EXPLORATION OF THE RIVER YEI 349 



tents had gone to pieces long ago and the remnants of mine 

 had been made into a bag to hold the precious okapi skin. 

 Camp beds had gone too, and all we had were a uniform box 

 containing odds and ends of clothing, another with a few 

 provisions kindly given me by the Commandant, two large 

 sacks of meal for the " boys " — that would last them about 

 ten days — a bale of cloth and some beads, and the " boys " 

 sleeping- mats, now luckily reduced to their natural size ; 

 but there had been times in the palmy days when these mats 

 were extremely bulky with clothes. 



We made up the unlucky number of thirteen in the boat, 

 including two guides who professed to know the river. The 

 Commandant came down to see us off, and I think he was 

 impressed with the method of my madness, for the boat 

 looked serviceable and so did the men as they stood up to 

 their poles to salute him. We said " Good-bye " and he 

 wished me good luck, adding that he expected to see me back 

 in five days. The next moment the boat swung round with 

 the current and dropped noiselessly down stream, making a 

 devious passage to avoid the rocks. I shall not forget my 

 sensations as we flew past the banks, expecting every 

 moment to come upon a hidden rock. And we did not have 

 to wait long to realise our fears ; we had hardly gone a mile 

 when there was a heavy crash and the water welled up through 

 a loosened stopping into the boat. Just here there were no 

 banks on which to land, and it was touch and go whether we 

 should reach safety before she sank ; the next moment, 

 however, a flat reef of rock saved the situation and the boat 

 was hauled up, turned over, and the process of replugging 

 commenced. By this time our guides had had about enough 



