62 



A DIARY OF THE 



road to be only ten yards from us, and that we 

 had not more than a hundred yards of the forest 

 to pass through. We continued our journey at 

 seldom less speed than a canter ; these horses 

 having a peculiar sort of pace, which they can 

 maintain for a length of time almost incredible 

 to an Enghsh traveller. We came to a branch 

 of the river Leubu, about twenty or thirty miles 

 inland : with little difficulty we crossed it on 

 horseback ; and our guide's horse being fagged, 

 he took mine, fixed his lasso to the saddle, rode 

 after a few horses which were grazing near us, 

 and in a few minutes entrapped one of the poor 

 animals in that never-failing lasso : this was ac- 

 complished in less than ten minutes, and we 

 continued our way across the country till we 

 came to the Rio Leubu. (We had gone to some 

 distance out of our way for the purpose of 

 getting this horse.) Here we dismounted, un- 

 saddled our horses, and hailed an Indian woman 

 on the other side of the river, distant about 

 fifty yardSj to know if she had any means of 

 conveying us over. She pointed to something 

 in the shape of a canoe, lying on the bank of the 

 river, filled with mud and water, which, with the 

 assistance of another woman, she managed to 



