sed, inextricable tangle to the eye, from the deep
shadows of which flitted kingfishers of many species and brilliant
plumage; while above swayed and rustled in the gentle breeze the
delicate grey-green foliage of the trees themselves, now in full and
luxuriant leaf, affording a delicious contrast of cool green shadow,
with the glints of dazzling sunshine that streamed here and there
through the verdant masses. Great clusters of magnificent orange-tinted
orchids gleamed like galaxies of golden stars between the mangrove
trunks at frequent intervals; clumps of feathery bamboo swayed gently in
the soft warm breeze; the dense background of bush displayed every
conceivable tint of foliage, from brilliant gold to deepest purple
bronze; and magnificent forest trees towered in stately majesty over
all, rearing their superb heads a hundred and fifty feet into the
intense blue of the cloudless sky; while everywhere, over bush and tree
and withered stump, blazed in thousands the trailing blossoms of
brilliant-hued climbing plants that loaded the air to intoxication with
the sweetness of their mingled perfumes. Parrots and other
gaily-plumaged birds flitted busily hither and thither with loud and--it
must be admitted--more or less discordant cries; inquisitive monkeys
swung from branch to branch, and either peered curiously at us as we
passed, or dashed precipitately, with loud cries of alarm, into the
concealment of the deepest shadows at our approach; and at one point,
where the belt of mangroves was interrupted, and a small, open, grassy
space reached down to the water's edge, a stately antelope stepped
daintily down into the water, as though to slake his thirst, but
catching sight of the approaching schooner, bounded off again into the
contiguous bush, where he was instantly lost sight of in the sombre
green gloom.

At a distance of about two miles from the mouth of the creek we reached
a spot where it forked, one arm--the wider of the two--running in a due
east-by-south direction, while the other trended away to the
west-south-west, communicating--as we afterwards discovered--with
another creek which, although too shoal for navigation by sea-going
craft, would have afforded us excellent facilities for a reconnaissance
with the boats. At this point the southern shore of the creek exhibited
signs of cultivation, small patches of bush having been cleared here and
there and planted with maize, or sugarcane, or yams, a small re