288 ARRIVE AT THE VICTORIA NILE. [chap. x. 
ticable. I accordingly volunteered for service, and 
carried her on my back; but when in the middle 
of the swamp, the tenacious bottom gave way, and I 
sank, and remained immoveably fixed, while she flound¬ 
ered frog-like in the muddy water. I was extricated 
by the united efforts of several men, and she was 
landed by being dragged through the swamp. We 
marched for upwards of ten hours per day, so great 
were the delays in crossing the morasses and in clearing 
off the grass jungle by burning. 
On the fourth day we left the prairies, and entered 
a noble forest; this was also so choked with high grass 
that it was impossible to proceed without burning the 
country in advance. There had been no semblance of 
a path for some time ; and the only signs of game that 
we had seen were the tracks of elephants and a large 
herd of buffaloes, the fire having scared all wild animals 
from the neighbourhood. An attack of fever seized 
me suddenly, and I was obliged to lie down for four 
or five hours under a tree until the fit had passed 
away, when, weak and good for nothing, I again 
mounted my ox and rode on. 
On the 22d February, from an elevated position in 
the forest at sunrise, we saw a cloud of fog hanging in 
a distant valley, which betokened the presence of the 
Somerset river. The guide assured us that we should 
reach the river that day. I extract the note from my 
journal on that occasion :— 
“ Marched, 6h. 20m., reaching the Somerset river, 
or Victoria White Nile. I never made so tedious a 
journey, owing to the delays of grass, streams, and deep 
swamps, but since we gained the forest these obstacles 
were not so numerous. Many tracks of elephants, 
rhinoceros, and buffaloes ; but we saw nothing. Halted 
about eighty feet above the river; altitude above sea- 
level,, by observation, 3,864 ft. I went to the river 
to see if the other side was inhabited; saw two 
villages on an island ; the natives came across in a 
canoe, bringing the brother of Rionga with them ; 
