DOWN THE BOWANI. 25 



as it would have done when left to itself. There 

 is no possibility of upsetting these primitive craft, 

 and the only accident that can arrive is, that the 

 leather may be torn by sharp ledges of rocks or 

 trees half buried in the bed of the river, which is 

 of rare occurrence, as, although they carry an 

 immense weight (from three to four tons), they 

 rarely draw more than from four to six inches of 

 water. Besides, this accident is easily remedied, 

 as the boatman always carries the necessary mate- 

 rials for repairing damages ; the boat is drawn 

 ashore, and a leather patch makes it as water-tight 

 as ever. 



In about two hours we came to the village of 

 Danayankottei, where we breakfasted, whilst Chi- 

 neah and the Gooroo went to glean intelligence 

 from a Mulcher tribe, who lived in the jungle not 

 far off. The party returned with five of the men, 

 two of whom had been with me on a previous 

 hunting expedition, but they brought no news 

 of elephants; however, I bade them accompany 

 us, their services as trackers being always useful 

 in the jungle, and we continued our voyage. As 



