126 WILD ANIMALS' FEAR OF MEN. Chap. V. 



seen the English now, and was sorry that his people were 

 away, or he should have made them cook for us." All his 

 subsequent conduct showed him to be sincere. 



Many of the African women are particular about the 

 water they use for drinking and cooking, and prefer that 

 which is filtered through sand. To secure this, they 

 scrape holes in the sandbanks beside the stream, and scoop 

 up the water, which slowly filters through, rather than 

 take it from the equally clear and limpid river. This 

 practice is common in the Zambesi, the Eovuma, and Lake 

 Nyassa; and some of the Portuguese at Tette have 

 adopted the native custom, and send canoes to a low 

 island in the middle of the river for water. Chitora's 

 people also obtained their supply from shallow wells in 

 the sandy bed of a small rivulet close to the village. The 

 habit may have arisen from observing the unhealthiness 

 of the main stream at certain seasons. During nearly 

 nine months in the year, ordure is deposited around count- 

 less villages along the thousands of miles drained by the 

 Zambesi. When the heavy rains come down, and sweep 

 the vast fetid accumulation into the torrents, the water is 

 polluted with filth ; and, but for the precaution mentioned, 

 the natives would prove themselves as little fastidious as 

 those in London who drink the abomination poured into 

 the Thames by Eeading and Oxford. It is no wonder 

 that sailors suffered so much from fever after drinking 

 African river water, before the present admirable system 

 of condensing it was adopted in our navy. 



The scent of man is excessively terrible to game of all 

 kinds, much more so, probably, than the sight of him. A 

 herd of antelopes, a hundred yards off, gazed at us as we 

 moved along the winding path, and timidly stood their 

 ground until half our line had passed, but darted off the 

 instant they " got the wind," or caught the flavour of 

 those who had gone by. The sport is all up with the 



