898 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D. 



way of taking a pinch of snuff between the forefinger and thumb, is unknown 

 to the blacks, and would be considered a very unsatisfactory method. They 

 pour about a teaspoonful of snuff into the palm of the hand, and burying their 

 wide and capacious nostrils in the peppery mixture (for they add cayenne 

 pepper to the tobacco dust), snort it up loudly, aided by a rotary motion of 

 the half-closed hand. Many allow a scrubby, woolly moustache to grow for 

 the sole purpose of plastering it thickly with snuff, so that when on a journey 

 and carrying a load, they take it by simply curling up the upper lip and 

 sniffing up strongly, without stopping or laying down the load to open the 

 box and take it in the ordinary way. 



The common way to assert the truth of a statement, is to go on their 

 knees and rub the forefinger of each hand on the ground, and then touch 

 their tongues and forehead with the dusty tips ; this is equivalent to an oath. 

 About Loanda they make the sign of the cross on the ground with a finger 

 for the same purpose, and this is evidently derived from some old custom 

 introduced by the former missionaries. The ordinary burial places of Angola, 

 are merely mounds of earth or stones, with a stick to mark the grave of a 

 man, and a basket that of a woman ; and sometimes a slab of rock is stuck 

 upright in the ground to indicate the head of a grave. 



White ants, wasps, centipedes, land-tortoises, snakes, porcupines, are to 

 be found in the country . On the stems of the high grass may often be seen 

 little round nests about the size of a hen's egg having the appearance of a 

 rough glazed paper, and made by the mantis. These nests are applied by 

 the women to an odd use ; they rub the soles of their children's feet with 

 them in the belief that it will make them good walkers when they grow up. 

 Many of the caterpillars are very gorgeously coloured and fancifully orna- 

 mented with tufts of hair ; though the moths and butterflies are not so bril- 

 liant as might be expected. The natives are fond of the flesh of the porcu- 

 pine, and stick the quills in their woolly hair as an ornament. A long yellow- 

 spotted water-lizard, with a handsome bead-like pattern on its back and legs, 

 is common in the rivers, and is said to be very destructive to poultry. The 

 boa-constrictor inhabits the marshy places near rivers. There is a dangerous 

 snake not uncommon, which is small in size, but remarkable from its habit of 

 spitting to a considerable distance, and its saliva is said to blind a person if 

 it touches the eyes. 



Mr. Monteiro narrates an amusing adventure with one of the harmless 

 snakes found under the flooring of houses and stores, and which are very use- 

 ful in ridding them of rats and mice. " One of these snakes," he says, " once 

 gave me considerable trouble at Loanda. My bedroom was on the ground- 

 floor under an office, and outside my door was the staircase leading to it. 

 Every morning, just a little before daybreak, I used to be awakened by hear- 

 ing a loud crack on the table as if made by a blow from a thick whip. This 



