Chap, V;I1. KOOLA NUT-TREES. 151 



no food to be had. There was no help for it, but to 

 divide our party and go in search of something to 

 eat in the forest ; some, therefore, went to look for 

 Koola nuts, and others took their guns and wandered 

 in search of monkeys, or any other game they might 

 find. The whole day passed, however, without any- 

 thing being found, and we again went supperless to 

 sleep. 



It was unfortunate for us that Koola nut-trees 

 were so scarce in the part of the forest where we 

 now lay, for this valuable nut is generally an un- 

 failing resource at this season of the year. The 

 natives never think of taking with them much food 

 on a journey in the season when Koola nuts are ripe, 

 but trust in finding their daily bread, as it were, 

 under the trees. The tree is one of the tallest and 

 finest in these forests. It grows singly, or in small 

 groups, and yields so abundantly that, when the nut 

 is ripe, the whole crown appears one mass of fruit. 

 The nut is quite round, and has a very hard shell, so 

 hard that it has to be broken with a stone. The 

 kernel is about as large as a cherry, and is almost as 

 compact in substance as the almond. It is very 

 nourishing and wholesome ; about thirty nuts are 

 enough for a single meal. The wild boar feeds on 

 them in the nut season, and becomes extremely fat 

 with the nutritious diet. 



The next day I went also myself into the bush, 

 accompanied by an Ashira boy, and leaving Rebouka 

 armed to the teeth to watch my baggage. I was so 

 much weakened with hunger and anxiety that I 

 could scarcely walk. For a long time I could find 



