CHAPTER XV.
A start made at last--A forced march--Lightening the ship--Waiting for the caravan--Success hangs in the balance--The greatest rascal in Central Africa--Legge demands another bottle.
The country was park-like, but much parched by the dry weather.

The ground was sandy, but firm, and interspersed with numerous villages, all of which were surrounded with a strong fence of euphorbia.

The country was well wooded, being free from bush or jungle, but numerous trees, all evergreens, were scattered over the landscape.

No natives were to be seen but the sound of their drums and singing in chorus was heard in the far distance.

Whenever it is moonlight the nights are passed in singing and dancing, beating drums, blowing horns, and the population of whole villages thus congregate together.
After a silent march of two hours we saw watchfires blazing in the distance, and upon nearer approach we perceived the trader's party bivouacked.