GRAPES. 39? 



sun being excessively hot by day, I was glad of the excuse 

 for resting. "We could make no such prodigious strides as 

 officers in the Arctic regions are able to do. Ten or twelve 

 miles a day were a good march for both the men and my- 

 self; and it was not the length of the marches, but con- 

 tinuing day after day to perform the same distance, that 

 was so fatiguing. It was in this case much longer than ap- 

 pears on the map, because we kept out of the way of vil- 

 lages. I drank less than the natives when riding; but all my 

 clothing was now constantly damp from the moisture which 

 was imbibed in large quantities at every pond. One does 

 not stay on these occasions to prepare water with alum 

 or any thing else, but drinks any amount without fear. I 

 never felt the atmosphere so steamy as on the low-lying 

 lands of the Zambesi ; and yet it was becoming cooler than 

 it was on the highlands. 



We crossed the rivulets Kapopo and Ue, now running but 

 usually dry. There are great numbers of wild grape-vines 

 growing in this quarter : indeed, they abound everywhere 

 along the banks of the Zambesi. In the Batoka country 

 there is a variety which yields a black grape of considerable 

 sweetness. The leaves are very large and harsh, as if capa- 

 ble of withstanding the rays of this hot sun; but the most 

 common kinds — one with a round leaf and a greenish 

 grape, and another with a leaf closely resembling that of 

 the cultivated varieties and with dark or purple fruit — 

 have large seeds, which are strongly astringent and render 

 it a disagreeable fruit. The natives eat all the varieties; and 

 I tasted vinegar made by a Portuguese from these grapes. 

 Probably a country which yields the wild vines so very 

 abundantly might be a fit one for the cultivated species. 

 At this part of the journey so many of the vines had run 

 across the little footpath we followed that one had to 

 be constantly on the watch to avoid being tripped. The 

 ground was covered with rounded shingle, which was not 

 easily seen among the grass. Pedestrianism may be all 

 very well for those whose obesity requires much exercise j 



