Soon M. Gacon comes along among the trees
on the bank, and laughs at her. A rope is thrown to him, and the
panting Eclaireur tied up to a tree close in to the bank, for the
water is deep enough here to moor a liner in, only there are a good
many rocks. In a few minutes M. Forget and several canoe loads of
beautiful red-brown mahogany planks are on board, and things being
finished, I say good-bye to the captain, and go off with M. Forget
in a canoe, to the shore.
CHAPTER V. THE RAPIDS OF THE OGOWE.
The Log of an Adooma canoe during a voyage undertaken to the rapids
of the River Ogowe, with some account of the divers disasters that
befell thereon.
Mme. Forget received me most kindly, and, thanks to her ever
thoughtful hospitality, I spent a very pleasant time at Talagouga,
wandering about the forest and collecting fishes from the native
fishermen: and seeing the strange forms of some of these Talagouga
region fishes and the marked difference between them and those of
Lembarene, I set my heart on going up into the region of the Ogowe
rapids. For some time no one whom I could get hold of regarded it
as a feasible scheme, but, at last, M. Gacon thought it might be
managed; I said I would give a reward of 100 francs to any one who
would lend me a canoe and a crew, and I would pay the working
expenses, food, wages, etc.
