Chap. XVIII. GKEEDY GUIDES. 335 



My men were as much astonished as" myself at the demand for 

 payment for leave to pass, and the almost entire neglect of the 

 rules of hospitality. Katende gave us only a little meal and 

 manioc, and a fowl. Being detained two days by heavy rains, 

 we felt that a good stock of patience was necessary in travelling 

 through this country in the rainy season. 



Passing onwards without seeing Katende, we crossed a small 

 rivulet, the Sengko, by which we had encamped, and after two 

 hours came to another, the Totelo, which was somewhat larger, 

 and had a bridge over it. At the further end of this structure 

 stood a negro, who demanded fees. He said the bridge was his ; 

 the path his ; the guides were his children ; and if we did not 

 pay him, he would prevent farther progress. This piece of 

 civilization I was not prepared to meet, and stood a few seconds 

 looking at our bold toll-keeper, when one of my men took off 

 three copper bracelets, which paid for the whole party. The 

 negro was a better man than he at first seemed, for he imme- 

 diately went to his garden and brought us some leaves of tobacco 

 as a present. 



When we had got fairly away from the villages, the guides 

 from Kangenke sat down and told us that there were three paths 

 in front, and, if we did not at once present them with a cloth, 

 they would leave us to take whichever we might like best. As 

 I had pointed out the direction in which Loanda lay, and had 

 only employed them for the sake of knowing the paths between 

 villages which lay along our route, and always objected when 

 they led us in any other than the Loanda direction, I wished my 

 men now to go on without the guides, trusting to ourselves to 

 choose the path which would seem to lead us in the direction we 

 had always followed. But Mashauana, fearing lest we might 

 wander, asked leave to give his own cloth, and when the guides 

 saw that, they came forward shouting, " Averie, Averi6 ! " 



In the afternoon of this day we came to a valley about a mile 

 wide, filled with clear fast-flowing water. The men on foot were 

 chin deep in crossing, and we three on oxback got wet to the 

 middle, the weight on the animals preventing them from swim- 

 ming. A thunder-shower descending, completed the partial 

 drenching of the plain, and gave a cold uncomfortable " packing 

 in a wet blanket " that night. Next day we found another 



