140 RIVER GUILOULOU. 
account of the great number of lions which repair to this part 
of the river to drink. It runs from north to south ; it is not 
wide in the dry season, and its bottom is clay. I allowed 
my horse to graze freely upon the herbage, and having 
remained seated some time under a tree contemplating this 
fertile country with delight, I could not resist a desire to 
bathe, notwithstanding my recent fever. I had no fear that 
the coolness of the water would be productive of fatal effects ; 
for in these burning regions it is always tepid ; and if it is not 
agreeable to drink, at least it is not unwholesome. This bath 
proved extremely refreshing, and on coming out of the water 
I felt myself endued with new strength. I concluded that 
my disorder had finally left me ; my spirits revived, and I 
fell to work to cut grass for my horse and my ass ; I made 
several bundles of it, and returned to Canel before sun-set, 
promising myself a similar excursion the following day. 
March 10th. On the banks of the Guiloulou I had 
observed the remains of earthen furnaces, in which the 
Toucoulors smelt their iron, in the manner described by 
Mungo Park. Having learned that the iron mine was a league 
distant in the hills to the west of Canel, I set out for the spot 
early in the morning on horseback, accompanied by a 
Marabout of the country, whom I paid for this service with 
two necklaces of glass beads. After traversing a tolerably 
well cultivated country, we reached a spot entirely barren, 
and covered with ferruginous stones. On each side we 
