A LIVELY CHASE

operation had to be performed, and the grass was fired in many places on the opposite side of the swamp, while we

waited until the cleared way was sufficiently cool to allow the march !e were perfectly blac", as the wind broughtshowers of ashes that fell li"e snow, but turned us into Ethiopians I had led the way on foot from the hour we left

#ati"o, as, the country being uninhabited for fi$e days march between that place and %amrasi&s, the men had more faith

in my steering by the compass than they had in the nati$e guide I felt sure that we were being decei$ed, and that the

woman 'acheeta had directed the guide to ta"e us to (ionga&s Accordingly that night, when Canopus was in themeridian, I as"ed our conductor to point by a star the direction of %aruma #alls He immediately pointed to Canopus,

which I "new by Spe"e&s map should be the direction of (ionga&s islands, and I charged him with the deceit He appeared

$ery much astonished, and as"ed me why I wanted a guide if I "new the way confessing that %aruma #alls were a littleto the east of the star I than"ed Spe"e and )rant at that moment, and upon many other occasions, for the map they had

so generously gi$en me It has been my greatest satisfaction to ha$e completed their great disco$ery, and to bear testimony

to the correctness of their map and general obser$ations *he march was e+ceedingly fatiguing there was a swamp at

least e$ery half hour during the day, at each of which we had the greatest difficulty in dri$ing the o+en, who were abo$ethe girths in mud -ne swamp was so deep that we had to carry the luggage piecemeal on an angarep by about twel$e

men, and my wife being sub.ected to the same operation was too ha$ey, and the people returned with her as

impracticable I accordingly $olunteered for ser$ice, and carried her on my bac"/ but when in the middle of the swamp,

the tenacious bottom ga$e way, and I san", and remained immo$eably fi+ed, while she floundered frogli"e in the muddywater I was e+tricated by the united efforts of se$eral men, and she was landed by being dragged through the swamp

!e marched for upwards of ten hours per day, so great were the delays in crossing the morasses and in clearing off the

grass .ungle by burning -n the fourth day we left the prairies, and entered a noble forest/ this was also so cho"ed with

high grass that it was impossible to proceed without burning the country in ad$ance *here had been no semblance of a path for some time/ and the only signs of game that we had seen were the trac"s of elephants and a large herd of 

 buffaloes, the fire ha$ing scared all wild animals from the neighbourhood An attac" of fe$er sei0ed me suddenly, and I

was obliged to lie down for four or fi$e hours under a tree until the fit had passed away, when, wea" and good for 

nothing, I again mounted my o+ and rode on -n the 1anuary, from an ele$ated position in the forest at sunrise, we sawa could of fog hanging in a distant $alley, which beto"ened the presence of the Somerset ri$er *he guide assured us that

we should reach the ri$er that day I e+tract the note from my .ournal on the occasion 2arched, reaching the Somerset

ri$er, or Victoria !hite 3ile I ne$er made so tedious a .ourney, owing to the delays of grass, streams, and deep swamps,the '(-*HE( -# (I-3)A with them/ the guide, as I had freared during the .ourney, has decei$ed us, and ta"en us

direct to (ionga&s country -n the north side the ri$er all is uninhabited forest, full of buffalo and elephant pitfalls, into

which three of our cattle ha$e already fallen, including my beautiful riding o+, which is thus so sprained as to be

rendered useless *he nati$es at first supposed we were 2ahommed !at 2e"&s people, but finding their mista"e theywould gi$e no information, merely saying that the la"e was not far from here *hey said they were friends of 

2ahommed&s people who attac"ed %amrasi, and (ionga being his enemy became their ally I must now be $ery careful,

lest the news should reach %amrasi that I am in (ionga&s country, which would cut off all change of tra$elling in

4nyoro *he sla$e woman, bacheeta, secretly instructed the guide to lead us to (ionga instead of to %amrasi, preciselyas I had suspected *he %aruma #alls are a day&s march east of this, at which point we must cross the ri$er -btained a

clear obser$ation of Capella, meridian altitude showing latitude degrees minutes !e could ge no supplies from (ionga&s

 people, who returned to their island after their conference with 'acheeta, promising to send us some plantains and a

 bas"et of flour/ but upon gaining their secure ret reat they shouted, that we might go to %amrasi if we li"ed, but that weshould recei$e no assistance from them Early in the morning we started for %aruma *his of the forest was perfectly

open, as the grass had been burnt by the nati$es about three wee"s ago, and the young shoots of the $ines were appearing

from the scorched roots/ among other plants was an abundance of the pric"ly asparagus, of shich I collected a bas"etful 3othing could e+ceed the beauty of the march -ur course through the noble forest was parallel with the ri$er, that

roared beneath us on our right in a succession of rapids and falls between high cliffs co$ered with gro$es of bananas and

$arieties of plams, including the graceful wild date the certain sign of either marsh or r i$er *he Victoria 3ile or Somerset

ri$er was about yards wide/ the cliffs on the south side were higher than those upon the north, being about feet abo$e the

C-3#I5E3*IAL 6789