Chap. IV. 



NATIVE MINSTKEL'S VISIT. 



o: 



would have acted thus towards us : we had received the assur- 

 ance that the steamer would carry from ten to twelve tons, 

 and about thirty-six men ; but we found that this made her 

 draw so much as to be near sinking, and we adopted the expe- 

 dient mentioned, with the unfortunate result described. 



Next day we arrived at the village of Mboma (16° 56' 30" S.), 

 where the people raised large quantities of rice, and were eager 

 traders ; the rice was sold at wonderfully low rates, and we 

 could not purchase a tithe of the food brought for sale. 



African Fiddle of one String. 



A native minstrel serenaded us in the evening, playing 

 several quaint tunes on a species of one-stringed fiddle, 

 accompanied by wild, but not unmusical songs. lie told the 

 Makololo that he intended to play all night to induce us 

 to give him a present. The nights being cold, the thermo- 

 meter falling to 47°, with occasional fogs, he was asked if he 

 was not afraid of perishing from cold ; but, with the genuine 

 spirit of an Italian organ-grinder, he replied, " Oh, no ; I shall 

 spend the night with my white comrades in the big canoe ; 

 I have often heard of the white men, but have never seen them 

 till now, and I must sing and play well to them." A small 

 piece of cloth, however, bought him off, and he moved away 



