nder Mr. Brooke's authority; but not being able to fix the exact
period for the visit, on that night we returned to the ship.

We had not been much more than twenty-four hours on board, when the
captain, who had been away, returned at midnight; and, at this unusual
hour, ordered all the boats, manned and armed, to be piped away
immediately. We were informed that the river Sakarron was again our
destination; and at four o'clock in the morning we started, with
fourteen days' provisions, and armed to the teeth, to join the Dido's
boats at the mouth of the river Morotabis, from thence to be towed with
them by the steamer to our destination. The cause of this new expedition
was the intelligence that the Arab chief, Serib Saib, who had escaped
during the late conflict, had returned to the Sakarron to collect
together and re-organize his piratical subjects. We soon arrived at the
same spot which we had before visited when the town had been burnt down;
but the expedition proved to be one of little interest. Notwithstanding
his threats, Serib Saib's confidence gave way at the approach of our
force, and he made a precipitate retreat up the river, accompanied by
four or five hundred of his warriors. Nevertheless, we continued to
force our way up the river, with the expectation that, when fairly at
bay, he would make a stand. Our advance was made known to the enemy by
fires lighted on the different hills abreast of the boats. This speedy
mode of communication is adopted by all the natives in this part of the
world. Determined not to abandon the pursuit while a chance remained, we
followed the redoubtable Serib Saib for eighty miles up the river, which
in some parts was too narrow for our boats' crews to make use of their
oars; but all obstacles were overcome in the ardour of the chase.

To impede our progress, large trees had been felled so as to fall across
the river where it was narrow; but these were removed, and we forced our
way on. At last the river, as we approached the source, became little
wider than a ditch, the barges grounded, and could proceed no farther;
the gigs only could float, and we continued, till, after forty-eight
hours of severe labour, we found ourselves at the head of the river; and
we also discovered that Serib Saib had escaped, having with his whole
force landed, and made his way through the jungle into the interior,
leaving at our disposal the forty war canoes which had carried him and
his men. To follow