From our camp at Mafulu a march of from five to six hours brought us to Foula. On our way we rested at a little village, one of those belonging to the Foula people, but situated on the opposite ridge. There I missed my prismatic compass, and was rather concerned, but I ordered a thorough search in the bags, and was glad to find it. At this village the natives were reluctant to move on, and I believe that they were aware we were about to have bad weather, for before we had gone much farther we were in the midst of a deluge. I accordingly paid off all the unwilling carriers and allowed them to return home, hoping to get more at Foula. There they told us that as the Delava River was swollen there was no crossing, so I went down to inspect it myself and found it in a most terrible state. The stream was full of tangled mangrove roots and treacherous with slimy ooze. It was a horrible and uninviting flood to enter, with its foul waters and its mosquitoes, and one knew that it was a veritable fever-trap. In we had to go, however, the natives making a terrible splashing. For the most part we were wading up to our hips in water, picking our way as best we could across the tangled mangrove roots, and occasionally slipping down between them to a depth of two feet, these slips threatening to take Harry out of his depth. For part of the way we had to swim. When we had crossed we took our way to Babooni, along a track which ran up a valley and then wound up steep precipices. There was no actual village there, but only a camp which had been built by Sam on the extreme edge of the ridge. The situation was grandly picturesque, for this ridge terminated in an abrupt precipice, falling several hundred feet, and having the appearance of a huge headland thrust out into the valley. On each side the cliff came to within a few feet of our collecting verandah, and looking down from it we could see the confluence of three silvery streams, winding through charming tropical vegetation. Babooni would have been an ideal spot for a picnic. There we spent three weeks and had wonderful success in our work.