MANGANJA SALUTATION. 29 



One morning, when tracking up along tlie bank, 

 one of my men discovered a basket-trap set by the 

 natives of an adjacent village to catch fish, and seven 

 fine specimens, one of them weighing over four and a 

 half pounds, were extracted therefrom instanter. 



12^A August. — The country, which now exhibits a 

 total change, is much wooded, the forest in many 

 places extending to the river's banks, especially on the 

 west side. Seeing a number of guinea-fowl, I went 

 ashore, and succeeded in killing seven. They were 

 splendid birds, and subsequently proved very good 

 eating. In consequence of my spending half an hour 

 ashore, the other boats had got some distance ahead 

 and were out of sight. I did not reach them till long 

 after sunset. On my way I met several parties of 

 natives along the bank, all armed in the same manner 

 I have already described. At first sight they viewed 

 me suspiciously, but when I said I was English, they 

 invariably signified their content by laying down their 

 arms and clapping their hands for some seconds, the 

 customary salutation among the Manganja. The mos- 

 quitoes are not nearly so numerous here as in the 

 marshes, which is a great blessing. On the 13th, I 

 had the luck to kill a hippopotamus, and the crews 

 gorged themselves with the meat. I wounded two 

 others, but they escaped into deep water. 



We have now reached a coun-try where the natives 

 have commenced to burn the gra'ss every year, and at 

 night fires may be seen blazing on the hills in the dis- 

 tance for miles, or roaring along the plains down to 

 the river's edge. One evening, however, we were 

 obliged to halt at a place where the long grass still re- 



