112 LIVINGSTONE'S LAST JOUKNALS. [Chap. Y. 



up lie had changed the seat of his complaint from his feet 

 to any part of his abdomen. He gave off his gun-belt and 

 pouch to the carrier. This was a blind to me, for I examined 

 and found that he had already been stealing and selling his 

 ammunition : this is all preparatory to returning to the coast 

 with some slave-trader. Nothing can exceed the ease and 

 grace with which sepoys can glide from a swagger into the 

 most abject begging of food from the villagers. He has 

 remained behind. 



22nol September. — The hills we crossed were about 700 

 feet above Nyassa, generally covered with trees ; no people 

 were seen. We slept by the brook Sikocke. Rocks of 

 hardened sandstone rested on mica schist, which had an 

 efflorescence of alum on it, above this was dolomite; the 

 hills often capped with it and oak-spar, giving a snowy 

 appearance. We had a Waiyau party with us — six hand- 

 somely-attired women carried huge pots of beer for their 

 husbands, who very liberally invited us to partake. After 

 seven hours' hard travelling we came to the village, where 

 we spend Sunday by the torrent Usangazi, and near a re- 

 markable mountain, Namasi. The chief, a one-eyed man, was 

 rather coy — coming incognito to visit us ; and, as I suspected 

 that he was present, I asked if the chief were an old woman, 

 afraid to look at and welcome a stranger ? All burst into a 

 laugh, and looked at him, when he felt forced to join in it, 

 and asked what sort of food we liked best. Chuma put this 

 -clear enough by saying, " He eats everything eaten by the 

 Waiyau." This tribe, or rather the Machinga, now super- 

 sede the Manganja. We passed one village of the latter 

 near this, a sad, tumble-down affair, while the Waiyau 

 villages are very neat, with handsome straw or reed fences 

 all around their huts. 



24:th September. — We went only 2\ miles to the village 

 of Marenga, a very large one, situated at the eastern edge 

 of the bottom of the heel of the Lake. The chief is ill 



