LAST MISSION TO AFRICA. 
129 
Woolli is nearly of the same size as the one we formerly 
crossed of that name ; it appeared to be exceedingly deep, 
and flowed at the rate of four or five miles per hour. There 
is a very good canoe here, which can carry over four ass 
loads at once. As it threatened rain, sent over three men 
with one of the tents, and pitched it on the East side about 
half a mile from the river ; the ground near the bank being 
marshy. Hired people to carry down the bundles, and put 
them into the canoe ; and others to receive them on the 
other side, and carry them up the bank ; so that the sol- 
diers had nothing to move, being all weak and sickly. 
By one o'clock all the baggage was over ; but we found 
some difficulty in transporting the asses ; the rapidity of the 
stream swept the canoe and the first six past the landing 
place ; and they went so far down the river, that I really 
thought the asses must be drowned ; which would have 
been an irreparable loss in our situation. However, by 
the exertions of the Negroes, who swam in with ropes to 
the canoe, the asses were landed on the other side ; where 
they stood by the water's edge until the Negroes with their 
corn hoes made a path for them up the steep bank. To 
prevent such an accident, we took the ropes from several 
of our loads, and fastened them together, so as to reach 
across the river ; with this we hauled over the loaded canoe, 
and the Negroes paddled it back when empty. In this 
VOL. II. s 
