To find a dry place was not an easy matter, for the land was low, swampy, and overflowed. The prospect of sleeping in the canoe and of being eaten up by musquitoes was not very cheering to my spirits. But the men knew a place where all the year round there was a dry spot, and where they often stopped when fishing; but we must pull very hard in order to reach there before dark. As none of us wished to sleep in the canoe, the fellows paddled as hard as they could, and by half-past five o’clock we reached the place. It was sunset at six o’clock, so that we had plenty of time to fix our camp. The place was dreary enough and not very safe, to judge from the foot-prints of wild beasts that had come prowling about there, among which I could see distinctly the tracks of what must have been an enormous leopard. Happily we had plenty of fire-wood in our canoe. [Sidenote: _CAMPING OUT._] The spot where we were to spend the night was miserable: the ground was damp, and it was also dirty, for there were bones of fishes and wild animals, the skins of plantains scattered all over, and the remains of extinguished fires. The whole country seemed to be nothing but bog land. The first thing we did was to attend to our musquito-nets. We cut the large branches of the palm and stuck four of them into the ground to hang our nets upon. How to sleep? this was the next great question. I did not like the idea of sleeping on the bare ground in a country where snakes were abundant. But what was to be done? It was getting late, so reluctantly I cut the leaves of the palm, put them thick one upon the other, and then laid my mat over the whole; my men did the same; the fires were lighted—about which we had some trouble, for my matches were wet. During the day, it being so warm, I had been afraid to carry them in my pocket or put them in a place where the sun shone, for fear that they would light of themselves. I had therefore placed them under the seat, and they had dropped down to the bottom of the canoe. So we had to use our flints and tinder. When night came our fires were blazing, and the sight of our camp was curious in the extreme. I was quietly lying between two immense fires, which almost surrounded me, for I had a lively fear of the snakes and I did not like the idea of one coming round me at night. It is strange how it is possible to enjoy a fire in the woods in this damp and warm climate. My men killed one of the three fowls I had with me; others took off the skins from the plantains, while the rest were preparing to boil the dry fish which we had in great abundance, for before entering the Delta of the Ogobai we had gone on a fishing excursion.