The country was much like that over which they travelled from Foueira to the frontier of Unyoro--grassy plains, alternating with stretches of forests, and occasional swamps that rendered locomotion difficult. There was an abundance of game, and if our friends had been inclined to the chase they might have bagged a goodly number of elephants, with no end of deer and smaller animals. Doctor Bronson thought it would not be judicious to delay their advance in order to hunt the elephant, which they were not in pursuit of for ivory; and, furthermore, it might not be satisfactory to the king to have his game killed without permission. But he had no hesitation concerning the antelopes and other edible beasts, and for the greater part of the time the larder was well supplied with venison, so that the preserved meats and vegetables were rarely touched. There was hardly a day without rain; it began usually about an hour before sunset, and frequently fell with great fury till ten or eleven at night. Then the clouds cleared away, the sun rose bright in the morning, and by waiting a couple of hours our friends found the roads endurable. But in spite of the heat of the sun the water collected in the hollows, and there was altogether more wading and floundering through the mud than was to the taste of any member of the party. [Illustration: MOUNTAINS IN THE DISTANCE.] As they approached the capital of Ugunda the boys observed that there was a great deal of red clay in the soil, and whenever it was wet with the rain it showed an adhesiveness equal to the best qualities of glue. The king had ordered the roads swept for their advance, but the sweeping was more figurative than real; the path was cleared of fallen trees or other obstructions, but the absence of brooms was more conspicuous than their presence. In some places the path ascended hills two or three hundred feet high, but for the most part it was along the lowlands, since the natives are not at all fond of climbing when they can avoid it. [Illustration: VILLAGES IN THE HILLY COUNTRY.] The agricultural tendencies of the inhabitants were shown by the abundance of banana groves, some of them covering hundreds of acres, and producing enormous quantities of the well-known fruit. The banana is almost the sole resource of the people. They eat it raw or steamed--generally in the latter form, unless it is thoroughly ripe; they dry and pound it into a sort of coarse flour, for making bread, puddings, and soup; they press out the juice for making pombé, or banana-cider, as already described; and they boil the young shoots and eat them, as we eat spinach or cabbage. The land which yields a ton of potatoes will yield forty-four tons of bananas, and the surface necessary for supporting one man when planted with wheat will support twenty-five men when planted with bananas. What wonder is it that a population which can grow the banana is not inclined to industry?