418 
ARRIVE AT DEANG-NO WATER. 
[chap. XV* 
started off in advance of the party with several natives 
at a rapid pace, while the Turks and some of my men 
guarded the ammunition, and I remained in company 
with the litter and five of my men to bring up the 
rear. The progress of the litter was so slow that, after 
travelling all day until sunset, we were outmarched, 
and just as it was getting dark we arrived at a spot 
where a path branched to the south, while the main 
path that we had been following continued E.N.E. 
At this point a native was waiting, having been stationed 
there by the Turks to direct us to the south ;—he ex¬ 
plained that the people had halted at a village close 
by. Pushing our way through the narrow path we 
shortly arrived at the village of Deang. This con¬ 
sisted of a few deserted huts scattered among extensive 
groves of plantains. Here we found Eddrees and the 
Turks, with their captives from the attack on Fowooka; 
—passing their huts, we took possession of two clean 
and new huts in the midst of a well cultivated field of 
beans that were about six inches above the ground, the 
cleared field forming an oasis in the midst of the sur¬ 
rounding grass jungle. There was no water;—it was 
already dark, and, although we had travelled through the 
heat of the day no one had drunk since the morning. 
We were intensely thirsty, and the men searched in 
vain among the deserted huts in the hope of finding a 
supply in the water jars—they were all empty. For¬ 
tunately we had a little sour milk in a jar that we 
had carried with us, barely sufficient for two persons. 
There was nothing to eat except unripe plantains, 
these we boiled as a substitute for potatoes. I dis¬ 
armed all the porters, placing their lances and shields 
under my bedstead in the hut, lest their owners should 
abscond during the night. It now appeared that our 
party had scattered most disgracefully, those in advance 
with the ammunition, who had been ordered not to 
quit their charge for an instant, had outmarched the 
main body, leaving Eddrees and a few men with the 
captive women who could not walk fast, and my small 
guard who had attended the litter. 
