■ 



<a<2 



FLOODED LANDS. 



immediate danger 



I was aware of the suddeii 

 changes to which aguish disorders are liable. 

 As soon as the waters began to subside, 1 deter- 

 mined to remove, but as I could not mount on 

 horseback, it would be necessary that I should be 

 carried in a hammock; however the difficulty 

 consisted in procuring a sufficient number of 

 men. By waiting another day six persons were 

 obtained from the cottages in the vicinity, some 

 of which were distant more than a league. On 

 the fifth day from that of my arrival here, we 

 set off, crossed the river, which was barely ford- 

 able, and entered upon the flooded lands. The 

 waters covered the whole face of the country, 

 though they were now subsiding a little. The 

 depth was in parts up to the waist, but was in 

 general less than knee-deep. The men knew 

 the way from practice, but even the guide whom 

 I had hired at Acu could not have found it with- 

 out the assistance of those who carried me. At 

 noon the hammock with me in it was hung be- 

 tween two trees, resting the two ends of the pole 

 by which the men carried it upon two forked 

 branches ; and hides were placed over this pole 

 to shade me from the sun, as the trees had not 

 recovered from the drought, and were yet with- 

 out leaves. The men slung their hammocks 

 also, the packages were supported upon the 

 branches of trees, and the horses stood in the 

 water, and eat their maize out of bags which were 



