178 DELAY — HEAVY RAINS. 



mell over each other, and over the little idol-huts and 

 tobacco-bushes ; we could not get one of them back again. 

 Shinte, however, sat bravely through the whole, and after- 

 ward examined the instrument with interest. An explana- 

 tion was always added after each time of showing its 

 povrers, so that no one should imagine there was aught 

 supernatural in it ; and had Mr. Murray, who kindly brought 

 it from England, seen its popularity among both Makololo 

 and Balonda, he would have been gratified with the direc- 

 tion his generosity then took. It was the only mode of 

 instruction I was ever pressed to repeat. The people came 

 long distances for the express purpose of seeing the objects 

 and hearing the explanations. 



One cannot get away quickly from these chiefs; they 

 like to have the honor of strangers residing in their vil- 

 lages. Here we had an additional cause of delay in fre- 

 quent rains : twenty-four hours never elapsed without 

 heavy showers ; every thing is affected by the dampness ; 

 surgical instruments become all rusty, clothing mildewed, 

 and shoes mouldy ; my little tent was now so rotten and so 

 full of small holes that every smart shower caused a fine 

 mist to descend on my blanket, and made me fain to cover 

 the head with it. Heavy dews lay on every thing in the 

 morning, even inside the tent; there is only a short time 

 of sunshine in the afternoon, and even that is so interrupted 

 by thunder-showers that we cannot dry our bedding. 



The winds coming from the north always bring heavy 

 clouds and rain; in the south, the only heavy rains noticed 

 are those which come from the northeast or east. The 

 thermometer falls as low as 72° when there is no sunshine, 

 though, when the weather is fair, the protected thermo- 

 meter generally rises as high as 82°, even in the mornings 

 and evenings. 



2-ith. — Weexpectedtohave started to-day; but Sambanza, 

 who had been sent off early in the morning for guides, re- 

 turned at mid-day without them, and drunk. As far as wo 

 could collect from his incoherent sentences, Shinte had said 



