By the time that we had done laughing as heartily3 as our swollen lips would allow, it was daylight, and the morning breeze was coming up from the sea, cutting lanes through the dense4 marsh5 mists, and here and there rolling them before it in great balls of fleecy vapour. So we set our sail, and having first taken a look at the two dead lions and the alligator6, which we were of course unable to skin, being destitute7 of means of curing the pelts8, we started, and, sailing through the lagoon9, followed the course of the river on the farther side. At midday, when the breeze dropped, we were fortunate enough to find a convenient piece of dry land on which to camp and light a fire, and here we cooked two wild-ducks and some of the waterbuck’s flesh—not in a very appetising way, it is true, but still sufficiently11. The rest of the buck10’s flesh we cut into strips and hung in the sun to dry into “biltong,” as, I believe, the South African Dutch call flesh thus prepared. On this welcome patch of dry land we stopped till the following dawn, and, as before, spent the night in warfare12 with the mosquitoes, but without other troubles. The next day or two passed in similar fashion, and without noticeable adventures, except that we shot a specimen13 of a peculiarly graceful14 hornless buck, and saw many varieties of water-lily in full bloom, some of them blue and of exquisite15 beauty, though few of the flowers were perfect, owing to the prevalence of a white water-maggot with a green head that fed upon them.
It was on the fifth day of our journey, when we had travelled, so far as we could reckon, about one hundred and thirty-five to a hundred and forty miles westwards from the coast, that the first event of any real importance occurred. On that morning the usual wind failed us about eleven o’clock, and after pulling a little way we were forced to halt, more or less exhausted16, at what appeared to be the junction17 of our stream with another of a uniform width of about fifty feet. Some trees grew near at hand—the only trees in all this country were along the banks of the river, and under these we rested, and then, the land being fairly dry just here, walked a little way along the edge of the river to prospect18, and shoot a few waterfowl for food. Before we had gone fifty yards we perceived that all hopes of getting further up the stream in the whale-boat were at an end, for not two hundred yards above where we had stopped were a succession of shallows and mudbanks, with not six inches of water over them. It was a watery19 cul de sac.
Turning back, we walked some way along the banks of the other river, and soon came to the conclusion, from various indications, that it was not a river at all, but an ancient canal, like the one which is to be seen above Mombasa, on the Zanzibar coast, connecting the Tana River with the Ozy, in such a way as to enable the shipping20 coming down the Tana to cross to the Ozy, and reach the sea by it, and thus avoid the very dangerous bar that blocks the mouth of the Tana. The canal before us had evidently been dug out by man at some remote period of the world’s history, and the results of his digging still remained in the shape of the raised banks that had no doubt once formed towing-paths. Except here and there, where they had been hollowed out by the water or fallen in, these banks of stiff binding21 clay were at a uniform distance from each other, and the depth of the stream also appeared to be uniform. Current there was little or none, and, as a consequence, the surface of the canal was choked with vegetable growth, intersected by little paths of clear water, made, I suppose, by the constant passage of waterfowl, iguanas22, and other vermin. Now, as it was evident that we could not proceed up the river, it became equally evident that we must either try the canal or else return to the sea. We could not stop where we were, to be baked by the sun and eaten up by the mosquitoes, till we died of fever in that dreary23 marsh.
“Well, I suppose that we must try it,” I said; and the others assented24 in their various ways—Leo, as though it were the best joke in the world; Job, in respectful disgust; and Mahomed, with an invocation to the Prophet, and a comprehensive curse upon all unbelievers and their ways of thought and travel.
Accordingly, as soon as the sun got low, having little or nothing more to hope for from our friendly wind, we started. For the first hour or so we managed to row the boat, though with great labour; but after that the weeds got too thick to allow of it, and we were obliged to resort to the primitive25 and most exhausting resource of towing her. For two hours we laboured, Mahomed, Job, and I, who was supposed to be strong enough to pull against the two of them, on the bank, while Leo sat in the bow of the boat, and brushed away the weeds which collected round the cutwater with Mahomed’s sword. At dark we halted for some hours to rest and enjoy the mosquitoes, but about midnight we went on again, taking advantage of the comparative cool of the night. At dawn we rested for three hours, and then started once more, and laboured on till about ten o’clock, when a thunderstorm, accompanied by a deluge26 of rain, overtook us, and we spent the next six hours practically under water.
I do not know that there is any necessity for me to describe the next four days of our voyage in detail, further than to say that they were, on the whole, the most miserable27 that I ever spent in my life, forming one monotonous28 record of heavy labour, heat, misery29, and mosquitoes. All that dreary way we passed through a region of almost endless swamp, and I can only attribute our escape from fever and death to the constant doses of quinine and purgatives30 which we took, and the unceasing toil31 which we were forced to undergo. On the third day of our journey up the canal we had sighted a round hill that loomed32 dimly through the vapours of the marsh, and on the evening of the fourth night, when we camped, this hill seemed to be within five-and-twenty or thirty miles of us. We were by now utterly33 exhausted, and felt as though our blistered34 hands could not pull the boat a yard farther, and that the best thing that we could do would be to lie down and die in that dreadful wilderness35 of swamp. It was an awful position, and one in which I trust no other white man will ever be placed; and as I threw myself down in the boat to sleep the sleep of utter exhaustion36, I bitterly cursed my folly37 in ever having been a party to such a mad undertaking38, which could, I saw, only end in our death in this ghastly land. I thought, I remember, as I slowly sank into a doze39, of what the appearance of the boat and her unhappy crew would be in two or three months’ time from that night. There she would lie, with gaping40 seams and half filled with fœtid water, which, when the mist-laden wind stirred her, would wash backwards41 and forwards through our mouldering42 bones, and that would be the end of her, and of those in her who would follow after myths and seek out the secrets of Nature.
Already I seemed to hear the water rippling43 against the desiccated bones and rattling44 them together, rolling my skull45 against Mahomed’s, and his against mine, till at last Mahomed’s stood straight up upon its vertebræ, and glared at me through its empty eyeholes, and cursed me with its grinning jaws46, because I, a dog of a Christian47, disturbed the last sleep of a true believer. I opened my eyes, and shuddered48 at the horrid49 dream, and then shuddered again at something that was not a dream, for two great eyes were gleaming down at me through the misty50 darkness. I struggled up, and in my terror and confusion shrieked51, and shrieked again, so that the others sprang up too, reeling, and drunken with sleep and fear. And then all of a sudden there was a flash of cold steel, and a great spear was held against my throat, and behind it other spears gleamed cruelly.
“Peace,” said a voice, speaking in Arabic, or rather in some dialect into which Arabic entered very largely; “who are ye who come hither swimming on the water? Speak or ye die,” and the steel pressed sharply against my throat, sending a cold chill through me.
“We are travellers, and have come hither by chance,” I answered in my best Arabic, which appeared to be understood, for the man turned his head, and, addressing a tall form that towered up in the background, said, “Father, shall we slay52?”
“What is the colour of the men?” said a deep voice in answer.
“White is their colour.”
“Slay not,” was the reply. “Four suns since was the word brought to me from ‘She-who-must-be-obeyed,’ ‘White men come; if white men come, slay them not.’ Let them be brought to the house of ‘She-who-must-be-obeyed.’ Bring forth53 the men, and let that which they have with them be brought forth also.”
“Come,” said the man, half leading and half dragging me from the boat, and as he did so I perceived other men doing the same kind office to my companions.
On the bank were gathered a company of some fifty men. In that light all I could make out was that they were armed with huge spears, were very tall, and strongly built, comparatively light in colour, and nude54, save for a leopard55 skin tied round the middle.
Presently Leo and Job were bundled out and placed beside me.
“What on earth is up?” said Leo, rubbing his eyes.
“Oh, Lord! sir, here’s a rum go,” ejaculated Job; and just at that moment a disturbance56 ensued, and Mahomed came tumbling between us, followed by a shadowy form with an uplifted spear.
“Allah! Allah!” howled Mahomed, feeling that he had little to hope from man, “protect me! protect me!”
“Father, it is a black one,” said a voice. “What said ‘She-who-must-be-obeyed’ about the black one?”
“She said naught57; but slay him not. Come hither, my son.”
The man advanced, and the tall shadowy form bent58 forward and whispered something.
“Yes, yes,” said the other, and chuckled59 in a rather blood-curdling tone.
“Are the three white men there?” asked the form.
“Yes, they are there.”
“Then bring up that which is made ready for them, and let the men take all that can be brought from the thing which floats.”
Hardly had he spoken when men came running up, carrying on their shoulders neither more nor less than palanquins—four bearers and two spare men to a palanquin—and in these it was promptly60 indicated we were expected to stow ourselves.
“Well!” said Leo, “it is a blessing61 to find anybody to carry us after having to carry ourselves so long.”
Leo always takes a cheerful view of things.
There being no help for it, after seeing the others into theirs I tumbled into my own litter, and very comfortable I found it. It appeared to be manufactured of cloth woven from grass-fibre, which stretched and yielded to every motion of the body, and, being bound top and bottom to the bearing pole, gave a grateful support to the head and neck.
Scarcely had I settled myself when, accompanying their steps with a monotonous song, the bearers started at a swinging trot62. For half an hour or so I lay still, reflecting on the very remarkable63 experiences that we were going through, and wondering if any of my eminently64 respectable fossil friends down at Cambridge would believe me if I were to be miraculously65 set at the familiar dinner-table for the purpose of relating them. I do not want to convey any disrespectful notion or slight when I call those good and learned men fossils, but my experience is that people are apt to fossilise even at a University if they follow the same paths too persistently66. I was getting fossilised myself, but of late my stock of ideas has been very much enlarged. Well, I lay and reflected, and wondered what on earth would be the end of it all, till at last I ceased to wonder, and went to sleep.
I suppose I must have slept for seven or eight hours, getting the first real rest that I had had since the night before the loss of the dhow, for when I woke the sun was high in the heavens. We were still journeying on at a pace of about four miles an hour. Peeping out through the mist-like curtains of the litter, which were ingeniously fixed67 to the bearing pole, I perceived to my infinite relief that we had passed out of the region of eternal swamp, and were now travelling over swelling68 grassy69 plains towards a cup-shaped hill. Whether or not it was the same hill that we had seen from the canal I do not know, and have never since been able to discover, for, as we afterwards found out, these people will give little information upon such points. Next I glanced at the men who were bearing me. They were of a magnificent build, few of them being under six feet in height, and yellowish in colour. Generally their appearance had a good deal in common with that of the East African Somali, only their hair was not frizzed up, but hung in thick black locks upon their shoulders. Their features were aquiline70, and in many cases exceedingly handsome, the teeth being especially regular and beautiful. But notwithstanding their beauty, it struck me that, on the whole, I had never seen a more evil-looking set of faces. There was an aspect of cold and sullen71 cruelty stamped upon them that revolted me, and which in some cases was almost uncanny in its intensity72.
Another thing that struck me about them was that they never seemed to smile. Sometimes they sang the monotonous song of which I have spoken, but when they were not singing they remained almost perfectly73 silent, and the light of a laugh never came to brighten their sombre and evil countenances74. Of what race could these people be? Their language was a bastard75 Arabic, and yet they were not Arabs; I was quite sure of that. For one thing they were too dark, or rather yellow. I could not say why, but I know that their appearance filled me with a sick fear of which I felt ashamed. While I was still wondering another litter came up alongside of mine. In it—for the curtains were drawn—sat an old man, clothed in a whitish robe, made apparently76 from coarse linen78, that hung loosely about him, who, I at once jumped to the conclusion, was the shadowy figure that had stood on the bank and been addressed as “Father.” He was a wonderful-looking old man, with a snowy beard, so long that the ends of it hung over the sides of the litter, and he had a hooked nose, above which flashed out a pair of eyes as keen as a snake’s, while his whole countenance was instinct with a look of wise and sardonic79 humour impossible to describe on paper.
“Art thou awake, stranger?” he said in a deep and low voice.
“Surely, my father,” I answered courteously80, feeling certain that I should do well to conciliate this ancient Mammon of Unrighteousness.
He stroked his beautiful white beard, and smiled faintly.
“From whatever country thou camest,” he said, “and by the way it must be from one where somewhat of our language is known, they teach their children courtesy there, my stranger son. And now wherefore comest thou unto this land, which scarce an alien foot has pressed from the time that man knoweth? Art thou and those with thee weary of life?”
“We came to find new things,” I answered boldly. “We are tired of the old things; we have come up out of the sea to know that which is unknown. We are of a brave race who fear not death, my very much respected father—that is, if we can get a little information before we die.”
“Humph!” said the old gentleman, “that may be true; it is rash to contradict, otherwise I should say that thou wast lying, my son. However, I dare to say that ‘She-who-must-be-obeyed’ will meet thy wishes in the matter.”
“Who is ‘She-who-must-be-obeyed’?” I asked, curiously81.
The old man glanced at the bearers, and then answered, with a little smile that somehow sent my blood to my heart—
“Surely, my stranger son, thou wilt82 learn soon enough, if it be her pleasure to see thee at all in the flesh.”
“In the flesh?” I answered. “What may my father wish to convey?”
But the old man only laughed a dreadful laugh, and made no reply.
“What is the name of my father’s people?” I asked.
“The name of my people is Amahagger” (the People of the Rocks).
“And if a son might ask, what is the name of my father?”
“My name is Billali.”
“And whither go we, my father?”
“That shalt thou see,” and at a sign from him his bearers started forward at a run till they reached the litter in which Job was reposing83 (with one leg hanging over the side). Apparently, however, he could not make much out of Job, for presently I saw his bearers trot forward to Leo’s litter.
And after that, as nothing fresh occurred, I yielded to the pleasant swaying motion of the litter, and went to sleep again. I was dreadfully tired. When I woke I found that we were passing through a rocky defile84 of a lava85 formation with precipitous sides, in which grew many beautiful trees and flowering shrubs86.
Presently this defile took a turn, and a lovely sight unfolded itself to my eyes. Before us was a vast cup of green from four to six miles in extent, in the shape of a Roman amphitheatre. The sides of this great cup were rocky, and clothed with bush, but the centre was of the richest meadow land, studded with single trees of magnificent growth, and watered by meandering87 brooks88. On this rich plain grazed herds89 of goats and cattle, but I saw no sheep. At first I could not imagine what this strange spot could be, but presently it flashed upon me that it must represent the crater90 of some long-extinct volcano which had afterwards been a lake, and was ultimately drained in some unexplained way. And here I may state that from my subsequent experience of this and a much larger, but otherwise similar spot, which I shall have occasion to describe by-and-by, I have every reason to believe that this conclusion was correct. What puzzled me, however, was, that although there were people moving about herding91 the goats and cattle, I saw no signs of any human habitation. Where did they all live? I wondered. My curiosity was soon destined92 to be gratified. Turning to the left the string of litters followed the cliffy sides of the crater for a distance of about half a mile, or perhaps a little less, and then halted. Seeing the old gentleman, my adopted “father,” Billali, emerge from his litter, I did the same, and so did Leo and Job. The first thing I saw was our wretched Arab companion, Mahomed, lying exhausted on the ground. It appeared that he had not been provided with a litter, but had been forced to run the entire distance, and, as he was already quite worn out when we started, his condition now was one of great prostration93.
On looking round we discovered that the place where we had halted was a platform in front of the mouth of a great cave, and piled upon this platform were the entire contents of the whale-boat, even down to the oars77 and sail. Round the cave stood groups of the men who had escorted us, and other men of a similar stamp. They were all tall and all handsome, though they varied94 in their degree of darkness of skin, some being as dark as Mahomed, and some as yellow as a Chinese. They were naked, except for the leopard-skin round the waist, and each of them carried a huge spear.
There were also some women among them, who, instead of the leopard-skin, wore a tanned hide of a small red buck, something like that of the oribé, only rather darker in colour. These women were, as a class, exceedingly good-looking, with large, dark eyes, well-cut features, and a thick bush of curling hair—not crisped like a negro’s—ranging from black to chestnut95 in hue96, with all shades of intermediate colour. Some, but very few of them, wore a yellowish linen garment, such as I have described as worn by Billali, but this, as we afterwards discovered, was a mark of rank, rather than an attempt at clothing. For the rest, their appearance was not quite so terrifying as that of the men, and they sometimes, though rarely, smiled. As soon as we had alighted they gathered round us and examined us with curiosity, but without excitement. Leo’s tall, athletic97 form and clear-cut Grecian face, however, evidently excited their attention, and when he politely lifted his hat to them, and showed his curling yellow hair, there was a slight murmur98 of admiration99. Nor did it stop there; for, after regarding him critically from head to foot, the handsomest of the young women—one wearing a robe, and with hair of a shade between brown and chestnut—deliberately100 advanced to him, and, in a way that would have been winning had it not been so determined101, quietly put her arm round his neck, bent forward, and kissed him on the lips.
I gave a gasp102, expecting to see Leo instantly speared; and Job ejaculated, “The hussy—well, I never!” As for Leo, he looked slightly astonished; and then, remarking that we had clearly got into a country where they followed the customs of the early Christians103, deliberately returned the embrace.
Again I gasped104, thinking that something would happen; but, to my surprise, though some of the young women showed traces of vexation, the older ones and the men only smiled slightly. When we came to understand the customs of this extraordinary people the mystery was explained. It then appeared that, in direct opposition105 to the habits of almost every other savage106 race in the world, women among the Amahagger are not only upon terms of perfect equality with the men, but are not held to them by any binding ties. Descent is traced only through the line of the mother, and while individuals are as proud of a long and superior female ancestry107 as we are of our families in Europe, they never pay attention to, or even acknowledge, any man as their father, even when their male parentage is perfectly well known. There is but one titular108 male parent of each tribe, or, as they call it, “Household,” and he is its elected and immediate109 ruler, with the title of “Father.” For instance, the man Billali was the father of this “household,” which consisted of about seven thousand individuals all told, and no other man was ever called by that name. When a woman took a fancy to a man she signified her preference by advancing and embracing him publicly, in the same way that this handsome and exceedingly prompt young lady, who was called Ustane, had embraced Leo. If he kissed her back it was a token that he accepted her, and the arrangement continued until one of them wearied of it. I am bound, however, to say that the change of husbands was not nearly so frequently as might have been expected. Nor did quarrels arise out of it, at least among the men, who, when their wives deserted110 them in favour of a rival, accepted the whole thing much as we accept the income-tax or our marriage laws, as something not to be disputed, and as tending to the good of the community, however disagreeable they may in particular instances prove to the individual.
It is very curious to observe how the customs of mankind on this matter vary in different countries, making morality an affair of latitude111, and what is right and proper in one place wrong and improper112 in another. It must, however, be understood that, since all civilised nations appear to accept it as an axiom that ceremony is the touchstone of morality, there is, even according to our canons, nothing immoral113 about this Amahagger custom, seeing that the interchange of the embrace answers to our ceremony of marriage, which, as we know, justifies114 most things.
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1
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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3
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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4
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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5
marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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alligator
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| n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼) | |
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7
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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8
pelts
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| n. 皮毛，投掷, 疾行 vt. 剥去皮毛，（连续）投掷 vi. 猛击，大步走 | |
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lagoon
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| n.泻湖，咸水湖 | |
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10
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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11
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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13
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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14
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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15
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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16
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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17
junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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19
watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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iguanas
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| n. 美洲蜥蜴 名词iguana的复数形式 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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purgatives
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| 泻剂( purgative的名词复数 ) | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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doze
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| v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐 | |
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gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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41
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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42
mouldering
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| v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌 | |
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43
rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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47
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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48
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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49
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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51
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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53
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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54
nude
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| adj.裸体的；n.裸体者，裸体艺术品 | |
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leopard
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| n.豹 | |
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56
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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57
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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58
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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59
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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61
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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62
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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63
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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aquiline
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| adj.钩状的，鹰的 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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sardonic
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| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
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courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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82
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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83
reposing
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的现在分词 ) | |
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84
defile
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| v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道 | |
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85
lava
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| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
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86
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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meandering
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| 蜿蜒的河流，漫步，聊天 | |
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brooks
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| n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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89
herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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90
crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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91
herding
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| 中畜群 | |
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92
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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93
prostration
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| n. 平伏, 跪倒, 疲劳 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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95
chestnut
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| n.栗树，栗子 | |
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96
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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97
athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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98
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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99
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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100
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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101
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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102
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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103
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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104
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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105
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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106
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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107
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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108
titular
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| adj.名义上的，有名无实的；n.只有名义（或头衔）的人 | |
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109
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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110
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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111
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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112
improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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113
immoral
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| adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的 | |
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114
justifies
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| 证明…有理( justify的第三人称单数 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护） | |
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