LOAN OF EOOFS.— A HALT. 335 



which unite, and form the deep, never-failing Chobe. Similar ex- 

 tensive flats give birth to the Loeti and Kasai, and, as we shall 

 see further on, all the rivers of an extensive region owe their origin 

 to oozing Ibogs, and not to fountains. 



When released from our island by the rain ceasing, we march- 

 ed on till we came to a ridge of dry inhabited land in the N.W. 

 The inhabitants, according to custom, lent us the roofs of some 

 huts to save the men the trouble of booth-making. I suspect 

 that the story in Park's " Travels," of the men lifting up the 

 hut to place it on the lion, referred to the roof only. We leave 

 them for the villagers to replace at their leisure. No payment 

 is expected for the use of them. By night it rained so copious- 

 ly that all our beds were flooded from below ; and from this 

 time forth we always made a furrow round each booth, and used 

 the earth to raise our sleeping-places. My men turned out to 

 work in the wet most willingly ; indeed, they always did. I 

 could not but contrast their conduct with that of Intemese. He 

 was thoroughly imbued with the slave spirit, and lied on all 

 occasions without compunction. Untruthfulness is a sort of 

 refuge for the weak and oppressed. We expected to move on 

 the 4th, but he declared that we were so near Katema's, if we 

 did not send forward to apprise that chief of our approach, he 

 would certainly impose a fine. It rained the whole day, so we 

 were reconciled to the delay ; but on Sunday, the 5th, he let us 

 know that we were still two days distant from Katema. We 

 unfortunately could not manage without him, for the country 

 was so deluged, we should have been brought to a halt before 

 we went many miles by some deep valley, every one of which 

 was full of water. Intemese continued to plait his basket with 

 all his might, and would not come to our religious service. He 

 seemed to be afraid of our incantations, but was always merry 

 and jocular. 



6th. Soon after starting we crossed a branch of the Lokalueje 

 by means of a canoe, and in the afternoon passed over the main 

 stream by a like conveyance. The former, as is the case with all 

 branches of rivers in this country, is called nuana Kalueje (child 

 of the Kalueje). Hippopotami exist in the Lokalueje, so it may 

 be inferred to be perennial, as the inhabitants asserted. We can 

 not judge of the size of the stream from what we now saw. It 



