THE SUAHILI. 347 



Along with the extraordinary patient endurance 

 they display in carrying a heavy load for miles 

 under a burning sun goes a disposition to die out 

 of sheer want of pluck when seriously ill. In fact, 

 if a man makes up his mind that he will die on a 

 certain date, the corpse will be there when the 

 time comes. 



They are inconceivably stupid. The very night 

 that Mirambo died of his wound, received through 

 stealing food, another man crept out of camp to 

 do the same thing. 



I am convinced that a great deal of this 

 stupidity, as well as the unfortunate falling off 

 in intelligence on maturity, of which every mis- 

 sionary has experience, is due to the practice of 

 carrying loads, especially when young. This also 

 produces occasional fits of what seems like mad- 

 ness, pure and simple. 



My best man, Mabruki Sirkali, complained one 

 night of severe pains in his head, and then went 

 off his head completely. He called for some salt 

 and water, and drank it eagerly, and then began 

 talking nonsense. Unless every one agreed with 

 him he became frenzied. All night long he re- 

 mained groaning and moaning, but after two or 

 three days, during which he was very silent and 

 unhappy, he became all right again. This was a 

 very anxious time for me, as he was the strongest 

 man I had. He was always a curious character, 

 oft^n very silent for days ; but when he began to 



