FLOODED VALLEYS. 
207 
ptaths in front, and if we did not at once present them 
with a cloth they would leave us to take whichever we 
might like best. As I had pointed out the direction in 
which Loanda lay, and had only employed them for the 
sake of knowing the paths between villages which lay 
along our route, and always objected when they led us in 
any other than the Loanda direction, I wished my men 
now to go on without the guides, trusting to ourselves to 
ohoose the path which would seem to load us in the direction 
wo had always followed. But Mashauana, fearing lost wo 
might wander, asked leave to give his own cloth, and when 
the guides saw that they came forward, shouting, “A vori 6 ! 
Averie 1” 
In the afternoon of this day we came to a valley about 
a mile wide, fillod with clear, fast-flowing water. The men 
on foot were chin deep in crossing, and we three on ox-back 
got wet to the middle, the weight of the animals proventing 
them from swimming. A tnunder-shower descending com- 
pleted the partial drenching of the plain, and gave a cold, 
uncomfortable “packing in a wet blanket'’ that night. 
Next day we found another flooded valley about half a 
mile wide, with a small and now deep rivulet in its middle, 
flowing rapidly to the S.S.E., or toward the Kasai. The 
middle part of this flood, being the bed of what at other 
times is the rivulet, was so rapid that wo crossed by holding 
on to the oxen, and the current soon dashed them to the 
opposite bank : we then jumped off, and, the oxen being re- 
lieved of their burdens, we could pull them on to the shal- 
lower part. The rest of the valley was thigh doop and 
boggy, but, holding on by the belt which fastened the blanket 
to the ox, we each floundered through the nasty slough aa 
well as wo could. 
In the afternoon weeamoto another stream, fluana Loke, 
(or child of Loke,) with a bridge over it. The men had to 
■wim off to each end of the bridge, and whon on it wore 
breast deep : some preferred holding on by the tails of th« 
oxen the whole waj across. I iutonded to do this too 5 
