Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa For The Discovery Of The Course And Termination Of The Niger By Robert Huish
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They Had
Previously Observed An Appearance Of Foam On The Water, Which Might
Have Been Carried Up By The Flood Tide From The Mouth Of The River,
But They Now Felt Certain Of Being Within Its Influence.
They were
constantly annoyed by the canoe running aground on a bank, or
sticking fast in the underwood, which delayed their progress
considerably, and the men were obliged to get out to lighten and lift
the canoe off them.
Their tract was through a narrow creek, arched
over by mangroves, so as to form a complete avenue, which in many
places was so thick as to be totally impenetrable by the light above.
A heavy shower of rain came on and wetted them thoroughly, and after
this was over, the dripping from the trees, which overhung the canoe,
kept them in constant rain nearly the whole of the night. The smell
from decayed vegetable substances was sickly and exceedingly
disagreeable.
Through these dismal and gloomy passages, they travelled during the
whole of the night of the 15th November without stopping, unless for
a few minutes at a time, to disengage themselves from the pendant
shoots of the mangrove and spreading brambles, in which they
occasionally became entangled. These luxuriant natives of the soil
are so intricately woven, that it would be next to impossible to
eradicate them. Their roots and branches are the receptacles of ooze,
mud, and filth of all kinds, exhaling a peculiar offensive odour,
which no doubt possesses highly deleterious qualities.
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