OF THE OLD WORLD. 395 



and a lialf from tip to tip. His weight I imagined 

 to have been but little short of forty pounds, as he 

 was in excellent condition, and by far the largest 

 bird of the species I have hitherto seen, although I 

 have killed many on the plains in India. 



Having dined, we started again en route, and, on 

 leaving the fort, made our way along tracks with 

 which both Cassim and our guide appeared familiar, 

 but which it would have been hazardous for a 

 stranger to have attempted to follow without the 

 aid of an experienced guide, as the country is so 

 intersected by innumerable watercourses, meander- 

 ing through dense labyrinths of wood, each of which 

 so closely resembles the other, that a traveller once 

 bewildered could hardly ever extricate himself, 

 landmarks of any kind being few and far between. 

 Now and then even our guide appeared puzzled, 

 and had to climb some huge boulder of rock, or 

 lofty tree, in order to make sure of the route, by 

 observing the appearance of the mountains which 

 formed the horizon of this sea of woods. On such 

 occasions as these, had I not been an old forest- 

 ranger accustomed to pilot my way by compass 

 through trackless woods, I might perhaps have 

 shared in the feelings of some of my followers, who, 

 from time to time, showed symptoms of uneasiness 

 as we wandered through apparently boundless depths 

 of forest. The route was wild in the extreme, often 

 leading across long extents of marshes, unhealthy 

 swamps, and iimumerable small rivers and streams, 



