MODK OF SPENDING THE DAY. 227 



to my companions, who eagerly partake of the refreshing 

 beverage. The servants are busy loading the canoes, 

 while the principal men are sipping the coffee, and, that 

 being soon over, we embark. The next two hours are 

 the most pleasant part of the day's sail. The men paddle 

 away most vigorously ; the Barotse, being a tribe of 

 boatmen, have large, deeply - developed chests and 

 shoulders, with indifferent lower extremities. They often 

 engage in loud scolding of each other, in order to relieve 

 the tedium of their work. About eleven we land, and eat 

 any meat which may have remained from the previous 

 evening meal, or a biscuit with honey, and drink water. 



After an hour's rest we again embark, and cower under 

 an umbrella. The heat is oppressive, and, being weak 

 from the last attack of fever, I cannot land, and keep the 

 camp supplied with flesh. The men, being quite un- 

 covered in the sun, perspire profusely, and in the after- 

 noon begin to stop, as if waiting for the canoes which have 

 been left behind. Sometimes we reach a sleeping-place 

 two hours before sunset, and, all being troubled with 

 languor, we gladly remain for the night. Coffee again, 

 and a biscuit, or a piece of coarse bread made of maize 

 meal, or that of the native corn, make up the bill of fare 

 for the evening, unless we have been fortunate enough to 

 kill something, when we boil a potful of flesh. This is 

 done by cutting it up into long strips and pouring in 

 water till it is covered. When that is boiled dry, the 

 meat is considered ready. 



The people at Gonye carry the canoes over the space 

 requisite to avoid the falls, by slinging them on poles tied 

 on diagonally. They place these on their shoulders, and, 

 setting about the work with good humour, soon accom- 

 plish the task. They are a merry set of mortals, — a 

 feeble joke sets them off in a fit of laughter. Here, as 

 elsewhere, all petitioned for the magic lantern, and, as it 

 is a good means of conveying instruction, I willingly 

 complied. 



The falls of Gonye have not been made by wearing 

 back, like those of Niagara, but are of a fissure form. 

 For many miles below, the river is confined in a narrow 

 space of not more than one hundred yards wide. The 

 water goes boiling along, and gives the idea of great 

 masses of it rolling over and over, so that even the most 

 expert swimmer would find it difficult to keep on the 



