PALABALA AND YELALA. D9 
surmounted by strongly-marked eyebrows, a well-shaped 
nose, and thin lips, made up an original and certainly 
distinguished physiognomy; and though there were at 
times passing glimpses of expression that suggested cruelty 
and greed, they were dispersed by an unusually pleasant 
smile for an African chief. After the usual exchange of 
“ Mbote, mbote” (the common salutation of the Congo), 
and the inspection of my tent and my bed, the chief called 
to his little son, who came running up with a splendid 
fish laid upon a banana leaf. It was freshly caught, and the 
bloom of life still hovered about its pinky scales. This, 
and a basket of eggs, was the chief’s present; and, as I 
was very hungry, and had not tasted fish for many weeks, 
ihe gift was welcome. The fish, deed, was delicious, 
tasting and looking much like salmon, and there was so 
much flesh on it that I had, first, fish-soup, then boiled-fish 
with egg-sauce, and then fish cutlets fried in butter, and 
then, after I had thoroughly dined off him, there still 
remained sufficient to satisfy the Zanzibaris. The next 
morning, at an early hour, we started under the guidance 
of the old chief to view the great Falls of Yelala—to view 
them, not as my predecessors had mostly done, from the 
summit of a high and distant hill, but to contemplate this 
wonderful rush of water from so near a point that the 
spray fell in fine showers over the waterproof I had 
fortunately donned. The journey thither was very 
fatiguing. At first the road led through plantations and 
pleasant forest glades, but soon quitted this grateful 
verdure and umbrageous foliage, and took us over a steep 
and stony hill, where the rocks were disposed in ascents 
which were almost stair-like, more resembling, however, 
- the sides of the pyramids, for each step was fitted for a 
giant's leg to mount, being often three feet high, Faraji, 
one of my Zanzibaris, hoisted me laboriously up each 
successive block, while the agile old chief, having wisely 
divested himself of his blue velvet, skipped up the steep 
ascent like any goat. At length we reached the highest 
point, and then—imagine my disappointment—ainstead of 
looking sheer down on the river, as I bad hoped, another 
