1st March.—The Nuèhrs are afraid of us, on the whole, yet they brought us, yesterday, one of their bracelets. We shall remain here to-day till the afternoon; for, although we arrived yesterday before mid-day, yet nothing has been done by the gentlemen engineers, and every minute appears to me lost that we are on shore, for there is no village there. I made a short shooting excursion this morning with Sale, and shot two _karawans_. I approached the side where the little bay is formed in the river, in order to examine it closer. I arrived through burnt reeds at an ambak-thicket, and came here upon thick half-burnt reeds, whilst the ground was very swampy; and then I pursued a bird unknown to me, close to the margin of a small lake, bordered by ambaks. I ought to be thankful that I was able to find the right road with my black feet over stalks of reeds which were trodden down, and to get out at last from the dangerous path. Nuèhrs are scattered on all sides; but the men did not venture near the vessels. The women, on the contrary, were excessively talkative. They _would_ see the vessels, and it was with them we transacted business and bargained for durra and tobacco. They have shaven heads, and the young women, notwithstanding this disadvantage, do not appear ugly. They have a very small hole bored through the flesh, between the nose and upper lip, in which we remark a thin blade of straw, or a small stick, to prevent it closing; or they put in it a needle, ornamented with a glass bead, extending slightly beyond the end of the nose: kissing, therefore, must be very difficult, if it happen to be the custom here. The whole rim of the ear is also pierced through, and from want of glass beads or other ornament, we perceive a little piece of wood in it. There are no lines on their forehead; front and back leather aprons are slung round the hips, or simply a rahàt, made of the narrow slips of dome-palm leaves. Here and there an ivory necklace, or strips of bark are seen, and around the neck a few miserable glass beads: these are the only ornaments which the poor women possess. Although I gave them some glass beads, at their humble request, yet their modesty was so excessive, that not one of them would sell me her rahàt. They carry the small baskets, containing durra and tobacco, on their heads, with considerable dexterity, as is common on the White River. The women, in these countries, have no voice in the public assemblies, and therefore they make up for it by talking whenever they get the opportunity—a natural wish for emancipation!