Away We Go, Still Damp From The
Rain We Have Come Through, But Drying Nicely With The Day, And
Cheerful About The Chop.
The Ogowe is broad at Njole and its banks not mountainous, as at
Talagouga; but as we go on it soon narrows, the current runs more
rapidly than ever, and we are soon again surrounded by the mountain
range.
Great masses of black rock show among the trees on the
hillsides, and under the fringe of fallen trees that hang from the
steep banks. Two hours after leaving Njole we are facing our first
rapid. Great gray-black masses of smoothed rock rise up out of the
whirling water in all directions. These rocks have a peculiar
appearance which puzzle me at the time, but in subsequently getting
used to it I accepted it quietly and admired. When the sun shines
on them they have a soft light blue haze round them, like a halo.
The effect produced by this, with the forested hillsides and the
little beaches of glistening white sand was one of the most perfect
things I have ever seen.
We kept along close to the right-hand bank, dodging out of the way
of the swiftest current as much as possible. Ever and again we were
unable to force our way round projecting parts of the bank, so we
then got up just as far as we could to the point in question,
yelling and shouting at the tops of our voices. M'bo said "Jump for
bank, sar," and I "up and jumped," followed by half the crew.
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