JOURNEY FROM BADAGRY TO KATUNGA. 
o 
hammocks which they supplied us with, I mounted my friend Ali’s 
small horse, without a saddle, and Houtson and I agreed to ride 
and tie, as my feet were cut and blistered with a pair of new boots 
I had mounted yesterday, and I could only wear a pair of slippers. 
We set off in this state, accompanied by the caboceer of Jannah’s 
messenger, named Acra, and Mr. Houtson’s boys. Puka, which 
we are leaving, has once been a large town, surrounded by a wall 
and deep ditch; the wall is now down, and all the houses of the 
town in ruins. After leaving this place it soon became dark, and we 
frequently lost our way. We could see, however, that the road in 
the open part of the country was through fine plantations of corn; 
the rest was through thick dark woods, where we could not see the 
heaven over our heads, the path winding in every direction. My 
slippers being down at the heels I soon lost them off my feet, which 
were miserably cut; but I became so galled by riding without a 
saddle, that I was compelled thus to walk barefooted, which was 
the worst of the two ; for whenever I crossed an ant path, which 
were frequent, my feet felt as if in the fire, these little animals 
drawing blood from them and from my ankles. We halted at a 
village called Isako, after passing several others on the road : here 
the people offered us a house for the night, but on their telling us 
that our people had gone on to a town a short distance off, we re- 
mained only a little w hile and set off again. They kindly gave us 
guides with lamps to show us the way. Our short rest and ride 
had had a bad effect on us, and the road only wanted thorns to 
make our misery complete. However, after struggling on till 
midnight, we arrived at a town called Dagmoo, where we found 
our servants with the heavy baggage and the canteen, but our beds 
had gone further on, so that we were obliged to sleep in the market- 
place, in the open air: even this, with a little cold meat, was better 
than travelling. 
Saturday, 10th. — The morning raw, cold, and hazy, and we had 
