542 THE KALOMO. Chap. XXVII. 



disturbs tliem. Lions, which always accompany other large ani- 

 mals, roared about us, but as it was moonlight there was no 

 danger. In the evening, while standing on a mass of granite, 

 one began to roar at me, though it was still light. The tem- 

 perature was pleasant, as the rains, though not universal, had 

 fallen in many places. It was very cloudy, preventing observa- 

 tions. The temperature at 6 a.m. was 70°, at midday 90°, in 

 the evening 84°. This is very pleasant on the high lands, with 

 but little moisture in the air. 



The different rocks to the westward of Ivaonka's, talcose gneiss, 

 and white mica schist, generally dip towards the west, but at 

 Kaonka's, large rounded masses of granite, containing black mica, 

 began to appear. The outer rind of it inclines to peel off, and 

 large crystals project on the exjjosed surface. 



In passing through some parts where a good shower of rain 

 has fallen, the stridulous piercing notes of the cicadas are perfectly 

 deafening ; a drab-coloured cricket joins the chorus with a sharp 

 sound, which has as little modulation as the drone of a Scottish 

 bagpipe. I could not conceive how so small a thing could raise 

 such a sound ; it seemed to make the ground over it thrill. When 

 cicadas, crickets, and frogs unite, then music may be heard at the 

 distance of a quarter of a mile. 



A tree attracted my attention as new, the leaves being like 

 those of an acacia, but the ends of the branches from winch they 

 grew resembled closely oblong fir-cones. The corn poppy was 

 abundant, and many of the trees, flowering bulbs and plants, 

 were identical with those hi Pungo Andongo. A flower, as white 

 as the snowdrop, now begins to appear, and farther on, it spots 

 the whole sward with its beautiful pure white. A fresh crop 

 appears every morning, and if the day is cloudy they do not 

 expand till the afternoon. In an hour or so they droop and die. 

 They are named by the natives, from then shape, "Tlaku ea 

 pitse," hoof of zebra. I carried several of the somewhat bulbous 

 roots of this pretty flower till I reached the Mauritius. 



On the 30th we crossed the river Kalomo, winch is about 50 

 yards broad, and is the only stream that never dries up on tins 

 ridge. The cm-rent is rapid, and its course is towards the south, 

 as it joins the Zambesi at some distance below the falls. The 

 Unguesi and Lekone, with then feeders, flow westward, this river 



