THE RIVER! THE RIVER! I6l parched with thirst, and we felt our poor ponies panting beneath us. At the sight of the river gUstening in the moonlight, all our troubles were forgotten ; and man and beast, regardless of crocodiles, plunged into the water, and slaked their parched throats with the tepid nectar of the glorious river.

We struck the river at a place called Geebou ; it was broader here than we had expected to find it, and there was a splendid pool in front of us, fully a mile long, and in parts very deep.

The bank upon which we pitched the tents was some twenty feet above the water. The country looked exceptionally wretched. A fringe of green trees bordered either bank of the river, beyond which the ground was bare, with no grass, and leafless trees. We were delighted, however, to be on a real flowing river, the water of which was very clear, and full of fish ; and we determined to spend a day where we were, before deciding what was to be done next.

The first thing next morning we launched the Berthon boat, which had not suffered at all from its long journey. Colvin and Lort Phillips got out their fishing-tackle, and in a short time secured two fish of four and seven pounds with the spinning bait, and one of four pounds with a salmon-fly ; they were clean, nice-looking fish, and we found them very good eating.

There were a good many birds about the river, Egyptian geese, marabou storks, and various waders, among which we noticed the sacred ibis, which we were much interested to see ; and we were not long in adding geese to our bill of fare. We had brought with us a large seine fishing-net, of a kind we had used most successfully before on the Settite ; and in the afternoon we determined to give it a trial. We thought we had found an excellent place for it, but unfortunately we could not walk along the bank in order to draw it at a spot where