FERTILITY OF SOIL. 175 



and when we returned from Loanda we found that he had 

 profited by the hint, for he had got three, and one of them 

 justified my opinion of the country, for it was more like a 

 prize-heifer for fatness than any we had seen in Africa, 

 tie soon afterward sent us a basket of green maize boiled, 

 another of manioc-meal, and a small fowl. 



During this time Manenko had been extremely busy 

 with all her people in getting up a very pretty hut and 

 courtyard, to be, as she said, her residence always when 

 white men were brought by her along the same path. 

 When she heard that we had given an ox to her uncle, 

 she came forward to us with the air of one wronged, and 

 explained that "this white man belonged to her; she had 

 brought him here, and therefore the ox was hers, not 

 Shinte's." She ordered her men to bring it, got it slaugh- 

 tered by them, and presented her uncle with a leg only. 

 Sninte did not seem at all annoyed at the occurrence. 



19f/i. — I was awakened at an early hour by a messenger 

 from Shinte ; but, the thirst of a raging fever being just 

 assuaged by the bursting forth of a copious perspiration, I 

 declined going for a few hours. Yiolent action of the 

 heart all the way to the town did not predispose me to be 

 patient with the delay which then occurred, probably on 

 account of the divination beirjg unfavorable : — "They could 

 not find Shinte." "When I returned to bed, another mes- 

 sage was received : — " Shinte wished to say all he had to 

 tell me at once." This was too tempting an offer; so we 

 went, and he had a fowl ready in his hand to present, also 

 a basket of manioc-meal, and a calabash of mead. Refer- 

 ring to the constantly-recurring attacks of fever, he re- 

 marked that it was the only thing which would prevent 

 a successful issue to my journey, for he had men 10 guide 

 me who knew all the paths which led to the white men. 

 He had himself travelled far when a young man. On 

 asking what he would recommend for the fever, "Drink 

 plenty of the mead, and as it gets in it will drive the fever 

 out." It was rather strong, and I suspect he liked the 



