Chap. LXII. 
SERIOUS ENCOUNTER. 
303 
penetrated into all our clothes. Fortunately we had 
no rain, so that I was able to stay outside, as the heat 
in the tent was scarcely endurable. This day, also, 
we observed numerous footprints of elephants. 
We rose with the hope that we might Monday, 
arrive at an early hour in Aribmda, or rather July 25th - 
the chief place of that district, although we were 
aware that we should have to cross another consider- 
able sheet of water ; but we were sadly disappointed, 
for, after a march of about three miles through a 
more rugged district with black and red granite and 
a great quantity of gneiss, we reached the wide in- 
undations of a river called Biiggoma by my com- 
panions, which we endeavoured in vain to cross. 
Seeing that we should not succeed here, we struck 
off into the forest in a south-westerly direction, in 
order to ford it higher up, when suddenly we fell in 
with two men who were pasturing a couple of asses ; 
but, although we made signs to them that we were 
their friends, they would not hear us, and, beating their 
shields, cried out lustily to their companions, who 
all on a sudden rushed out in every direction from 
behind the bushes, and in a moment surrounded us. 
There were from 150 to 200 people, all tall slender 
men, half-naked, with nothing but a poor ragged cloth 
round their loins, and another rag still poorer round 
their heads, and each armed with a couple of spears 
and a ragged shield, which they brandished over 
their heads with warlike gesticulations. The affair 
seemed rather serious, and here it was fortunate that 
