PROFESSOR SMITH'S JOURNAL. 317 



site to it. I descended some of these declivities to the depth 

 where they are washed by the water of the the river in the 

 rain}'- season, and found a great number of rounded exca- 

 vations. In the middle of the fall is an islet at the distance 

 of about a short stone-throw from the shore. The river 

 above Yallalla winds between two projecting points in a 

 northerly direction. On both sides the river, rocky hills, 

 intersected by ravines, are visible to the distance of two 

 miles. They are all lower than the high platform of the 

 hills on both sides ; that on the west continues quite Hat as 

 far as the horizon. Yallalla may in fact be considered as 

 placed in the line of the greatest elevation of the mountains. 

 Towards the east the country is more broken, and in some 

 places may be called mountainous, but the mountains are 

 scarcely any where so high as at Nokki. The summit con- 

 sists throughout of a hardened clay. 



In the evening we made a visit to the Tjenu, who is a 

 plain good-natured man, who expressed his satisfaction on 

 seeing a few gallons of brandy, for which in return he pre- 

 sented us with some fowls. Scarcely any information can 

 be drawn from the natives of the state of the country higher 

 up the river. A slave merchant affirmed that he made a 

 journe}' of a month on the eastern bank, and found the 

 river, as he proceeded, expanding as wide as it is at Shark^s 

 Point. The eastern side of it, he told us, was more popu- 

 lous and civilized, than the western side, which they pre- 

 tend they do not venture to visit, for fear of the savage 

 disposition of the bush-men on that side. Some even as- 

 serted that the people on that side are canibals. Our tent 



