CAPTAIN TUCKEY'S NARRATIVE. 91 



-.^ The precariousness of the sea breezes by which alone we 

 could get the Congo up the river, and the necessit}- of my 

 losing no time in endeavouring to arrange matters at Em- 

 bomma, made me determine on proceeding thither in the 

 sloop's double-boat ; and I accordingly quitted the Congo 

 with the Naturalists (except Mr. Cranch, who preferred the 

 accommodations afforded by the Congo), at 4 o'clock in 

 the evening, keeping within boat's length of the shore ; we 

 found no current until reaching the point named Scotsman's 

 Head, where it ran S-j miles an hour; and the breeze being 

 very weak, we barely stemmed it. In the hope of meeting 

 a counter current on the opposite shore, I now crossed the 

 stream, and it being dark when we reached it, I anchored 

 on one of the banks in six feet, entirely out of the current. 

 This evening's sail along the banks was particularly agree- 

 able, the lofty mangroves overhanging the boat, and a 

 variety of palm trees vibrating in the breeze; immense 

 flocks of parrots alone broke the silence of the woods with 

 their chattering, towards sun-set ; and we learnt that those 

 birds make a daily journey across the river, quitting the 

 northern bank in the morning to feed in the Indian corn 

 plantations on the south side, and returning in the evening. 

 July 22. The shoals and low islands near which we an- 

 chored are composed of a border of sand and clay, with a 



