TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 147 crossing it without canoes, of which there were Done at the place, would have been madness ; he was therefore, however reluctantly, obliged to return to a small town called Jamoonia, about a mile from the river.

Here he remained, in consequence of the continuance of rain and the still swollen state of the river, until the 25th, during which time he, together with some of his men, had a severe attack of fever, but on that day were sufficiently recovered to attempt crossing the stream, then reduced to nine feet water, and in which they succeeded, by felling a large tree which stood on the bank, and when down reached across, forming a passage sufficiently solid to admit of the baggage being carried over on the men's heads : the animals swam across with much difficulty, owing to the rapidity of the stream. The remainder of that day's journey was rendered extremely difficult and tedious, by the marshy nature of the ground over which their path lay. They halted for the night at a walled town called Dhiamu, having passed several small villages during the day. On leaving this place they had another considerable stream to cross j it was much wider than the former but not so deep, having only from three to five feet water, with a rough stony bottom. The path on the other side was good and solid : in the vicinity of l2