OUR GUIDE LOSES HIS WAY 



259 



and tliere with luxuriant grass as tall as a man. We camped 

 bpneatli a gigantic Ficus sycamorus, familiarly known as the 

 sycamore of Egypt, of which the Swahili name is mihuyu, the 

 stem and wide-spreading crown of foliage of which were alike 

 hung with bunches of fruit. Here was poscho for at least three 

 or five days. In less than no time dozens of our men had 

 climbed the tree, and a thick shower of figs was falling at our 

 feet. The ripe figs, of a pink colour and about the size of a 

 walnut, were eaten raw, whilst those still greea were boiled 

 to a kind of pulp. The natives told us there were lots of these 

 trees all along the river, which enabled us to look forward to 

 the next few days with rather less anxiety. 



Our third day'^ march began by Sokoni leading us in a circle 

 along wretched paths through the wood and back to where 

 we started from. Of course we were all very wroth at being 

 put through such a martyrdom for nothing, and Count Teleki 

 now acted as guide himself. First we waded for some time 

 through the deep sand of the river, and then crossed over to 

 the left side, the banks being less encumbered there. Here we 

 found numbers of shrubs, rather like the white thorn, bearing- 

 little red berries with a thin skin, about the size of peas, and with 

 a hard inside kernel which the natives eat in times of scarcity. 

 The taste of these berries reminded us of that of medlars. It 

 was impossible to satisfy one's hunger with them, but the men 

 were soon thinking of nothing but berry-picking and were 

 scattered in every direction. No one got lost, however, as 

 everyone had sense enough to make for the river again, and 

 the caravan kept to its bed for the sake of the water. There 

 were plenty of sycamore trees here too. 



We pushed on on the fourth day in the same channel, only 

 cutting across country when it wound very much. For the sake 

 of buying ivory of the natives we halted for two hours in the 

 middle of the day, where there were plenty of berries to be had. 



s 2 



