Chap. XIX. WE AVOID OLENDA. 395 



season — when sucla work is done, the dry weather 

 being favourable to the burning of the felled trees. 

 Planting begins a few days after the trees have been 

 burnt, with the first rains. My men had by this 

 time eaten all their stock of plantains, and we were 

 beginning to suffer from the want of food. We did 

 not know how the Ashira jseople would receive us, 

 after the very unsatisfactory way in which Mintcho 

 and his party had parted from us at Mayolo. I 

 thought it best therefore to avoid meeting with them 

 if it were possible. We helped ourselves to a few 

 plantains from the trees, sufficient for our present 

 wants, and marched on. Passing the place where we 

 had left Macondai ill of the small-pox, we continued 

 our march, and just before nightfall reached the 

 Olenda slave-village which I described in the ac- 

 count of our eastward journey. This I was deter- 

 mined to pass without stopping or having any deal- 

 ings with the people ; so, ordering my men to have 

 their guns in readiness if any attempt should be made 

 to stop us, we marched on, the people shouting after 

 us as soon as they knew who we were. We got free 

 of the village at last, and pushed on for the banks 

 of the Ovigui. We were all exhausted with fatigue, 

 and some of my men wanted to lie down and sleep 

 by the roadside. I encouraged them, however, to 

 keep up, and at last we reached the river side. It 

 was then quite dark ; we made a fire, roasted our 

 plantains for supper, and then lay down to sleep. 



Eising at the first peep of day, after a restless 

 night, I was surprised to find the Ovigui quite low, 

 and easily fordable. The stream, which had been so 



