dense clumps separated by water, so that nothing was to be gained by leaving the
beaten track, and we were obliged to go floundering on, never knowing where
our feet would rest, as the mud was now a few inches, now two feet deep, and
the bottom very uneven, so that the foot slid down to the lowest part, and made it
difficult to keep one's balance. One step would be upon a concealed stick or log,
almost dislocating the ankle, while the next would plunge into soft mud above
the knee. It rained all the way, and the long grass, six feet high, met over the
path; so that we could not see a step of the way ahead, and received a double
drenching. Before we got to the village it was dark, and we had to cross over a
small but deep and swollen stream by a narrow log of wood, which was more
than a foot under water. There was a slender shaking stick for a handrail, and it
was nervous work feeling in the dark in the rushing water for a safe place on
which to place the advanced foot. After au hour of this most disagreeable and
fatiguing walk we reached the village, followed by the men with our guns,
ammunition, boxes, and bedding all more or less soaked. We consoled ourselves
with some hot tea and cold fowl, and went early to bed.
The next morning was clear and fine, and I set out soon after sunrise to
explore the neighbourhood. The village had evidently been newly formed, and
consisted of a single straight street of very miserable huts totally deficient in
every comfort, and as bare and cheerless inside as out. It was situated on a little
elevated patch of coarse gravelly soil, covered with the usual high rigid grass,
which came up close to the backs of the houses. At a short distance in several
directions were patches of forest, but all on low and swampy ground. I made one
attempt along the only path I could find, but soon came upon a deep mud-hole,
and found that I must walk barefoot if at all; so I returned and deferred further
exploration till after breakfast. I then went on into the jungle and found patches
of sago-palms and a low forest vegetation, but the paths were everywhere full of
mud-holes, and intersected by muddy streams and tracts of swamp, so that
walking was not pleasurable, and too much attention to one's steps was not
favourable to insect catching, which requires above everything freedom of
motion. I shot a few birds, and caught a few butterflies, but all were the same as
I had already obtained about Cajeli.
On my return to the village I was told that the same kind of ground extended
for many miles in every direction, and I at once decided that Wayapo was not a
suitable place to stay at. The next morning early we waded back again through
the mud and long wet grass to our boat, and by mid-day reached Cajeli, where I
waited Ali's return to decide on my future movements. He came the following
day, and gave a very bad account of Pelah, where he had been. There was a little