332 JOURNEY TO CENTRAL AFRICA.

island of Aba, our destination. As the island is six or eight miles in length, I determined to make the most of my bargain, and so told the rais that he must take me to its further end, and to the villages of the Shillooks, whom I had come to see. Abou-Hammed was small in body, but had a stout heart. The Consul and fat Abou-Balta had given him special instructions to keep me out of danger, yet he could not refuse my demands. We sailed two or three miles along the shore of Aba, looking into the depths of its ambak forests for traces of the Shillooks, who, according to the rais, had a village on the island. On our right extended a chain of smaller islands — bowery masses of leaves and blossoms — and beyond them the wild forests of the western bank. Glorious above description was that world of waves and foliage — of wood, water and sky.

At last, on rounding one of the coves of Aba, we came upon a flock of sheep, feeding along the shore. A light thread of smoke arose firom among some dead, fallen trees, a few paces in the forest, but no person was to be seen. The boat was run to the shore, and we landed and examined the spot. The natives had evidently just left, for" the brands were burning, and we saw the prints of their long feet in the ashes. The rais and sailors walked on tiptoe through the woods, looking for the hidden inhabitants. The mimosas, which here grow to the height of fifty feet, met above our heads and made a roof against the sun. Some large gray apes, startled by our visit, leaped with wonderful dexterity from tree to tree. I found several abandoned fire-places during my walk, and near the shore saw many footprints in the soft soil. The forest was uite clear of underwood, but the ground was cumbered with the trunks of dead trees. There were but few flowering plants