186 



THE RED LAND. 



the afternoon, when Wazira, who had disappeared 

 in the morning after hearing the growling of a 

 lion, returned to us, and for reasons of his own, 

 induced us to advance hy promising hetter water. 

 The path ran over stony ground, at times plung- 

 ing into the forest ; there were frequent thorny 

 ridges, and narrow green dales or rather ravines, 

 bordered with lovely amphitheatres of lofty and 

 feathery tropical trees, showing signs of inunda- 

 tion during the rains. But the Kazkazi, or N. 

 East monsoon, had dried up the marrow of the 

 land, and though we searched secundum artem, 

 as for treasure, we found no water. 



Noon came, and the sun towered in its pride 

 of place. Even whilst toiling up the stony, dusty 

 track, over a series of wearisome, monotonous 

 slopes, unvisited by the cool sea-breeze, we could 

 not but remark the novel aspect of the land. The 

 ground was brick-red, a favourite colour in Africa 

 as in the Brazil, and its stain extended half-way up 

 the tree-boles, which the ants had streaked with 

 ascending and descending galleries. Overhead 

 floated, cloud-like, a filmy canopy of sea-green ver- 

 dure, pierced by myriads of little sun pencils ; 

 whilst the effulgent dome, purified as with fire from 

 mist and vapour, set the picture in a frame of gold 

 and ultramarine. Painful splendours ! The men 



