66 UGANDA AND THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN.

we found that we had entered denser jungle, with larger trees and more of them in leaf, all signs that we were approaching water ; and about eight o'clock we reached the banks of a dried-up river, called the Mvumbu, and pitched our tents in a fine grove of fanpalms, the huge round fruit of, which, with its sweet orange- coloured pulp, was very refreshing to us, who had been for many weeks without fresh fruit of any kind. We obtained a plentiful supply of good water from holes dug in the sandy bed of the Mvumbu. The following march was a long and trying one ; the jungle was very scanty except near a river-bed, which we crossed, where was a large grove of the Manama palms (Borassus). Our kilangozi told us that we should reach a pool of water at night ; so when at length, about eight o'clock, we arrived at the camp, I sent my servant for some water, but he soon returned with the dismal news that there was none; the pool had dried up. The two next marches were shorter than any of the previous ones, and each night we had thunderstorms with heavy rain. Near our last camp in the jungle were three remarkable detached rocks, which looked as though they had formerly been one, the softer strata having weathered away. At length on November 13th we emerged from the forest and pitched our camp near the village of Usuri in the district of Iraniba ; the journey though the forest region having thus taken eight