ants that had fled precipitately
before the crew of Jobson, struck the greatest terror into the party
of Stibbs; for one of them showed such a determined disposition to
exhibit the extent of his strength, that he turned suddenly upon the
crew, and in a very short time put the whole of them to flight. So
little did they show any symptoms of fear for the crew, that they
were frequently seen crossing the river in bands, at a very short
distance from the boats, throwing up the water with their trunks in
every direction, and raising such an emotion in the water, as to make
the boats rock about, to the great alarm of the crews, and
particularly the natives, who now began to wish, that they had not
been seduced by the potency of the spirituous liquid, to venture into
a region, where death presented itself to them, in the strict embrace
of an elephant's trunk, or bored to death by the teeth of the river
horse. In regard to the latter animal, the danger which they
incurred, was more imminent than with the elephants, but this did not
arise from the greater ferocity or savageness of the animal, for the
river horse moves in general in a sluggish and harmless manner; but
in the shallow places of the river, the horses were seen walking at
the bottom, and the space between them and the boat so small, that
the keel often came into collision with the back of the animal, who,
incensed at the affront offered to him, would be apt to strike a hole
through the boat with his huge teeth, and thereby endanger its
sinking. It was evident to the commander of the expedition, that the
courage of his native crew was almost paralyzed, when they had to
contend with any of these formidable creatures, although he had no
reason to complain of their exertions, in dragging the boats over the
flats and shallows, which appeared to abound in every part of the
river.

It now became manifest to Stibbs, that he had chosen an unfavourable
time of the year for his expedition; for, after having spent two
months, he found himself on the 22nd February, only fifty-nine miles
above Barraconda, and at some distance from Tenda, consequently he
was not so successful as either Thompson or Jobson, notwithstanding
his means were more efficient, and adapted to the purpose. Stibbs,
however, expressed himself greatly disappointed with the results of
his expedition, and began to look upon the golden mines of Africa,
represented as they had been to be inexhaustible, as nothing