PROFESSOR SMITH’S JOURNAL. 209 
August 6. I had landed for a moment on Tchinsala, 
but a shot called me immediately back again: Our flo- 
tilla was already under sail at one o'clock. ‘I'he long- 
boat of the ship is to go as faras Benda. We crossed 
the river several times according to the strength of the 
current. ‘he mountains come down to the river, and in 
many places contract its channel to scarcely half a mile: 
They are rounded, and commonly sloping hills with narrow 
and short vallies between them. ‘They are overgrown 
with dry grass, but otherwise entirely naked. The south- 
side had at first more level ground, with rising blocks of 
slate dispersed over its surface. At Vinda, a small plain, 
the mountain along the northern bank is very steep, the 
declivity about forty-five degrees, and sometimes almost 
vertical, out of which were projected several rocky points. 
Tt is only near the high grass on the banks of the river and 
in the vallies that trees of luxuriant growth are to be seen. 
On the small plains at the heads of creeks we observed some 
villages amidst palms of Hyphene, which were also seen 
seattered about higher up the sides of the mountains. 
The banks, with their precipitous cliffs of slate, overgrown 
with a hanging green tapestry of climbers, and surmounted 
with plants and trees of various kinds, among which is a 
high and always naked Adansonia, present indeed a 
picturesque view, but nothing yet inspires the notion of 
an extraordinary grand river. We anchored above three 
islands (Tanyanda), on the northern bank, near where it 
is studded with high rocks. One of these was said to be 
used for the same purposes as the 'l'arpeian rock of old, 
