Chap. VIII. PICTURESQUE CASCADE. 145 



timber trees of gigantic size, but the treesgrew every- 

 where close to one another and were matted together 

 by a net-work of woody lianas, amongst which I 

 noticed a great quantity of the climbing ficus, which 

 produces gum elastic. It was impossible to see far on 

 either side of the path ; in many places there was a 

 dense growth of underwood, including dwarf species 

 of palm-tree, and the ground was strewn all over 

 with wrecks of the forest in the shape of broken and 

 rotting branches, up-turned trees, and masses of 

 decaying leaves. 



It was most toilsome marching up the steep hills, 

 encumbered with the weight of our loads. A few 

 miles south-east of the plantation, we came unex- 

 pectedly upon a most enchanting sight. One of the 

 numerous tributaries of the Ovigui here descends 

 from the upper valleys, down the broken hill-side, in 

 a most lovely cascade, filling the neighbouring forest 

 with spray and favouring the growth of countless 

 ferns and glossy-leaved plants. The forest nook 

 looked like a place of enchantment, decked out with 

 the choicest productions of the vegetable world. 

 There was, however, throughout the whole march a 

 great scarcity of animal life. Scarcely once did we 

 hear the voices of birds, and at night, as we lay 

 round the fires of the bivouac, all was still as death 

 in the black shades of the forest. 



On the morning of the second day of our march 

 we came to the river Louvendji, which I crossed, at 

 a point lower down, on my former journey to the 

 Apingi country. It is rather smaller than the 

 Ovigui and different in character, having a rocky 



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