VOYAGE TO THE NIGER. 47 
On one spot, amongst the Mangroves, I noticed, on the de- 
caying roots, a delicate white plant, having white scales instead 
of leaves, and three flowers: it was a parasite on the roots, 
but sent forth roots of its own. I have preserved a few 
specimens in spirits. Upon the whole, I have seen too little 
of the vegetation here, to compare it with that of any place 
hitherto visited on the coast. On the opposite shore, they 
cultivate Cocoa Palms, of which the natives brought us 
the nuts: on the right bank, where we did not now see any 
inhabitants, the Cassada showed traces of abandoned plan- 
tations. The scenery is not remarkable. At the entrance, 
the left side presented a pleasant prospect, from the familiar 
forms of the forest and Cocoa Palm: on the opposite shore, 
beyond the forest and brushwood, there appeared a sort of 
lagoon; while behind that, the Mangroves rose into an erect 
and lofty-stemmed wood. 
Of the natives, I saw only few, and none very near. They 
seemed to be well-formed, robust men, with their hair 
frequently shorn in a crest shape, but having nothing par- 
ticular in their dress. I was told that they have a language of 
their own (Bassa language). The weather was changeable, al- 
ternate rain and sunshine, the former moderate and the 
heat never oppressive. By day and night, but especially 
during the day, a fresh sea-breeze prevailed. 
Friday, August 20.—At break of day, we proceeded up 
the river, and although it rained violently, every one was in 
high spirits at our at last moving onwards, and beginning, 
after so much detention, the Expedition itself. A little 
above the bar, the river, dividing into creeks and branches, 
is very wide ; resembling a lake; but the only branch deep 
enough for the steamers, at present known to unite with the 
upper part, called ** Louis Creek," is narrow in proportion, 
at one part only sixty to eighty English yards wide. So 
far, the shore is covered with Mangrove (Rhizophora), 
Which, with its roots descending from the branches, has 
a singular appearance; but this is only the case with old 
trees; for the young Mangroves often form woods of dense 
