Dedza to Lilongwe 



altitude, which stretches northward right away to 

 the Michinge Hills. 



We pitched our camp in the forest on the right 

 bank of the river just beyond the foot-hills. As 

 there was still a quantity of long grass in the 

 neighbourhood, we had to burn a large patch round 

 our tents, and while doing this the men killed three 

 or four rhinogale, two of which they brought me. 

 The skin of these animals is so thin, that John 

 despaired of preserving them. However, I en- 

 couraged him to try, and he succeeded so well that 

 they are now at the Natural History Museum in 

 South Kensington. John was our head skinner; 

 he thoroughly understood the business, and skinned 

 or superintended the skinning of all the beasts that 

 A shot. 



The men consider these rhinogale a great 

 delicacy; they pluck off the hair and roast them 

 whole. I imagine that they must taste something 

 like a large rat or a sucking pig. 



We remained in this camp the 25th and 26th. 



A saw sable antelope each day, and bagged 



two fine bulls and a hartebeest. On the 27th we 

 moved a few miles forward to the junction of the 

 Lintipe and Tete rivers, where we got a water-buck 

 and saw others. The natives alleged there were 

 ** hippo" in the river, but a long wait one evening 

 failed to reveal any signs of them. 



I picked up here a very perfect tortoiseshell, 

 which I have had polished. John declared that 

 carrion birds would attack a tortoise and tear it out 

 of its shell, but my knowledge of natural history 



71 



