On The Following Morning We Were Detained By Bad Weather, As A Heavy Sea Was Still Running, And We Were Determined Not To Risk Our Canoes In Another Gale.

It was a beautiful neighbourhood, enlivened by a magnificent waterfall that fell about a thousand feet from the mountains, as the Kaiigiri river emptied itself into the lake in a splendid volume of water.

This river rises in the great marsh that we had crossed on our way from M'rooli to Vacovia. In this neighbourhood we gathered some mushrooms - the true Agaricus campestras of Europe - which were a great luxury.

In the afternoon the sea subsided, and we again started. We had not proceeded above three miles from the village, when I observed an elephant bathing in the lake; he was in water so deep, that he stood with only the top of his head and trunk above the surface. As we approached, he sunk entirely, only the tip of his trunk remaining above the water. I ordered the boatmen to put the canoe as close to him as possible, and we passed within thirty yards, just as he raised his head from his luxurious bath.

I was sorely tempted to fire, but remembering my resolve, refrained from disturbing him, and he slowly quitted the lake, and entered the thick jungle. A short distance beyond this spot two large crocodiles were lying upon the beach asleep; but upon the approach of the canoe they plunged into the water, and raised their heads above the surface at about twenty-five paces.

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