Round the tops of these many birds were flitting, but in the underbrush there was no sign or sound of life.

Thorny creepers bound the trees together.
In the small clearings, where deserted and ruined villages stood, a few flowers were to be found.

Here, also, great butterflies flew about.
The moist air, tainted with decaying vegetation; the entire absence of wind, or of movement among the leaves; the profound silence, broken only by the occasional dropping of water, weighed heavily on the spirits of the troops.

Under foot the soil was converted into mire by the recent rains; and glad, indeed, were all, when they reached Mansu.
From this village, as had been the case at the previous halt, numbers of the carriers deserted.

In order to get on, therefore, it was necessary to send out to the surrounding villages, to gather in men to take their places; and at the same time a telegram was sent down to Cape Coast, requesting the commandant there to arrest all the men who came in, and try to punish them as deserters.