The Luambwa to the Difuna River 



reached the day before. Soon afterwards a steady 

 drizzle set in; it turned into a positive deluge and 

 forced us to camp. This was the first time we had 

 been caught by the rain in the open, and we did 

 not like the experience. We ourselves kept fairly 

 dry, remaining in our machillas, which were propped 

 up under trees until the tents were pitched, but 

 the wretched men were soaked, and many of the 

 machilla boys cowered under the machillas to 

 gain a little shelter from the pitiless rain. We were 

 really sorry for the servants who had their work 

 to do, notwithstanding the adverse circumstances ; 

 they never uttered a word of complaint, and were 

 wonderfully cheerful. 



The ground in and around the tent was covered 

 with a thick layer of leaves, a brazier of hot embers 

 placed inside, and large fires lit both in front and 

 behind. It cleared tow^ards evening, and we got our 



damp bedding dry. A went out and shot a 



couple of puku for the men, the last, I think, that we 

 saw. The night was beautiful. 



During the evening poor Maso complained of a 

 very bad headache. I gave him Epsom salts, but 

 next day he was no better, eating nothing and suffer- 

 ing intensely. A thought that he had probably 



contracted Kufoo^ fever while scouring the country 

 after our trunk, and John, who had had it twice, 

 confirmed the diagnosis. Next day Maso managed 

 to follow the caravan slowly, and came in about two 

 hours after us. 



24th. — The morning was fine, though cloudy. 



1 Also spelt N'Kufu. 

 219 



