142 
MUNGO PARK'S 
^ I 
• the course of our march from Toniba to Bambakoo, we lost 
Sergeant M'Keil, Purvey, and Samuel Hill. 
August 22nd. — Early in the morning had all the bundles 
put on the asses, and carried to the place of embarkation, 
which is a village called Bossradoo, about a mile and a 
half East of Bambakoo. It rained hard all the forenoon. 
The canoes could not carry any of the soldiers, or any 
person except two to look after the goods. I resolved to 
go down with Mr. Anderson, leaving Mr. Martyn to come 
down with the men by land. They rode on the asses. 
We embarked at ten minutes past three o'clock. The 
current, which is nearly five knots per hour, set us along 
without the trouble of rowing any more than was necessary 
to keep the canoe in the proper course. The river is full 
an English mile over, and at the rapids it is spread out 
to nearly twice that breadth. The rapids seem to be 
formed by the river passing through a ridge of hills in 
a South Easterly direction : they are very numerous, and 
correspond with the jetting angles of the hills. There are 
three principal ones, where the water breaks with consi- 
derable noise in the middle of the river ; but the canoe 
men easily avoided them by paddling down one of the 
branches near the shore. Even in this manner the velocity 
was such as to make me sigh. 
We passed two of the principal rapids, and three smaller 
