Liwonde to Fort Melangani 



sufficient water — about nine months in the year — 

 small steamers ply between this place and Lake 

 Nyasa. 



We crossed in a deep and heavy barge running 

 on a hawser which did duty for a ferry. The 

 caravan had been sent on ahead to the village of 

 Manga, which is about two miles north of the river, 

 and on arrival we found that our servants, following 

 the custom of the country, had pitched the tents 

 close to the village and a public path, so that next 

 morning we were obliged to shift camp to a quieter 

 and more secluded spot. Manga proved rather hot, 

 but the place was entirely free from mosquitoes, due, 

 I fancy, to the annual burning of the grass, which 

 had only recently taken place. 



A went out that evening to have a look 



round and shot a zebra, which had a fine skin; a 

 rhinogale (a species of mongoose) of rather a rare 

 genus was also brought in by one of the men. I 

 had the skin carefully preserved, and presented it to 

 the Natural History Museum at South Kensington, 

 but unfortuately the skull, which I had given the 

 men to clean, was destroyed by a dog. 



That evening our personal servant, Edward, 

 said he was ill, and asked to be allowed to go to 

 the Mission Hospital at Fort Johnston, on the shores 

 of Lake Nyasa, and as he produced a substitute — 

 the brother of the chief at Manga village — we let 

 him go. Luckily for us the substitute proved in 

 every respect a great improvement upon the original ; 

 in fact, Franco, as he was called, was the best 

 servant we ever had; no white man could have 



45 



