LIFE AND SCENES IN THE JUNGLE 27 



sits on a fallen tree, with his arms folded, as if he 

 had finished work for the day. 



Along towards this hour everything in the forest 

 appears to become quiet and inactive, and continues 

 so until about two o'clock in the afternoon. I was 

 impressed on more than one occasion with this 

 universal rest during the hottest part of the day, and 

 the same thing seems to prevail among the aquatic 

 animals. 



I now prepare my repast for midday, by opening 

 a can of meat or fish, and warming it in a tin plate 

 on the little stove. I have no vegetables or dessert, 

 but with a few crackers broken up, and stirred into 

 the grease, and plenty of water to drink with it, I 

 find it an ample meal. When it is finished, Moses 

 coils up in his little hammock, swung by my side, 

 and takes his siesta. The boy, when there, stretches 

 out on the floor, and does likewise. 



During the hours from ten till two, few things are 

 astir, though I have seen some interesting sights 

 during that time. 



It must not be supposed that the change is sudden 

 at these periods, for such is not the case. It is not a 

 fixed time for everything to cease its activity. It is 

 by slow degrees that one after another becomes 

 quiescent, until life appears almost extinct for a time ; 

 but as the sun begins to descend the western sky, 

 things begin to revive, and by three o'clock every- 

 thing is again astir. 



Now a lone gorilla comes stalking through the 

 bush, looking for the red fruit of the batuna that 



