232 BIRDS — SPONGES — RIVER- WATER. 



face of the sandbank is perforated with hundreds of holes 

 leading to their nests, each of which is about a foot apart 

 from the other ; and as we pass they pour out of their 

 hiding-places, and float overhead. 



A speckled kingfisher is seen nearly every hundred 

 yards, which builds in similar spots, and attracts the 

 attention of herd-boys, who dig out its nest for the sake 

 of the young. This, and a most lovely little blue-and- 

 orange kingfisher, are seen everywhere along the banks, 

 dashing down like a shot into the water for their prey. A 

 third, seen more rarely, is as large as a pigeon, and is of 

 a slaty colour. 



Another inhabitant of the banks is the sand-martin, 

 which also likes company in the work of raising a family. 

 They never leave this quarter of the country. One may 

 see them preening themselves in the very depth of winter, 

 while the swallows, of which we shall yet speak, take 

 winter trips. I saw sand-martins at the Orange river 

 during a period of winter frost ; it is, therefore, probable 

 that they do not migrate even from thence. 



Around the reeds, which in some parts line the banks, 

 we see fresh-water sponges. They usually encircle the 

 stalk, and are hard and brittle, presenting numbers of 

 small round grains near their circumference. 



The river was running at the rate of five miles an hour, 

 and carried bunches of reed and decaying vegetable matter 

 on its surface ; yet the water was not discoloured. It 

 had, however, a slightly yellowish-green tinge, somewhat 

 deeper than its natural colour. This arose from the 

 quantity of sand carried by the rising flood from sand- 

 banks, which are annually shifted from one spot to 

 another, and from the pieces falling in as the banks are 

 worn ; for when the water is allowed to stand in a glass, 

 a few seconds suffice for its deposit at the bottom. This 

 is considered an unhealthy period. When waiting, on one 

 occasion, for the other canoes to come up, I felt no 

 inclination to leave the one I was in ; but my head 

 boatman, Mashauana, told me never to remain on board 

 while so much vegetable matter was floating down the 

 stream. 



jyth December. — At Libonta. We were detained for 

 days together collecting contributions of fat and butter, 

 according to the orders of Sekeletu, as presents to the 

 Balonda chiefs. Much fever prevailed, and ophthalmia 



