36.6 THE RAIN-BIRD. Chap. XX\H. 



In our ftont we had ranges of hills called Chamai, covered 

 with trees. We crossed the rivulet Xakachinta, flowing east- 

 wards into the Zambesi, and then traversed some ridges of 

 rocks of the same mica schist which we found so abundant 

 in Golungo Alto. The dip, however, of these is not towards 

 the centre of the continent as in Angola, but in an easterly 

 direction. The hills which flank the Zambesi now appeared 

 on our right as a high dark range, while those near the Kafue 

 had the aspect of a low broken range. We crossed two 

 perennial rivulets flowing into the Kafue. The country is 

 very fertile, but vegetation is nowhere rank. We had now 

 descended to a comparatively low elevation, and had left 

 behind us the masuka- trees, and many others with which we 

 had become familiar. We occasionally noticed a feature 

 common in the forests of Angola and Benguela, namely the 

 presence of orchilla-weed and lichens on the trees, with 

 mosses on the ground ; but we never, on any part of the 

 eastern slope, saw the abundant crops of ferns which are so 

 universal in Angola. 



As we passed along, the people continued to supply us with 

 food in great abundance. They had somehow learnt that I 

 carried medicine, and, much to the disgust of my men, who 

 wished to keep it all to themselves, they brought their sick 

 children, some of whom had hooping-cough, to be cured. In 

 passing through the woods I heard for the first time the 

 cry of the bird called Mokwa reza, or " Son-in-law of God" 

 (Mici opogon sulphuratus ?), which is supposed by the natives 

 to say " Pula, pula" (rain, rain), predictive of heavy falls of 

 rain. It may be a cuckoo, for it is said to throw out the eggs 

 of the white-backed Senegal crow, and lay its own instead, 

 and this, combined with the cry for rain, renders the bird a 

 favourite. The crow, on the other hand, has a bad repute, 

 and, when rain is withheld, its nests are destroyed, in order 

 to dissolve the charm by which it is supposed to seal up the 

 windows of heaven. 



