BAGAMOTO TO MPWAPWA. 35 and bright green palms, broke the monotony of the stream ; now and then a solitary crane would fly slowly by, doves cooed in the thick shade, while in the evening the red rays of the setting sun as it sank behind the purple mountains of Ng'uru formed a picture of surpassing beauty. One tree in the Wami valley struck me particularly ; it had a large white-barked trunk, which grew straight as an arrow to a height of eighty or ninety feet without throwing out a single branch, till it ended in a large dome-shaped head of dark-green foliage. For three days we followed the valley of the Wami in a N.W.

direction, occasionally leaving its banks and plunging into the forest, when the river made a detour to the N., and on the third day we reached the village of Kwedibago, about a quarter of a mile from the river-bank. This village was conspicuous from some large fig-trees which grew near it, and which, though bare of leaves, were covered with small figs which were just ripe, and attracted large flocks of pigeons and parrots.

At this point the Wami had to be crossed, and on August 26th we accomplished this feat. At an early hour the caravan had reached a spot on the banks of the river where a bridge had been constructed. The banks here were about fifteen feet high, and two stout creepers had been carried across and secured to trees on either side; strong cross-pieces were fastened to these at intervals, and on them long poles D 2