128 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D. 



mamosho; it is about the size of a walnut. These fruits, which in the 

 Leeambye valley grow on trees, some of them attaining a great size, are found 

 in the Kalahari desert, where they exist as small herbaceous plants. In the 

 well-watered country, plants which in the dry regions of the south are mere 

 shrubs, become great trees; illustrating in a remarkable manner, the effect of the 

 drying up of the numerous water courses in regions once as rich in vegetation 

 as the valleys of the Zambesi and its tributaries. A number of his 

 attendants, with the baggage and oxen of the party, marched by land, the 

 canoe party regulating their advance to suit their rate of progress. 



As the trees were putting on their fresh green leaves, the banks of the 

 river were much more beautiful than on the occasion of his previous visit. 

 In case of accident from the attack, or the sudden uprising near them, of the 

 hippopotami, they hugged the banks, often passing under the grateful shade 

 of giant trees, among whose branches the ibis, turtle-doves, and many other 

 birds were perched, careless of the near neighbourhood of the canoes and 

 their occupants. Plovers of various kinds wheeled overhead, raising a great 

 clamour. One of these, from its hard metallic cry called setula-tsipi, or 

 hammering wire, is the bird famous for its friendship with the crocodile of the 

 Nile, which it invariably accompanies, boldly entering its terrible jaws, and 

 eating water insects which attach themselves to the roof of the mouth of the 

 brute, and cause it much annoyance. It is provided with a spur on its 

 shoulder (the top of the wing) about half an inch in length, which it uses as a 

 weapon of defence. This bird and its habits were known to Herodotus, and 

 up till twenty years ago, when Mr. St. John actually witnessed it feeding 

 within the iron jaws of the huge reptile, the account was looked upon as 

 fabulous. In places where the banks are steep, several species of birds 

 build their nests in holes which they dig with their bills. Among these, the 

 most notable is the bee-eater, a pretty little bird, a species of sand-martin, 

 and several varieties of king-fishers, one of them as large as a pigeon. 



Song birds in endless variety, some of them new to science, enlivened 

 the passage of the river, and flocks of green pigeons rose from the trees as 

 they passed. In some districts several species of canaries were as common 

 and as destructive to garden produce as sparrows are in England. The 

 natives tame them, and keep them in wicker cages ; their notes are clear and 

 sweet. Tame pigeons were also common. This love for birds would appear 

 to have been initiated by Santuru in the Leeambye valley, who kept a great 

 many tame animals ; among others, a couple of hippopotami — ungainly pets 

 enough. 



The boomslang, a species of tree-snake, preys upon the small birds,- the noise 

 and chattering of a number of birds fluttering round a tree usually indicate 

 its presence. The birds are unable or unwilling to keep aloof from the dan- 

 gerous proximity of this reptile, which with its body coiled round a branch, 



