504 A DREADFUL LOSS. 



worked out the longitude of the mountain station said to be 

 Mpini, but he thought it better to name it Chitane's, as he 

 could not get the name from his maundering guide, who proba- 

 bly did not know it. Lat. 11°9' 2" S. ; long. 32° V 30" E. 



Altitude above sea (barometer) 5353 feet. 



Altitude above sea (boiling point) 5385 feet. 



Diff. 32 feet. . 



Destitution continued; there was nothing but famine and 

 famine prices, the people living on mushrooms and leaves. Of 

 these mushrooms it is interesting to know that there are a num- 

 ber of sorts, out of which the people choose five or six, rejecting 

 the others. One species becomes as large as the crown of a 

 man's hat; it is pure white, with a blush of brown in the 

 middle of the crown, and is very good roasted ; it is named 

 Motenta ; another, Mofeta ; 3d, Bosefwe ; 4th, Nakabausa ; 5th, 

 Chisimbe, lobulated, green outside, and pink and fleshy inside. 



About this time an incident occurred which was received by 

 Dr. Livingstone as perhaps the greatest misfortune he had ever 

 experienced. His own version of it is as follows : 



"A guide refused, so we marched without one. The two 

 Waiyau, who joined us at Kande's village, now deserted. 

 They had been very faithful all the way, and took our part 

 in every case. Knowing the language well, they were ex- 

 tremely useful, and no one thought that they would desert, 

 for they were free men — their masters had been killed by the 

 Mazitu — and this circumstance, and their uniform good conduct, 

 made us trust them more than we should have done any others 

 who had been slaves. But they left us in the forest, and heavy 

 rain came on, which obliterated every vestige of their footsteps. 

 To make the loss the more galling, they took what we could 

 least spare — the medicine-box, which they would only throw 

 away as soon as they came to examine their booty. One of 

 these deserters exchanged his load that morning with a boy 

 called Baraka, who had charge of the medicine-box, because he 

 was so careful. This was done because with the medicine-chest 

 were packed five large cloths and all Baraka's clothing and 

 beads, of which he was very careful. The Waiyau also offered 



