The next day the country got wilder and more hilly.

We passed through extensive forests, along paths often up to our knees in mud, and were much annoyed by the leeches for which this district is famous.
These little creatures infest the leaves and herbage by the side of the paths, and when a passenger comes along they stretch themselves out at full length, and if they touch any part of his dress or body, quit their leaf and adhere to it.

They then creep on to his feet, legs, or other part of his body and suck their fill, the first puncture being rarely felt during the excitement of walking.

On bathing in the evening we generally found half a dozen or a dozen on each of us, most frequently on our legs, but sometimes on our bodies, and I had one who sucked his fill from the side of my neck, but who luckily missed the jugular vein.
There are many species of these forest leeches.

All are small, but some are beautifully marked with stripes of bright yellow.