`For,' said he, `if we once get upon a hill we shall see such a
large herd as this must be at almost any distance. Do let us go on,
father.'
I consented, and we again pushed forwards, through bushes, and over
torrents, sometimes cutting our way with an axe, and sometimes plunging
knee-deep through a swamp. We at length reached the border of a wide
plain, and on it, in the distance, I could see a herd of animals,
browsing on the rich grass. It struck me that it might be the very herd
to which our good donkey had joined himself; and, wishing to ascertain
whether this was so, I resolved to make a detour through a bamboo
marsh, and get as near as possible to the animals without disturbing
them.
The bamboos were huge, many of them over thirty feet in height; and, as
we made our way through them, I remembered an account of the giant cane
of South America, which is greatly prized by the Indians on account of
its extreme usefulness; the reeds themselves make masts for their
canoes, while each joint will form a cask or box.
I was delighted, for I had little doubt that the bamboos we were among
were of the same species. I explained this to Jack, and as we discussed
the possibility of cutting one down and carrying a portion of it home,
we reached the border of the marsh, and emerged upon the plain.
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