noon
The forest extended for about twenty miles to the east of the Coanza , but whether it was that the trees had been destroyed by the ravages of insects , or broken down before they had made their growth by being trampled on by elephants , they were growing much less thickly than in the immediate vicinity of the river . There were numbers of cotton-trees , seven or eight feet high , from which are manufactured the black-and-white striped stuffs that are worn in the interior of the province ; but , upon the whole , progress was not much impeded either by shrubs or underwood . Occasionally the caravan plunged into jungles of reeds like bamboos , their stalks an inch in diameter , so tall that only an elephant or giraffe could have reared above them , and through which none excepting such as had a very intimate knowledge of the country could possibly have made their way . Starting every morning at daybreak they marched till noon , when an hour 's halt was made . Packets of manioc were then unfastened , and doled out in sparing quantities among the slaves ; sometimes , when the soldiers had plundered some village , a little goat 's flesh or some sweet potatoes were added to the meal ; but generally the fatigue , aggravated by inadequate rest , took away the appetite , and when meal-time arrived many of the slaves could hardly eat at all . During the first eight days ' march from the Coanza no less than twenty unfortunate wretches had fallen upon the road , and had been left behind , a prey to the lions , panthers , and leopards that prowled in the wake . As Dick heard their roars in the stillness of the night , he trembled as he thought of Hercules .