126 
TRAVELS m AFRICA. Chap. LXXIV- 
wandering Tawdrek enlivening the green border of 
the swamp. Crossing, then, some rising ground be- 
yond the reach of the wide expanse of shallow back- 
waters connected with the river, we came to the well- 
known creek of Amalelle, and followed its northerly 
shore till we reached its source or head, where our 
friend A'khbi had taken up his encampment in the 
midst of a swampy meadow-ground, which afforded 
rich pasture to his numerous herds of cattle ; for, as 
1 have had occasion repeatedly to state, the Tawdrek 
think nothing of encamping in the midst of a swamp. 
As for ourselves, we were obliged to look out 
for some better-protected and drier spot, and therefore 
ascended the sandy dowms, which rise to a consider- 
able elevation, and are well adorned with talha-trees 
and siwak, or Cappans sodata. Having pitched my 
tent in the midst of an old fence, or zeriba, I 
stretched myself out in the cool shade, and forgetting 
for a moment the unpleasant character of my situa- 
tion, enjoyed the interesting scenery of the landscape, 
which was highly characteristic of the labyrinth of 
backwaters and creeks which are connected with this 
large river of JfVestern Central Africa. 
At the foot of the downs was the encampment 
of our friends the Tawarek, with its larger and 
smaller leathern tents, some of them open and pre- 
senting the interior of these simple movable dwell- 
ings ; beyond, the swampy creek, enlivened by a 
numerous herd of cattle half-immersed in the water ; 
then a dense border of vegetation, and beyond in the 
