Luxuriant vegetation spread in wild
profuseness over this prodigal soil.
Village after village rang with yells of terror and
astonishment at the sight of the Victoria, and Dr.
Ferguson prudently kept her above the reach of the barbarian
arrows. The savages below, thus baffled, ran together
from their huddle of huts and followed the travellers with
their vain imprecations while they remained in sight.
At noon, the doctor, upon consulting his map, calculated
that they were passing over the Uzaramo* country.
The soil was thickly studded with cocoa-nut, papaw, and
cotton-wood trees, above which the balloon seemed to disport
itself like a bird. Joe found this splendid vegetation
a matter of course, seeing that they were in Africa. Kennedy
descried some hares and quails that asked nothing
better than to get a good shot from his fowling-piece, but
it would have been powder wasted, since there was no
time to pick up the game.
* U and Ou signify country in the language of that region.
The aeronauts swept on with the speed of twelve miles
per hour, and soon were passing in thirty-eight degrees
twenty minutes east longitude, over the village of Tounda.
"It was there," said the doctor, "that Burton and
Speke were seized with violent fevers, and for a moment
thought their expedition ruined.
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