In Pursuance Of Their Plans, On The Same Afternoon, They Bade Adieu To The Inhabitants Of Kacunda, And Every Thing Having Been Conveyed To The Canoe, They Embarked And Pushed Off The Shore, In The Sight Of A Multitude Of People.

They worked their way with incredible difficulty through the morass, before they were able to get into the body of the stream, and being now fairly off they prepared themselves for the worst.

"Now," said Richard Lander, "my boys," as their canoe glided down with the stream, "let us all stick together; I hope that we have none amongst us, who will flinch, come what may."

They had proceeded some distance down the river, when seeing a convenient place for landing, the men being languid and weary with hunger and exhaustion, they halted on the right bank of the river, which they imagined was most suitable for their purpose. The angry and scowling appearance of the firmament forewarned them of a shower, or something worse, which induced them hastily to erect an awning of mats under a palm tree's shade. The spot for a hundred yards was cleared of grass, underwood, and vegetation of all kinds: and very shortly afterwards, as three of their men were straggling about in the bush, searching for firewood, a village suddenly opened before them; this did not excite their astonishment, and they entered one of the huts which was nearest them, to procure a little fire. However, it happened only to contain women, but these were terrified beyond measure at the sudden and abrupt entrance of strange-looking men, whose language they did not know, and whose business they could not understand, and they all ran out in a fright into the woods, to warn their male relatives of them, who were labouring at their usual occupations of husbandry. Mean time, their men had very composedly taken some burning embers from the fire, and returned to their masters, with the brief allusion to the circumstance of having discovered a village. This at the time was thought lightly of, but they rejoiced that they had seen the village, and immediately sent Pascoe, Ibrahim and Jowdie, in company to obtain some fire, and to purchase some yams. In about ten minutes after, they returned in haste, telling them that they had been to the village, and asked for some fire, but that the people did not understand them, and instead of attending to their wishes, they looked terrified, and had suddenly disappeared. In consequence of their threatening attitudes, Pascoe and his party had left the village, and hastened back to their masters.

Totally unconscious of danger, the Landers were reclining on their mats, for they too, like their people, were wearied with toil, and overcome with drowsiness, when in about twenty minutes after their men had returned, one of them shouted with a loud voice, "War is coming, O war is coming!" and ran towards them with a scream of terror, telling them, that the natives were hastening to attack them. They started up at this unusual exclamation, and looking about them, they beheld a large party of men, almost naked, running in a very irregular manner, and with uncouth gestures, towards their little encampment.

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