Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 44 (Color Image)

0044	Among the Celestials : vol.1

22 AMONG THE CELESTIALS. [CHAP. I.

fifteen to twenty miles a day, and that through

ground where we frequently sank up to our

knees in the morasses and never felt sure of

our footing, while the loads which we carried

made the travelling still more wearisome.

Added to this was the further trial that we

had to place ourselves on half-rations. Ever

since entering the forest we had found difficulty

in obtaining supplies ; flour was very scarce,

so that we had to live principally upon millet

porridge, and meat was not forthcoming as

often as we should have liked after our hard

work. But now, as we approached the

mountain and as the physical strain became

greater, supplies became scarcer still, and after

we had left the mules, and consequently while

we were doing our hardest work, we were on

fare which made me at least so ravenous that

I more than once went round to the hunters'

cooking-pot and scraped out all I could from

the inside after they had finished their meal.

On three separate occasions I remember James,

Fulford, and myself all sitting down to dine

off one partridge between us ; this, with a little

unpalatable soup and a scone, was all we had.

We had, however, the satisfaction of knowing

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