DANGERS OF TRAVELLING BY NIGHT. 47 
that we could discern the traces of our way. The day was 
near its close when we directed our course east one quarter 
south-east. We proceeded until eight o'clock, when we halted 
under a goui or baobab, to which we tied my two asses and 
my horse. Having finished our supper, I fell asleep, but was 
soon wakened by the cries of my people. On enquiring the 
cause, they told me that my horse, frightened by the approach 
of wild beasts, had fled into the woods. They immediately set 
out in pursuit of him, so that I was left alone. In an hour 
they returned with him ; his saddle which he had thrown on 
the ground as he ran away, had indicated the route he had 
taken ; but they had not been able to find his bit. In order 
to prevent any fresh attempt at escape, we tied his legs with 
cords, after the manner of the Moors. We soon judged from 
the uneasiness which he manifested, that some ferocious beast 
was prowling about us. We thought it high time to quit so 
dangerous a spot, and accordingly departed. Accustomed 
until now to sleep every night in the huts of the Negroes, I 
was the more exhausted by the fatigues of this night. As we 
went on, I fell asleep upon my horse, so that I was every mo- 
ment in danger of falling. I tried to walk to drive away the 
drowsiness which began to overwhelm me, but the thorns 
scratched my face so severely that I was obliged to remount 
my horse. We looked round on all sides for the fires of some 
village. As for me, exhausted by fatigue, hunger, and want 
of sleep, my eyes could not distinguish any object; every 
