NATIVE POLITICIANS. 303 



" They boil as much, as their pots will hold, and eat until it becomes 

 physically impossible for them to stow away any more. An uproarious dance 

 follows, accompanied with stentorian song ; and as soon as they have shaken 

 their first course down, and washed off the sweat and dust of the after per- 

 formance, they go to work to roast more; a short snatch of sleep succeeds, and 

 they are up and at it again ; all night long it is boil and eat, roast and devour, 

 with a few brief interludes of sleep. Like other carnivora, these men can 

 endure hunger for a much longer period than the mere porridge-eating tribes." 

 As game was abundant, the weather excellent for camping, and the route 

 known, travelling was not an unpleasant task. Flocks of guinea fowl and 

 other birds, were met with daily ; and, as they were in good condition, and 

 their flesh excellent, the party enjoyed a variety of flesh meat. 



In camping the men by turns cut grass for the beds of the three English- 

 men, — Dr. Livingstone being placed in the middle, Dr. Kirk on the right, and 

 Charles Livingstone on the left. Their bags, rifles, and revolvers were placed 

 near their beds, and a fire was kindled near their feet. A dozen fires were 

 kindled in the camp nightly, and replenished from time to time by the men 

 who were awakened by the cold. On these grass beds, with their rugs drawn 

 over them, the three Englishmen slept soundly under some giant tree, through 

 whose branches when awake they could look up to the clear star-spangled 

 moonlit sky. Their attendants slept between mats of palm leaves, which were 

 sewn together round three sides of the square, one being left open to enable 

 the man to crawl in between the two. These sleeping bags are called fumbas, 

 and when they were all at rest within the encampment, they had the appear- 

 ance of sacks strewn round about the camp fires. 



In camp, when food was plenty, there was no lack of amusement. 

 After the camp fires were lighted and the important labours consequent 

 on cooking and eating were over, the party sat round the fires talking and 

 singing. 



" Every evening one of the Batoka played his sansa, and continued at 

 it until far into the night ; he accompanied it with an extempore song, in 

 which he rehearsed their deeds ever since they left their own country." 

 Political discussions frequently arose, in which radical and revolutionary 

 theorists combated loyal and constitutional orators, after the manner of 

 political clubs at home. On these occasions " the whole camp was aroused, 

 and the men shouted to one another from the different fires ; whilst some 

 whose tongues were never heard on any other subject, now burst forth into 

 impassioned speech. The misgovernment of chiefs formed an inexhaustible 

 theme. 



" ' We could govern ourselves better,' they cry, ' so what is the use of 

 chiefs at all ? they do not work. The chief is fat, and has plenty of wives ; 

 whilst we, who do the hard work, have hunger, only one wife, or more likely 



