58 
K0UTE TO MINEENGA. 
To describe this country and its inhabitants, I devote 
the present chapter. 
The whole route was fine ; never once did we lose 
sight of trees, wooded hills, or valleys, while water was 
everywhere abundant. The forest was what might be 
called " Donkey or Zebra forest" — bare-poled trees and 
no underwood. The hills, now close, now distant, 
were richly clothed and exceedingly graceful, remind- 
ing me of the Trosachs. Grey rocks looked out in 
fantastic shapes from amongst the trees. Huge blocks 
lay one over the other, or abruptly ended a range of 
hill. The valleys had been cleared by the axe, the 
wild grasses were most luxuriant, and palisaded vil- 
lages were often met with. We had not to leave the 
path in order to pluck the Indian corn. Our way led 
from one valley to another, or threaded the green forest, 
which rang with the songs of our followers. Gene- 
rally the road was of fine sand, which, when lately 
washed by the rains, was loose and yellow. Once it 
crossed a quicksand, the only one I recollect seeing in 
Africa — very shaky and watery — along which a patch 
of rice grew. Two streams running west were forded ; 
the Gombe, twenty yards across, there only 4^ feet 
deep — and with no current, merely a gentle flow of 
mud-coloured water ; its banks well wooded and shelv- 
ing : our men shouldered us across, but there were 
some rickety canoes made of bark lying on the left 
bank. The other we crossed at night in two channels 
running also west, but said to be dry one half of the 
year, although now it was breast-deep, with a current 
that nearly bore me down in my weak state. Attacks 
of fever came on about every tenth day, lasting 
eight and ten hours, with from two to five days of 
