CURIOUS FISH. 163 
all of them, women and children included, had a degraded, 
half-intoxicated appearance. 
I crossed the Dawa with a few of my boys, and after 
marching a mile came upon the river again, flowing in an 
opposite direction, which was not astonishing, as African 
g, 
rivers usually curve in a most extraordinary manner; but I 
was surprised at finding about a dozen naked men and 
women, thoroughly intoxicated, and indulging in a wild 
bacchanalian dance, tumbling about and conducting them- 
selves ina most abandoned fashion. Approaching them 
in as friendly a manner as possible, I tried to get my 
interpreter to talk to them in Galla; but as soon as 
they caught sight of my white face they screamed and 
fled. 
Besides the natives, there were everywhere large troops 
of monkeys, feeding on the fruit of the palm-trees. And 
occasionally these animals would throw the fruit at us from 
the tops of trees, aiming so accurately that they hit my 
boys more than once. Water-buck, giraffes, and lions 
abounded in this country; but I did not take time to go 
hunting, although almost every night we heard a lion’s 
roar, and frequently I was aroused by all the camels jump- 
ing to their feet at once, and plunging about the zareba, 
when some king of the forest happened to be near. 
Dodson and I caught some curious little fish in the 
Dawa, with long teeth set well forward on their lower jaws. 
We remained three days at Handudu, during which time we 
had several heavy rains. On our last night there my boys 
became very much excited when the new moon appeared, 
as it ushered in their period of fasting, according to the 
teachings of Ramadan ; — but as it would be impossible to 
fast forty days while marching, they contented themselves 
by resolving to pray a little more frequently than usual. 
Our next march (February 22) brought us to Mata 
