Chap. XII. THE HEEALD. 221 



falls clown in winter, or is " laid " by its own weight, one is obliged 

 to lift the feet so high, to avoid behig tripped up by it, as to make 

 walking excessively fatiguing. Young leches are hidden beneath 

 it by their dams; and the Makololo youth complain of being 

 unable to run in the Barotse land on this account. There was 

 evidently no healthy spot in this quarter ; and the current of the 

 river being about four and a half miles per horn (one hundred 

 yards in sixty seconds), I imagined w r e might find what was needed 

 in the higher lands, from which the river seemed to come. I 

 resolved, therefore, to go to the utmost limits of the Barotse 

 country before coming to a final conclusion. Katongo was the 

 best place we had seen ; but in order to accomplish a complete 

 examination, I left Sekeletu at Naliele, and ascended the river. 

 He furnished me with men, besides my rowers, and among the 

 rest a herald, that I might enter his villages in what is considered 

 a dignified manner. This it was supposed would be effected by the 

 herald shouting out at the top of his voice, " Here comes the lord ; 

 the great lion ;" the latter phrase being " tau e tona," which in 

 his imperfect way of pronunciation became " sau e tona," and so 

 like " the great sow," that I could not receive the honour with 

 becoming gravity, and had to entreat him, much to the annoyance 

 of my party, to be silent. 



In our ascent we visited a number of Makololo villages, and 

 were always received with a hearty welcome, as messengers to 

 them of peace — which they term " sleep." They behave well in 

 public meetings, even on the first occasion of attendance, probably 

 from the habit of commanding the Makalaka, crowds of whom 

 swarm in every village, and whom the Makololo women seem to 

 consider as especially under their charge. 



The river presents the same appearance of low banks without 

 trees as w T e have remarked it had after we came to 16° 16', until 

 we arrive at Libonta (14° 59' S. lat). Twenty miles beyond that, 

 we find forest down to the water's edge, and tsetse. Here I might 

 have turned back, as no locality can be inhabited by Europeans 

 where that scourge exists ; but hearing that we were not far from 

 the confluence of the river of Londa, or Lunda, named Leeba, or 

 Loiba, and the chiefs of that country being reported to be friendly 

 to strangers, and therefore likely to be of use to me on my return 

 from the west coast, I still pushed on to latitude 14° 11' 3" S. 



