Chap. XIV. BIRDS— SPONGES. 249 



A speckled kingfisher is seen nearly every hundred yards, 

 winch builds in similar spots, and attracts the attention of herd- 

 boys, who dig out its nest for the sake of the young. Tins, 

 and a most lovely little blue-and-orange kingfisher, are seen 

 everywhere along the banks, clashing down like a shot into the 

 water for their prey. A third, seen more rarely, is as large as a 

 pigeon, and is of a slaty colour. 



Another inhabitant of the banks is the sand-martin, which 

 also likes company in the work of raising a family. They 

 never leave tins part of the country. One may see them 

 preening themselves in the very depth of winter, while the 

 swallows, of which we shall yet speak, take winter trips. I 

 saw sand-martins at the Orange river during a period of winter 

 frost ; it is, therefore, probable that they do not migrate even 

 from thence. 



Around the reeds, which in some parts line the banks, we see 

 fresh-water sponges. They usually encircle the stalk, and are 

 hard and brittle, presenting numbers of small round grains near 

 their circumference. 



The river was running at the rate of five miles an hour, and 

 carried bunches of reed and decaying vegetable matter on its 

 surface ; yet the water was not discoloured. It had, however, 

 a slightly yellowish-green tinge, somewhat deeper than its 

 natural colour. This arose from the quantity of sand carried 

 by the rising flood from sandbanks, which are annually shifted 

 from one spot to another, and from the pieces falling in as the 

 banks are worn ; for when the water is allowed to stand in a 

 glass, a few seconds suffice for its deposit at the bottom. This 

 is considered an unhealthy period. When waiting, on one 

 occasion, for the other canoes to come up, I felt no inclination 

 to leave the one I was in ; but my head boatman, Mashauana, 

 told me never to remain on board while so much vegetable 

 matter was floating down the stream. 



11th December. — At Libonta. We were detained for days 

 together collecting contributions of fat and butter, according 

 to the orders of Sekeletu, as presents to the Balonda chiefs. 

 Much fever prevailed, and ophthalmia was rife, as is generally 

 the case before the rains begin. Some of my own men required 

 my assistance, as well as the people of Libonta. A lion had 



