352 THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 



remonstrating with an old chief for selling his subjects to the 

 Portuguese and Arabs for slaves, was astonished at the reply, 

 " Oh, I have too many people, they cause me trouble, and I will 

 be better off without them." 



The helpless children of a mother who dies are left to the 

 mercies of nature only, as no one will care for another's child, 

 except, sometimes, a near relative. Livingstone mentions seeing 

 a little child in a village crying and calling its dead mother ; those 

 who heard it as they passed by, would say, " She is coming," 

 but no one would give it food or shelter, and death from starva- 

 tion soon relieved the little sufferer. 



THE HONEY-BIRD. 



LIVINGSTONE left the banks of Nyassa in November, and took 

 a course northwest, which led through dense forests, where game 

 was plentiful but very difficult to come at. Nyassa is 2,600 feet 

 above sea level, but toward the west the elevation increases to 

 2,800 feet, and in fifty miles there is a descent into a large valley 

 of surpassing fertility. The people west of the lake were almost 

 continually at war, and in consequence provisions could not be 

 purchased at any price. At one time Livingstone was positively 

 in fear of starving, being reduced to the most desperate straits. 

 Fortunately, he encountered some bee-hunters, who were using 

 the honey-bird as a guide. The bird came quietly with them, 

 and patiently waited on the limb of a tree while the hunters sat 

 for half an hour smoking and chatting with Livingstone's men. 

 This extraordinary bird flies from tree to tree 'in front of the 

 hunter, chirruping loudly, and will not be content till he arrives 

 at the spot where the bees'-nest is ; it then waits quietly till the 

 honey is taken, and feeds on the broken morsels of comb which 

 fall to its share. Livingstone followed the bird a mile or more, 

 and was rewarded with a rich store of honey, enough to appease 

 the hunger of his men for two days, and until they reached a 

 village, where an elephant had recently been killed, and a small 

 quantity of its dried flesh was purchased. 



