VOYAGE UP WHITE NILE 
73 
A Misadventure. 
During one of those delightful days in the forests of 
Kordofan, a disagreeable misadventure befell. After a 
six-hours’ ramble among wild beasts and birds, I had 
returned to the ship about noon, and while having a bath, 
observed through the open scuttle a curious spectacle. A 
big tree on the east bank was crowded with monkeys, 
obviously in a state of great excitement, and performing 
extraordinary acrobatic evolutions. Many kept leaping 
from branch to branch ; others scampered and climbed 
to the outermost boughs, from whence they jumped into 
the scrub far beneath. On bringing the glass to bear, 
I perceived two other monkeys, much larger, sitting 
together, huddled up against the main trunk. At once I 
sent word to the rais to close with the bank, in order to 
investigate this phenomenon, meanwhile taking careful 
marks and bearings. By the time I was ready, the Isis 
was berthed alongshore, but a full mile beyond the spot. 
That mile I proceeded to walk back. The sun-heat at 
high noon was something unspeakable, though the wild¬ 
life around made some amend. When close up to my 
marks, suddenly a few bees seemed to become aggressive, 
buzzing angrily under my helmet. At first I thought 
nothing about this but, a second later, felt myseif stung— 
stung badly again and again, on face and ears, then on 
wrist and arms, soon all over. Clearly the attack was 
serious ; so I cleared the trees and plunged into the jungle 
of deep cane-grass that lay inland, thinking therein to 
escape the enemy. In vain! By now, many thousands 
of bees had joined in the assault and the swarms increased 
momentarily, stinging hundreds to the minute, and 
particularly at the more tender points—such as eyelids 
and brows, nostrils, in and behind ears, as well as on arms 
and chest (my shirt being, as usual, open). Through 
unyielding cane-jungle I rushed away in a sort of frenzy, 
