OUR JOURNEY UP THE NIGER AND BENUE 21 



beautiful cry of the solitary fish-eagle, which we now and 

 then surprised at his fishing, perched on a snag or dead tree 

 limb. There were pelicans, too, upon the sand-banks, and 

 sleepy-looking ibis in Httle crowds to add variety to the bird 

 life of the river. And sometimes our approach disturbed a 

 flock of beautiful white egrets which would spread out over 

 the water in a little white cloud and circle back on to a tree 

 where they hung like clusters of white blossoms. 



Thirty-five miles from Onitsa the river widens to a 

 breadth of two and a quarter miles, flowing through open 

 bush country, and at Ida, on the boundary between the two 

 Nigerias, small hills about 800 ft. high, appear in the distance 

 like whale backs rising above the plain, covered with leafless 

 trees which our eyes rested on as a pleasant change after 

 the endless green that had lined the course behind us. So, 

 the aspect of the river continues as far as Lokoja, where we 

 arrived on March 24. 



We spent a week at Lokoja in very comfortable circum- 

 stances, as the guests of the 2nd Batt. Northern Nigerian 

 regiment commanded by Major Merrick, who was extremely 

 kind to us, as was also Capt. ElHot, Superintendent of Marine, 

 who spared no pains in helping us fix the boats together and 

 in procuring us polers for the journey up the Benue. Here 

 we added to our personnel an old Hausa called Galladima, 

 who became our quartermaster, and Umuru, who was 

 appointed gun boy to Gosling. Also Quasso, first of all my 

 brother's " boy " and afterwards mine, and Lowi, a Yoruba, 

 who became " cook's boy " to John, are worthy of mention 

 as characters who afterwards appear in our history. We 

 also got together forty carriers, who followed the boats with 



