They are said to be honest in their dealings, though excellent hands at a bargain, and as ready to tell a deliberate falsehood as the most accomplished shopkeeper in London or New York. They have no manufactures, and the articles most in demand among them are cheap cotton cloths and pieces of iron, from which they make the heads of their spears. As the steamboat neared the landing several natives paddled out to meet it, and the boys were much interested in the rafts, which the Shillooks manage with a great deal of skill. "Those rafts are made from the ambatch plant," said Abdul. "It is a reed like the bamboo, with hollow spaces between the joints, and is very light and strong. The ambatch narrows toward the top, and to make a raft of the plants all that is necessary is to fasten a couple of dozen of them together at the ends and turn the smaller extremity upward. [Illustration: AN AMBATCH CANOE.] "The ambatch raft or canoe," he continued, "is in use all along the White Nile, and it would be difficult to find a more serviceable craft. It cannot be sunk, and if a man balances himself properly there is little danger of an upset." "They are useful in war as well as in peace," remarked Doctor Bronson, who was listening to the conversation. "Dr. Schweinfurth, in the account of his travels in Africa, tells how he was pursued by a whole fleet of Shillook canoes, and had a very narrow escape. He said not less than three thousand canoes were in motion along the river and pursuing the boat on which he was travelling. [Illustration: AN ADVENTURE ON THE NILE.] "The wind left them while the canoes were approaching, and for a while his position was very critical. Only the previous year five boats, coming down the river on their way to Khartoum, had stopped at the village they were passing and endeavored to buy some provisions. The natives brought fowls, honey, and other things to sell, and while the negotiations were going on a large fleet of canoes suddenly came around the point of land and attacked the strangers. "The captain of one boat and a sailor from another managed to escape by jumping into the river and swimming to a place of concealment among the reeds. The rest of the party, some eighty in all, were killed, and the vessels were plundered and burned. "Of course this incident was fresh in the mind of Dr. Schweinfurth, and you can imagine his despair when the wind ceased while the canoes were approaching. But 'all's well that ends well:' the wind suddenly blew again, their sail was unfurled, and they were carried out of danger in a little while. The disappointed Shillooks returned to the shore, and nothing more was seen of them.