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Although the N.E. monsoon rains had just begun to fall,
it was intensely hot marching along the dry beds of backwaters,
with the sun beating down upon us. I was simply
wet through with perspiration, and we were all glad to make
frequent halts under trees to rest and drink water. In the
evening, wending our way along the beach, we had some
unexpected trouble in getting through the back-waters. The
first one was' very deep with a strong current running, and
it was a long time before we could find a place shallow
enough to cross. Said went in several times to try, but
had to swim back again. A t last I found a place, and went
in first; the water was nearly up to my neck, with a strong
current. I remained in the water for over an hour helping
to pass the porters and their loads across, until all had safely
reached the other side.
Then, just as it got dark, I overtook the porters, and found
them halted before another back-water; some had tried to
cross it, and had been nearly carried out to sea. It had been
a neap tide which had gone up far inland, and there was a
great volume of water rushing back like a mill-race. I tried
it in two places, but the water was too strong for me, and I
had to give it up.
Said wanted to abandon the attempt, but I said | Nonsense,”
it meant camping on the beach all night without water, and
we must get across somehow! I went in again, taking half
the porters with me, holding each other’s hands, and then
impressed everybody to form a chain across, and so got
everything ancj everybody safely over at last. We reached
Marereni at 8.30 p.m., and I went straight to bed after
dinner, dead beat.
We reached Krawa next day, going to our old camp on
the hillA We saw several herds of topi, and eight Dyke’s
antelope, which the Swahili call “ Dendara.” In the night
an elephant trumpeted quite close to the camp.
The next few days the men were busy putting up huts
and clearing water-holes; I felt seedy for some time— the
effect of my long stay in the sea-water, where probably I
got a chill. I noticed on some of the bushes close by a
large green fruit, which I understood was called !I Matonga ”