Here we decided on waiting the arrival of Mr. Partarrieau with the camels, as the place afforded an abundance of forage and water for the animals, and an opportunity of procuring a small quantity of rice, pistacios, cassada, and small beans, for ourselves. The chief priest of the town paid us a visit, making a present of a fowl and two bottles of milk, or, as they call it, giving us service, that is a complimentary visit, which we returned in the evening. We found him seated in a large circular mud hut, surrounded by about twenty five boys, from the age of seven to fourteen, learning to read and write Arabic. The Koran was the only book from which they were taught, and their education was generally considered completed when they could read and expound any passage in it. The most of the people there are Mahomedans. The old gentleman received us kindly, and conducted us to the Alcaid, or chief, a venerable looking old man, who, on our informing him of the object of our travelling in his country, said that he perfectly recollected seeing Mr. Park when he last went to the east, but was extremely sorry to hear he never returned to his own country, a fate which he prayed to God might not be ours. We made him a small present, and one to the priest, for which they appeared very grateful. Two of the European and one of the native soldiers had attacks of intermittent fever this day, but were nevertheless able to come on. Mr. Partarrieau joined us in the afternoon, bringing with him only one camel; the other having died before it reached Kayaye, he was obliged to hire men to carry that proportion of the baggage left behind, which was intended as a load for it. We left Coonting at four o’clock on the morning of the 28th, and travelled east. Two of the horses were unable to rise from the ground this morning, and were left to their fate. At about a mile from Coonting, we entered a thicket composed of underwood and cane, which was so close that we were obliged to cut down the branches and some trees, for a considerable distance, in order to admit of the camels passing with the loads. The face of the country begins to rise here considerably, and to be diversified by hill and dale—the former high and covered with wood, and the latter apparently very fertile. The soil, too, changed from light sand to a hard yellow clay, intermixed with small quartz pebbles. For about two miles the road led us over hilly and broken ground within a few yards of the river side.