368 THE FOREST AXD THE FIELD. 



haunt of the alligator and the land-crab, which are 

 the only animals to be seen, except a few king- 

 fishers, herons, and kites. 



The next morning I transferred my baggage and 

 gear from the "Armenian" to the intercolonial 

 steamer, the " Retriever," a much smaller vessel, 

 which went the round of " the oil-rivers." Mr. 

 Fletcher, the Liverpool agent of the African Mail 

 Company, had very kindly given me a letter to 

 Captain Davis, commanding this steamer, desiring 

 that he would allow me to select one of his boats 

 for £20. By the advice of Captain Wyld, of the 

 *' Armenian," I chose a thirty-feet gig, pulling six 

 oars, which proved to be a first-rate sea-boat, and 

 fast. Tom Dick, my coxswain, and the rest of the 

 Kroomen, were delighted with her capabilities, and 

 immediately took charge. 



When I had completed my arrangements, I 

 pulled ashore to the town of Bonny, a filthy, dirty 

 place, with narrow paths round the houses, or 

 rather huts, instead of streets, and visited King 

 Peppel, a disgusting obese-looking animal, who 

 was sitting beastly drunk and nearly naked on a 



