453 niCK SANDS, THE BOY CAPTAIN.
CIIAPTER XVIII. AN ANXIOUS VOYAGE. ThuS the canoë driftcd on for a week, the forests that for many miles had skîrted the river ultimately giving place to cxtcnsive jungles that strctchcd far away to the horizon. Destitute, fortunatcly for the travellcrs, of human inhabi- tants, the district abounded in a large variety of animal life; zébras, elands, caamas, sported on the bank, disappearing at night-fall before howling léopards and roaring lions. It was Dick's gênerai cuslom, as he lay to for a while in the afternoon, to go ashore in scarch of food, and as the manioc, maize, and sorghum that wcrc to be found wcre of a wild growth and consequently not fit for consumption, he was obliged to run the risk of using his gun. On the 4th of July he succeedcd by a single shot in killing ^pokoo, a kind of antclopc about five fect long, with annulatcd horns, a tawny skin dappled with bright spots, and a white belly. The vcnison provcd excellent, and was roastcd ovcr a fire procured by the primitive mcthod, practiscd, it is said, even by gorillas, of rubbing two sticks together. In spite of thèse halts, and the tîme taken for the night's rest, the distance accomplished by the 8th could not bc estimated at less than a hundred miles. The river, augmented by only a few tnsignificant tributaries, had not materially increased in volume; its direction, however, had slightly changed more to the north-west. It aHbrded a very fair supply of fish, which were caught by Unes made of the long stems of creepers tiirnished with thorns instead
