436 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT 



CHAP. 



I at once despatched a party of men to the river 

 to assist George in crossing : being confined to my 

 bed with fever and hver troubles, I was unable to go 

 in person. Mufta reported that of the seventy-five 

 donkeys which George had bought, fifty-five were 

 still alive and in good condition. The men sent to 

 the relief of George and his party took with them 

 ropes and axes, in case it should be possible to use 

 them in bridge-making. While in camp at Daitcho, 

 we had made a rope 200 yards long, and about as 

 thick as a man s wrist, for use in crossing rivers. 

 This we made from the fibre of a plant growing in 

 the neighbourhood. The rope was very light, and 

 capable of withstanding great strain ; and it looked 

 almost as neat as a well-made hemp hawser. 



During the evening of the day upon which these 

 men set out, two of them returned, and reported that 

 with the exception of one man they had not been 

 able to ford even the Ura River, so much had it 

 swollen. The man who crossed went on and reached 

 the Tana, which he could not cross. He fired 

 several shots to attract the attention of the men with 

 George, but from the roar of the stream was unable 

 to distinguish any sound as an answer; however, he 

 could see the forms of men on the opposite bank. 

 The other man said that the porter who swam the 

 Ura, and reached the Tana, saw all the men and don- 

 keys on a small island in mid-stream, and that they 

 had shown by signs that it was impossible for them to 

 either advance or retreat. If the latter story proved 

 true, it meant that George and the men with him 

 would die of starvation ; for the island was about 



