354 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. 



July, men-of-war, and of the lives and treasure that England lias ex- 

 1875. pended in the suppression of this inhuman traffic, many slaves 

 are still smuggled away, possibly to South America or the West 

 Indies. 



Outside the stockaded village, large collections of horns and 

 jaw-bones of wild beasts were placed in front of small fetich 

 huts, as offerings to induce the African gods of war and hunt- 

 ing to continue favorable to their votaries. 



From these villages the road led through woods and open sa- 

 vannas, and across a wide swamp drained by the Luvwa, run- 

 ning in several small channels to the southward, and ultimately 

 falling into the Luburi, an affluent of the Lufupa. 



"We camped on a large open plain, destitute of trees or shade, 

 and where the grass had lately been burned. The excessive 

 heat of the baked ground, combined with that of the rays of 

 the unclouded sun, was almost unbearable; and this burning 

 day was followed by the coldest night we had yet experienced 

 in Africa, owing to the clearness of the sky and the consequent 

 excessive radiation, the thermometer only marking 46.5° Fah- 

 renheit in my tent in the morning. 



At this camp the nephew of Alvez, and the slaves who had 

 appropriated the beads at Lunga Mandi's, took the opportunity 

 of running away. They had all been flogged, and kept in chains 

 until the caravan started, when they were released and given 

 loads to carry, with the utterance of many dire threats as to 

 what should happen to them at Bihe ; so, finding themselves 

 unwatched, they evidently thought it wise to decamp. 



Alvez, thus baffled, halted to search for the objects of his 

 wrath ; but as Coimbra was going foraging for provisions at a 

 village which was to be our next station, I took the opportunity 

 of accompanying him, and looking for better quarters than the 

 roasting spot we were then occupying. 



On the road we met with several streams and small swampy 

 places — " bad steps," as Paddy would call them — but at the end 

 of our march were rewarded by finding a delightful camping- 

 ground close to Kawala. This was another intrenched village ; 

 and Poporla, the chief, said that some of Mshiri's people had 

 lately j^assed, leaving him unmolested, owing to the strength of 

 his fortifications. 



