Chap. LX. BUNDO'KE.— DEKGA. 
273 
cult, and the kmuda, a Liliacea which I have men- 
tioned before, was so plentiful in some places, that it 
formed, as it were, a rich carpet, exhibiting quite an 
unwonted and cheerful aspect, for in general this 
quarter of Africa is rather poor in flowers. We had 
just passed a very dense jungle of tall reed-grass 
interspersed with blue and yellow flowers, when a 
thunder-storm which had hovered over us all the 
morning broke out, and soon changed the whole 
forest into one mighty sheet of water, when we had 
to cross three powerful torrents, all running towards 
the south-east, and probably discharging themselves 
into the Sirba. 
Completely drenched, and almost swamped by the 
water, we reached the village of Denga, but had the 
greatest, difficulty in entering it, on account of the 
dense forest with which it was surrounded. At 
length we succeeded in penetrating this mass of 
thorny bushes, and, having obtained quarters, were 
able to dry our clothes ; but the damp was excessive, 
and the second-best of my servants, the young Shuwa 
lad 'Abd Allahi, was this very day attacked by the 
Guinea worm, which laid him up during the whole of 
the remainder of my journey, and at times rendered 
him the most disagreeable person in the world, 
The hut which was assigned to myself was well 
built ; but it was so completely obstructed by numbers 
of corn jars of clay,, that scarcely any room was left 
for my own use. Our diet, however, was not so bad, 
and besides sour milk, which constitutes one of the 
VOL. IV. T 
