336 FLOODED YALLEYS. Chap. XYIII. 



flooded valley about half a mile wide, with a small and now deep 

 rivulet in its middle, flowing rapidly to the S.S.B. or towards 

 the Kasai. The middle part of tins flood, being the bed of what 

 at other times is the rivulet, was so rapid that we crossed by 

 holding on to the oxen, and the current soon dashed them to the 

 opposite bank ; we then jumped off, and, the oxen being relieved 

 of their burdens, we could pull them on to the shallower part. 

 The rest of the valley was thigh deep and boggy, but holding on 

 by the belt winch fastened the blanket to the ox, we each floun- 

 dered through the nasty slough as well as we could. These 

 boggy parts, lying parallel to the stream, were the most extensive 

 we had come to — those mentioned already were mere circum- 

 scribed patches, these stretched for miles along each bank ; but 

 even here, though the rapidity of the current was very consider- 

 able, the thick sward of grass was " laid " flat along the sides 

 of the stream, and the soil was not abraded so much as to dis- 

 colour the flood. When we came to the opposite side of this 

 valley, some pieces of the ferruginous conglomerate, which forms 

 the capping to all other rocks in a large district around and 

 north of this, cropped out, and the oxen bit at them as if sur- 

 prised by the appearance of stone as much as we were ; or it may 

 have contained some mineral of which they stood in need. We 

 had not met with a stone since leaving Shinte's. The country 

 is covered with deep alluvial soil of a dark colour and very 

 fertile. 



In the afternoon we came to another stream, nuana Loke (or 

 child of Loke) with a bridge over it. The men had to swim off 

 to each end of the bridge, and when on it were breast deep ; 

 some preferred holding on by the tails of the oxen the whole 

 way across. I intended to do this too, but, riding to the deep 

 part, before I could dismount and seize the helm the ox dashed 

 off with his companions, and his body sank so deep, that I failed 

 in my attempt even to catch the blanket belt, and if I pulled 

 the bridle, the ox seemed as if he would come backwards upon 

 me, so I struck out for the opposite bank alone. My poor fellows 

 were dreadfully alarmed when they saw me parted from the 

 cattle, and about twenty of them made a simultaneous rush into 

 the water for my rescue, and just as I reached the opposite bank 

 one seized my arm, and another threw Ins around my body. 



