A Thousand Miles in a Machilla 



inches long, consisting of four or six pairs of leaflets, 

 each about two inches across. 



We were generally made aware of the proximity 

 of a village by these clearings in the forest, often 

 followed by rough cultivated patches of ground. 

 Women were seen working in these with their 

 babies strapped to their backs, the poor little mites, 

 bare-headed in the broiling sun, shaken by every 

 movement of the mother. The wonder is how they 

 could sleep, or even exist, under the circumstances. 

 Nature must provide a thick covering for the little 

 brains to prevent them being literally roasted out. 



The country through which we had travelled 

 was interesting. We crossed both the Difuna and 

 Kiamanda rivers. The former flowed through a 

 marshy valley, and had but little water in it. The 

 latter ran through a rocky gorge with finely wooded 

 banks, and had a rough bridge built across ten feet 

 or so above the water. 



The relative positions of the Difuna and 

 Kiamanda rivers are either incorrectly shown on 

 the map, or, what is more probable, the Kiamanda 

 river is entirely omitted, and the river marked by 

 that name is in reality the one locally known as 

 the Mua. 



We passed two villages, and noticed that the 

 women wore close fitting beaded caps which gave 

 them a quaint appearance, the married women 

 being distinguished by a metal disc, the size of a 

 half-crown piece, inserted in their upper lips, which 

 greatly disfigured them. The unmarried girls were 

 not bad looking. 



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