The chief treated my party very hospitably. While in the neighbourhood of Bangapélle there seemed to be great scarcity of corn, here it appeared to be in abundance. We spent our evening comfortably, although it was necessary to take great care of the horses, as a number of horse- stealers were hovering about the place. [Sidenote: Saturday, July 2nd.] A few hundred yards beyond the village we came to the river Sírba, which here forms a bend from N.W. to N.E., between banks about twenty feet high, and caused us not a little anxiety, as it was nearly seventy yards wide, and not less than twelve feet in depth in the middle. We had, moreover, to cross it merely on bundles of reeds, which we had to tie together ourselves. At length, after much controversy, we succeeded in arranging with the natives, for 2000 shells, to assist us in crossing. While the large bundles which were to constitute our frail ferry were being tied together, the head man of the village and a great number of the natives were sitting on the high banks of the river, which form a sort of amphitheatre, in order to enjoy the spectacle. There was something very peculiar about the inhabitants of this place. The men were formed into interesting groups, with features full of expression, but approaching somewhat to effeminacy, their hair being plaited in long tresses, which hung down over their cheeks, and in some cases reached their shoulders. Their dress consisted of short blue shirts, and long wide trowsers of the same colour. Almost all of them had small pipes in their mouths, which they smoked incessantly. The women were of rather short stature, and of not very symmetrical forms, with naked legs and breasts. Their necks and ears were richly ornamented with strings of beads; but they also were destitute of the nose-ring, which I had supposed common to this tribe. The men were expert swimmers, and carried the small articles across the river in large calabashes; but we ourselves and the heavier luggage had to cross on the rafts of reeds, and in about two hours we succeeded in getting safely over the water with our whole troop. A little after twelve o’clock we left the opposite bank, being joined by two horsemen of the Sýllebáwa, who at no great distance from this spot have a large settlement called Dútuwel; but we had great difficulty in making our way through the swampy plain, intersected by several small watercourses, which descended in deep ravines from a small rocky chain towards the north. After a march of about eight miles, we pitched our tents a little beyond the site of a former encampment of the native traders, where the ground was tolerably free from trees; and I enjoyed our resting-place extremely, for, having been exposed to the sun during the heat of the day, I felt greatly fatigued. [Sidenote: Sunday, July 3rd.]