1370.] . ONE TOUCH OF NATURE! 41 



20th and 21st January. — Weakness and illness goes on 

 because we get wet so often ; the whole party suffers, and 

 they say that they will never come here again. The Man- 

 yango Eivulet has fine sweet water, but the whole country 

 is smothered with luxuriant vegetation. 



27th, 29th, and 30th January. — Rest from sickness in 

 camp. The country is indescribable from rank jungle of 

 grass, but the rounded hills are still pretty; an elephant 

 alone can pass through it — these are his head-quarters. 

 The stalks are from half an inch to an inch and a half in 

 diameter, reeds clog the feet, and the leaves rub sorely on 

 the face and eyes : the view is generally shut in by this 

 megatherium grass, except when we come to a slope down 

 to a valley or the bed of a rill. 



We came to a village among fine gardens of maize, 

 bananas, ground-nuts, and cassava, but the villagers said, 

 "Go on to next village;" and this meant, "We don't want 

 you here." The main body of Mohamad's people was about 

 three miles before us, but I was so weak I sat down in the 

 next hamlet and asked for a hut to rest in. A woman with 

 leprous hands gave me hers, a nice clean one, and very heavy 

 rain came on : of her own accord she prepared dumplings of 

 green maize, pounded and boiled, which are sweet, for she said 

 that she saw I was hungry. It was excessive weakness from 

 purging, and seeing that I did not eat for fear of the leprosy, 

 she kindly pressed me: "Eat, you are weak only from 

 hunger ; this will strengthen you." I put it out of her 

 •sight, and blessed her motherly heart. 



I had ere this come to the conclusion that I ought not 

 to risk myself further in the rains in my present weakness, 

 for it may result in something worse, as in Marungu and 

 Liemba. 



The horde mentioned as having passed Bambarre was now 

 somewhere in our vicinity, and it was impossible to ascertain 

 from the Manyuema where the Lualaba lay. 



