282 PAY OFF THE SENNA MEN. Chap. X. 



Expedition which had now been three-and-a-half years in ' 

 the country. The carpenter's mate, a fine healthy young 

 man, was seized with fever. The usual remedies had no 

 effect ; he died suddenly while we were at evening prayers, 

 and was buried on shore. He came out in the " Pioneer," 

 and, with the exception of a slight touch of fever at the 

 mouth of the Eovuma, had enjoyed perfect health all the 

 time he had been with us. The Portuguese are of opinion 

 that the European who has immunity from this disease for 

 any length of time after he enters the country is more 

 likely to be cut off by it when it does come, than the man 

 who has it frequently at first. 



The rains became pretty general towards the close of 

 December, and the Shire was in flood in the beginning of 

 January, 1862. At our wooding-place, a mile above the 

 Euo, the water was three feet higher than it was when we 

 were here in June ; and on the night of the 6th it rose 

 eighteen inches more, and swept down an immense amount 

 of brushwood and logs which swarmed with beetles and 

 the two kinds of shells which are common all over the 

 African continent. Natives in canoes were busy spearing 

 fish in the meadows and creeks, and appeared to be taking 

 them in great numbers. Spur-winged geese, and others of 

 the knob-nosed species, took advantage of the low gardens 

 being flooded, and came to pilfer the beans. As we passed 

 the Ruo, on the 7th, and saw nothing of the Bishop, we 

 concluded that he had heard from his surgeon of our 

 detention, and had deferred his journey. He arrived there 

 five days after, on the 12th. 



After paying our Senna men, as they wished to go 

 home, we landed them here. All were keen traders, and 

 had invested largely in native iron-hoes, axes, and orna- 

 ments. Many of the hoes and spears had been taken from 

 the slaving parties whose captives we liberated ; for on 

 these occasions our Senna friends were always uncom- 



