144 WALK INTO THE COUNTRY. 



with three or four feet water only on them. On 

 the previous day I had purchased a bullock for 

 four yards of cloth ; and after enjoying a beef- 

 steak, Briggs and I found ourselves equal to a 

 little walk on shore. On landing we visited a 

 small village on the eastern bank of the river, and 

 took a guide to the top of the bank, which was 

 about one hundred and fifty feet high. From the 

 summit we had a magnificent view. The country 

 appeared thinly inhabited towards the interior, 

 compared with that near the banks of the river, 

 and was more thickly wooded. 



Dr. Briggs collected a quantity of minerals in 

 our walk, and we met with the wild cotton, ta- 

 marind, and a number of beautiful shrubs. The 

 bank was formed of granite, covered over with a 

 stratum of rich vegetable mould, with here and 

 there large boulders of granite, of fantastic 

 shapes, rearing their naked heads above the long 

 grass. We soon after returned on board much 

 benefited by our little excursion. My friend 

 Briggs was an enthusiast in geology, and was 

 hammering at every stone we met with. Among 

 other acquirements which he had picked up in 

 his travels on the Continent was that of cooking; 



