Lilongwe to Fort Jameson 



in North-East Rhodesia in calico or so-called 

 ** trade cloth," though we always gave money if 

 they preferred it. Sometimes these payments were 

 delayed until the time of our departure, to ensure 

 the due fulfilment of any promises that might have 

 been made. 



When there was a scarcity of native flour,^ every 

 scrap we could obtain was in great demand, and 

 Saidi or the machilla capitao or even porters would 

 come and bespeak a share a day ahead. We always 

 endeavoured to distribute the chief's present of flour 

 as fairly as possible among the men. We ourselves 

 carried our own wheat flour. 



On the 6th we marched to Kongonis, not getting 

 into camp till noon. We pitched our tents in a nice 

 clump of shady trees half a mile or so from the river 

 Bua — at this time of the year a large marsh — which 

 in the rainy season must widen into a lake. We 

 had seen no game all the morning ; but as much of 

 the grass was still unburnt, it might have been there 

 without our knowledge. Both day and night proved 

 oppressively hot, and everything pointed to a heavy 

 storm. 



Next morning we crossed the Bua river — a some- 

 what troublesome operation. We had first to walk 

 across a long narrow bridge of poles loosely tied 

 together and laid across the swampy ground which 

 led to the channel. Having accomplished the bridge 

 with its many gaps in safety, we had to get on to a 

 raft built of reeds having a framework of poles, a 

 rather rickety conveyance, and be paddled across 



^ Generally of maize, sometimes of cassava root. 



89 



