Chap. XIV. LIBERALITY OF THE PEOPLE. 169 



carrying them on their shoulders. They are a merry set of 

 mortals, and a feeble joke sends them into fits of laughter. 

 Here, as elsewhere, all petitioned for the magic lantern, and, 

 as it is a good means of conveying instruction, I willingly 

 complied. The islands above the falls are covered with the 

 most beautiful foliage, and the view from the rock which 

 overhangs the fall was the loveliest I had yet seen. 



Nothing worthy of note occurred on our way up to Nameta. 

 There we heard that a party of the Makololo, headed i-v 

 Lerimo, and supported by Mpololo, the head-man of the 

 Barotse valley, had made a foray to the north against Masiko, 

 the son of a former Barotse chief, who had established himself 

 as an independent chieftain on the banks of the Leeba. They 

 had taken some of Masiko's subjects prisoners, and had 

 destroyed some of the villages of the Balonda, among whom 

 we were going. This was unfortunate, as it was calculated to 

 raise a prejudice against us. In order, therefore, to prove 

 that we had nothing to do with this transaction, we made 

 Mpololo and his people give up some of their captives, and 

 we took them along with us to return to Masiko. 



The people of every village treated us most liberally, pre- 

 senting us with oxen, butter, milk, and meal. The cows in 

 this valley yielded more milk than the people could use, and 

 both men and women presented butter in such quantity that 

 I was able to refresh my men with it as we travelled on. 

 Anointing the skin prevents excessive perspiration, and acts 

 as a substitute for clothing in both sun and shade. The 

 presents were always made gracefully : when an ox was given, 

 the owner would say, " Here is a little bit of bread for you." 

 This was pleasing to me, who had been accustomed to the 

 Bechuanas' mode of presenting a miserable goat, with the pom- 

 pous exclamation, " Behold an ox ! " The women persisted iii 

 giving me copious supplies of shrill praises, or " lullilouing ;" 

 but though I frequently tried to dissuade them, I could not 

 helpbeing pleased with the poor creatures' wishes for our success. 

 The rains began while we were at Naliele : the showers 

 were refreshing, but the air felt hot and close, the thermometei 

 standing at 90° even in the shade, though in a cool hut it was 

 reduced to 84°. A new attack of fever here caused me ex 

 cessive languor ; but, as I am already getting tired of quoting 



o 



