MODE OF APPROACHING VIIXAGES. 269 



and I soon afterwards perceived that what now seemed 

 to me the dilly-dallying way of this lady, was the proper 

 mode of making acquaintance with the Balonda ; and 

 much of the favour with which I was received in different 

 places was owing to my sending forward messengers, to 

 state the object of our coming, before entering each town 

 and village. When we came in sight of a village, we sat 

 down under the shade of a tree, and sent forward a man to 

 give notice who we were, and what were our objects. 

 The head man of the village then sent out his principal 

 men, as Shinte now did, to bid us welcome, and show us 

 a tree under which we might sleep. Before I had profited 

 by the rather tedious teaching of Manenko, I sometimes 

 entered a village, and created unintentional alarm. The 

 villagers would continue to look upon us with suspicion 

 as long as we remained. Shinte sent us two large baskets 

 of manioc, and six dried fishes. His men had the skin of 

 a monkey, called in their tongue '*' poliima " (Colobus 

 guereza), of a jet black colour, except the long mane, 

 which is pure white ; it is said to be found in the north, 

 in the country of Matiamvo, the paramount chief of all 

 the Balonda. We learned from them, that they are in 

 the habit of praying to their idols when unsuccessful in 

 killing game, or in any other enterprise. They behaved 

 with reverence at our religious services. This will 

 appear important, if the reader remembers the almost 

 total want of prayer and reverence we encountered in 

 the south. 



Our friends informed us that Shinte would be highly 

 honoured by the presence of three white men in his town 

 at once. Two others had sent forward notice of their 

 approach from another quarter (the west) ; could it be 

 Barth or Krapf ? How pleasant to meet with Europeans 

 in such an out-of-the-way region ! The rush of thoughts 

 made me almost forget my fever. Are they of the same 

 colour as I am ? — " Yes : exactly so." — And have the 

 same hair ? — " Is that hair ? we thought it was a wig ; 

 we never saw the like before ; this white man must be of 

 the sort that lives in the sea." Henceforth my men took 

 this hint, and always sounded my praises as a true 

 specimen of the variety of white men who live in the sea. 

 " Only look at his hair — it is made quite straight by the 

 sea-water ! " 



I explained to them again and again that, when it was 



