is reached at 11 P.M. Could but a little civilised art,
as whitewashed houses, well-trained gardens, and the
like, vary these evergreen hills and trees, and diversify
the unceasing monotony of hill and dale, and dale and
hill—of green trees, green grass—green grass, green
trees, so wearisome in their luxuriance,—what a paradise
of beauty would this place present! The deep
blue waters of the lake, in contrast with the vegetation
and large brown rocks, form everywhere an object of
intense attraction; but the appetite soon wearies of
such profusion, without the contrast of more sober
tints, or the variety incidental to a populous and
inhabited country. There are said to be some few
scattered villages concealed in these dense jungles
extending away in the background, but how the shores
should be so desolate strikes one with much surprise.
The naturally excessive growth of all vegetable life is
sufficient proof of the soil’s capabilities. Unless in
former times this beautiful country has been harassed
by neighbouring tribes, and despoiled of its men and
cattle to satisfy the spoilers and be sold to distant markets,
its present state appears quite incomprehensible.
In hazarding this conjecture, it might be thought that
I am taking an extreme view of the case; but when
we see everywhere in Africa what one slave-hunt
or cattle-lifting party can effect, it is not unreasonable
to imagine that this was most probably the cause
of such utter desolation here. These war-parties
lay waste the tracks they visit for endless time.
Indeed, until slavery is suppressed in Africa, we
may expect to find such places in a similarly melancholy
state.
Immediately on arriving here I pitch my tent, and
cook a meal; whilst the sailors, as is usual on arrival
at their camping-grounds, divide into parties,—some
to catch fish, others to look for fungi, whilst many
cook the food, and the rest construct little huts by
planting boughs in a circle in the ground and fastening
the tops together, leaving the hut in the shape
of a haycock, to which they further assimilate it by
throwing grass above; and in rainy weather it is
further covered by their mats, to secure them against
getting wet. As only one or two men occupy a hut, to
accommodate so large a party many of them have to
be constructed. It is amusing to see how some men,
proud of their superior powers of inventiveness, and
possessing the knack of making pleasant what would
otherwise be uncomfortable, plume themselves before
their brethren, and turn them to derision: and it
appears the more ridiculous, as they all are as stark
naked as an unclothed animal, and have really nothing
to boast of after all.
6th.—The following morning sees us under way,
and clear of the harbour by sunrise ; but the gathering
of clouds in the south soon cautions the weather-wise
sailors to desist from their advance. Timely is the
warning; for, as we rest on our oars, the glimmer of
lightning illuminates the distant hills; whilst low
heavy rolling clouds of pitchy darkness, preceded by a
heavy gale and a foaming sea, outspread over the whole