634 BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY. 



thunder-shower followed. I shall never forget the dry, hot east 

 winds of that region ; the yellowish, sultry, cloudless sky ; the 

 grass and all the plants drooping from drought, the cattle lean, 

 the people dispirited, and our own hearts sick from hope deferred. 

 There we often heard in the dead of the night the shrill whistle 

 of the rain-doctor calling for rain that would not come, while here 

 we listened to the rolling thunder by night, and beheld the swell- 

 ing valleys adorned with plenty by day. We have rain almost 

 daily, and every thing is beautifully fresh and green. I felt 

 somewhat as people do on coming ashore after a long voyage — 

 inclined to look upon the landscape in the most favorable light. 

 The hills are covered with forests, and there is often a long line 

 of fleecy cloud lying on them about midway up ; they are very 

 beautiful. Finding no one willing to aid us in crossing the river, 

 we proceeded to the village of the chief Mpende. A fine large 

 conical hill now appeared to the N.N.E. ; it is the highest I 

 have seen in these parts, and at some points it appears to be two 

 cones joined together, the northern one being a little lower than 

 the southern. Another high hill stands on the same side to the 

 N.E., and, from its similarity in shape to an axe at the top, is 

 called Motemwa. Beyond it, eastward, lies the country of 

 Kaimbwa, a chief who has been engaged in actual conflict with 

 the Bazunga, and beat them too, according to the version of 

 things here. The hills on the north bank are named Kamoenja. 

 When we came to Mpende's village, he immediately sent to in- 

 quire who we were, and then ordered the guides who had come 

 with us from the last village to go back and call their masters. 

 He sent no message to us whatever. We had traveled very 

 slowly up to this point, the tsetse-stricken oxen being now unable 

 to go two miles an hour. We were also delayed by being obliged 

 to stop at every village, and send notice of our approach to the 

 head man, who came and received a little information, and gave 

 some food. If we had passed on without taking any notice of 

 them, they would have considered it impolite, and we should 

 have appeared more as enemies than friends. I consoled myself 

 for the loss of time by the thought that these conversations tended 

 to the opening of our future path. 



23d. This morning, at sunrise, a party of Mpende's people 

 came close to our encampment, uttering strange cries and waving 



