Chap. LXIV. VERY WINDING COURSE. 
381 
rheumatism. The governor of Say, as I have already- 
mentioned, in consequence of his voyage up the river 
to Gagho, had become quite lame. 
It was a quarter to seven o'clock in the Friday, 
morning when we left the sea of reeds Se P teraber ' 2nd - 
in which we had moored our vessel, which, in the ab- 
sence of an anchor, is done by fixing a pole on each 
side of the prow, and one at the stern of the boat. 
We began our day's voyage by slowly gliding along 
the river, by the strength of a local current, which 
ran at the rate of about two miles an hour ; but soon 
our boatmen began to make use of their oars, and we 
advanced with more rapidity. The open channel was 
here quite close to the eastern shore, the uniform 
level of which was broken by a hilly eminence 
covered with fine fields of millet, when we saw 
upon our left a smaller arm of the considerable chan- 
nel running from the south-west. This, on inquiry, 
I found was in connection with that very water- 
course which, at a later season, forms the general 
high road of those people who go from Sarayamo to 
Timbuktu. Even at this season of the year this 
branch is preferred by those who come from the 
north. Having passed this branch we halted awhile 
at the western shore, where, at a short distance 
inland, there is a small village called Koito, sur- 
rounded by fine trees. 
After a short delay we set out again on our zig- 
zag voyage, while one of our boatmen, his harpoon 
in hand, proceeded on a fishing expedition. From 
