did not kill the creature. The sultan formed so high an estimation
of the traveller, that he wished him to remain to assist him in fighting
his enemies, but the doctor, being anxious to proceed eastward, induced
him at length to let him take his departure.

On the 16th of March he left Loggun to endeavour to penetrate into
regions never before trodden by European foot. He crossed the river in
a boat, while his horse and camel swam over. Passing through a dense
forest, he observed the footprints of the rhinoceros, an animal unheard
of in the western parts of Negroland. It is greatly feared by the
inhabitants. Little further in advance he suddenly beheld through the
branches of the trees the splendid sheet of a river far larger than that
of Loggun. All was silence, the pellucid surface undisturbed by the
slightest breeze; no vestige of human or animal life, with the exception
of two hippopotami which had been basking in the sun on shore, and now
plunged into the water. This was the real Shary, the great river of the
Kotoko, which with the river Loggun forms a large basin, giving to this
part of Negroland its characteristic feature.

After some time a ferry-boat appeared, but the ferrymen declined
carrying the party over before they had informed their master. While
waiting for them, a large troop of pilgrims on their way to Mecca,
mostly from the western parts of Negroland, came up, and the doctor made
them a present of needles. The boatmen, returning, declared that the
chief of the village would not allow him to pass. He was, however, not
to be defeated, and, proceeding along the banks of the river, at length
found some ferrymen who did not hesitate to take him across. He was,
however, soon again stopped, and, after repeated attempts to push on,
was compelled to take up his residence at a place called Bakada.

Here the white ants waged relentless war against his property. Though
he had placed his bed on the top of some poles, he found that they not
only had reached the summit, but had eaten through both the coarse mats,
finished a piece of his carpet, and destroyed other articles.

The doctor had sent a messenger to the capital, but as he did not
return, he determined to set out.

He had reached Mela, on the bank of the river, when, as he was seated in
his tent, the head man of the village arrived, followed by a number of
others, and he found himself suddenly seized and his feet placed in
irons, his prope