It is a common thing for a bridge to be washed away in the course of one storm; and one rider coming in to Mengo in the afternoon and returning next morning to his station, quite forgot that there had been a severe storm during the night. Crossing a bridge which was perfect the previous day, he suddenly found himself floundering in six feet of water, having ridden straight into the place where the bridge should have been. The difficulty is increased when there is neither bridge nor ferry across the swamps, as is often the case in outlying districts. Then one has recourse to human porterage.
It is not a costly luxury to be carried on a man’s shoulders; for the man only charges about eighteen pence a week to accompany you and carry you over swamps, and out of the eighteen pence he finds his own food. Such porterage is a matter of necessity. Nothing is more dangerous than to plunge
