ANNOYANCE FROM MUSQUITOES. 163 



place. From Louis' Creek up to the first Benin 

 branch, a distance of seventy miles, the country 

 is low and swampy, and the average breadth of 

 the stream from thirty to forty yards. During 

 the two nights, neither officers nor men were 

 able to enjoy a moment's repose, but kept con- 

 stantly pacing the decks. Several of us spent the 

 night in smoking, endeavouring by this means 

 to keep away the musquitoes, of which there 

 were myriads around us : my arms, face, and 

 neck were so severely marked with their stings, 

 that I appeared to be suffering from the small- 

 pox in the seventh or eighth day of its conti- 

 nuance. For a week I was obliged to keep cold 

 lotions applied to the parts affected, and for two 

 days I was quite blind. 



At 6 on the morning of the 30th, we got un- 

 der weigh. A great number of plantains and 

 banana trees were visible. We obtained a canoe- 

 load of wood, and anchored at 6 p. m. Here 

 again we passed another sleepless night, from 

 the tormenting musquitoes. During the last 

 three days we had had some heavy rains. Some 

 of the men were now sick ; consisting of the mate ; 

 Francisco, a Spaniard ; Johnson, a black fireman ; 

 Al Hadge, an attendant ; and the steward. We 



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