128 BOURU. [chap. XXVI. 



clumps separated by water, so tliat nothing was to be 

 gained by leaving the beaten track, and we were obliged 

 to go floundering on, never knowing where our feet would 

 rest, as the mud was now a few inches, now two feet, deep, 

 and the bottom very uneven, so that the foot slid down to 

 the lowest part, and made it difficult to keep one's balance. 

 One step would be upon a concealed stick or log, almost 

 dislocating the ankle, while the next would plunge into 

 soft mud above the knee. It rained all the way, and the 

 long grass, six feet high, met over the path ; so that we 

 could not see a step of the way ahead, and received a double 

 drenching. Before we got to the village it was dark, and 

 we had to cross over a small but deep and swollen stream 

 by a narrow log of wood, which was more than a foot 

 under water. There was a slender shaking stick for a 

 handrail, and it was nervous work feeling in the dark in 

 the rushing water for a safe place on which to place the 

 advanced foot. After an hour of this most disagreeable 

 and fatiguing walk we reached the village, followed by 

 the men with our guns, ammunition, boxes, and bedding, 

 all more or less soaked. We consoled ourselves with 

 some hot tea and cold fowl, and went early to bed. 



The next morning was clear and fine, and I set out soon 

 after sunrise to explore the neighbourhood. The village 

 had evidently been newly formed, and consisted of a single 

 straight street of very miserable huts totally deficient in 



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