256 Wanderings in Eastern Africa. 
inundated hamlet, where we had spent in great dis- 
comfort so many days. A float down the stream of six 
hours brought us to the village of Charra, where we 
were heartily welcomed by our old friend Abdallah, 
the more so as he had heard that we had been killed. 
The river flows in a very serpentine course, meandering 
to every point of the compass. The aspects of its 
banks in this part was such as it has been described 
to be elsewhere ; here a plantation of rice and bananas, 
there a covering of thick, tall grass ; now a patch of 
meadow land, and now a clump of wood composed of 
mkungu, makorpa, mkindu, and mkuiyu trees, thickly 
interwoven with various creeping plants. 
After spending a day at Charra we pursued our 
course to Kau. About 200 yards from Abdallah's 
house we entered the creek by which we had first 
made our way to Charra. Then, however, we were 
under the impression that this creek was simply a 
short cut from one bend in the river Ozi to another ; 
now we found it to be a link connecting the Tana 
with the Ozi. The water of the Tana flows through 
this narrow passage into the Ozi in a very strong and 
rapid current. It is an artificial dyke made by the 
Wasuahili to facilitate the communication between 
Charra and Kau. It is about a mile and a half in 
length. As it is impassable by any but the smallest 
canoes, the larger craft anchor at the lower end of 
it, and have their cargo brought down to them by 
mitumbui (dug-outs). This kind of thing was going 
on when we were there, and it was by such means 
that we descended the river. 
The moment we entered the Ozi we were struck 
with the great contrast between it and the Tana, 
