Wild Life under the Equator

A few days after killing the hippopotamus I took a solitary path in the woods, leading to one of the lagoons or creeks so common along this coast. Many of the trees growing in the woods belonged to a species of African teak. The soil being sandy, the forest was not dense. Here and there a cluster of palms, bearing the nut that furnishes the palm-oil, was seen. Liannes and creepers twined round some of the trees and hung gracefully down. The limbs and trunks of many trees were literally covered with orchide, commonly called _air plant_. These when in bloom bear very beautiful flowers which shed a delicious fragrance.

In many places the pine-apple plants were very abundant and grew by thousands close together.