Page 24 - Adventures in Africa

however, have preferred that to undergoing the
fatigues of hunting; besides which we might the sooner

have returned with our cargo of ivory to the coast/*
Several more days passed by during which we came

to three spots where we were able to obtain a
sufficient amount of water to satisfy ourselves and our
thirsty animals. Sometimes for miles together not a

drop could be procured, and had it not been for the
tubers, and the little red melons I have described,
the horses and our patient ox must have perished.

A t length the sheen of water in the bright sunlight
was seen in the distance. This time we were con­
vinced that it was not a mirage. W e pushed forward,

hoping1 that our sufferings from thirst were at an end.
Trees of greater height than any we had yet met with

since leaving the colony fringed the banks of a fine
river. On examining the current we found that it was
flowing to the north-east, and we therefore hoped

that by following it up we should reach the lake for
which we were bound. Our black guide, however,

advised that we should cross the river, which wa-
here fordable, and by steering north, considerably
shorten the journey. On wading through the water

we looked out sharply for crocodiles and hippopotami
lest one of those fresh-water monsters should venture
to attack us ; we got over, however, without accident

H a v in g allowed our animals to drink their full ot
water, and replenished our bottles, we encamped for
the night under a magnificent baobab tree with a

trunk seventy feet in girth as high as wc could reach,
while our animals found an abundance of rich grass

on which to satisfy their hunger.