MEN OF THE TREES 



with deeper draft, and quite unsuitable for the upper 

 reaches of the Nile. That night we stuck on a sandbank, 

 and all efforts proved fruitless to get her off, so there 

 we had to stay, high and dry, in midstream. With me 

 on the "Livingstone" were other people who had come 

 on board at Butiaba. There was an English Bishop, two 

 elderly American ladies who had been round the world 

 and were getting material for the last chapter in their 

 book. They had with them a precious parrot they had 

 brought from China. There was a South African woman 

 who had an estate in Kenya. She was accompanied by 

 her farm manager, a New Zealander. Last, but not 

 least, was Ching, my Scrval cat who looked lovingly 

 on the parrot. By morning, the party was beginning to 

 realize the dire plight that they were in. The "Living- 

 stone" could not go backwards or forwards, and re- 

 newed efforts to shift her proved worse than futile, for 

 she was becoming deeper and deeper imbedded in the 

 sand. It looked as though she would have to remain 

 there until the Nile rose, which would not be for some 

 months. After a conference we decided to take a lighter 

 which we had been towing. It was a heavy iron craft, 

 which would well accommodate us all, together with 

 our boys. We took six oarsmen and a coxswain, spread 

 a bit of sailcloth over the stern roughly tied to four 

 oars, to make an awning, and set out on a journey which 

 was something under two hundred miles. The sun was 

 beating down and was pitilessly hot. 



It was obvious from the very start that the oarsmen 



264 



