Kopas to Mlembo River 



morning A again crossed the marsh and went 



in search of the dead sassaby, finding it easily ; but 

 alas ! the jackals had been at work during the night. 

 He saw the herd far out on the plain, but did not 

 get a shot; and after a long round to the eastward, 

 struck the river bank and returned along it to camp 

 without seeing anything else. In the afternoon the 

 river bank was followed in a westerly direction ; but, 

 except for a couple of reedbuck, there was nothing. 

 This was a disappointment, for the local hunter had 

 reported roan antelope as probable. 



Cassava seemed to be the principal crop grown 

 in the districts round Malamas. It is a rather pretty 

 plant, very easy of cultivation. The natives grind 

 the sweet root and make it into a kind of porridge, 

 but they also eat it raw. Bread cannot be made 

 from it, as in this form it is indigestible, causing 

 distension of the stomach. The people here grow 

 hardly any maize, saying it cannot be grown 

 twice on the same ground, and cutting down forest 

 is very rightly restricted. These people were real 

 savages. The women wore scarcely any clothing: 

 a small piece of bark cloth in front and a cloak of 

 skin on their shoulders for warmth. 



Maso failed to arrive, and this caused us some 

 anxiety. However, we could not afford to delay 

 any longer, so we left a message for him with the 

 chief, telling him to hurry on after us. 



We started next morning early for Kalonge 

 village, on the Lukulu river; and after marching for 

 about two hours through nice country, rather more 

 open than usual, we reached the river, and to our 



187 



