock, we prepared to start; - the
boatmen were gone!
As soon as it was light, I took two men and went to the village,
supposing they were sleeping in their huts. Within three hundred paces
of the boats, upon a fine turfy sward, on rising ground, were three
miserable fishing huts. These constituted the village. Upon arrival, no
one was to be found: the natives had deserted. A fine tract of broken
grassland formed a kind of amphitheatre beneath the range of cliffs.
These I scanned with the telescope, but I could trace no signs of man.
We were evidently deserted by our boatmen, and the natives had
accompanied them to avoid being pressed into our service.
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