496 REMEDY AGAINST TSETSE. 



knowledge of the astonishing falls of Victoria which excite 

 the wonder of even the natives, together with the absence 

 of any tradition of such a chain of stations, compel me to 

 believe that they existed only on paper. This conviction 

 is strengthened by the fact that, when a late attempt was 

 made to claim the honour of crossing the continent for 

 the Portuguese, the only proof advanced was the journey 

 of two black traders formerly mentioned, adorned with the 

 name of "Portuguese." If a chain of stations had existed, 

 a few hundred names of the same sort might easily have 

 been brought forward ; and such is the love of barter 

 among all the central Africans that, had there existed a 

 market for ivory, its value would have become known, 

 and even that on the graves of the chiefs would not have 

 been safe. 



When about to leave Moyara, on the 25 th, he brought 

 a root which, when pounded and sprinkled over the oxen, 

 is believed to disgust the tsetse, so that it flies off without 

 sucking the blood. He promised to show me the plant 

 or tree if I would give him an ox ; but as we were travelling 

 and could not afford the time required for the experiment, 

 so as not to be cheated (as I had too often been by my 

 medical friends), I deferred the investigation till I returned. 

 It is probably but an evanescent remedy, and capable of 

 rendering the cattle safe during one night only. Moyara 

 is now quite a dependant of the Makololo, and my new 

 party, not being thoroughly drilled, forced him to carry 

 a tusk for them. When I relieved him, he poured forth 

 a shower of thanks, at being allowed to go back to sleep 

 beneath his skulls. 



Next day we came to Namilanga, or " The Well of Joy." 

 It is a small well dug beneath a very large fig-tree, the 

 shade of which renders the water delightfully cool. The 

 temperature through the day was 104 in the shade and 

 94 after sunset, but the air was not at all oppressive. 

 This well received its name from the fact, that in 

 former times marauding parties, in returning with 

 cattle, sat down here and were regaled with boyaloa, 

 music, and the lullilooing of the women from the adjacent 

 towns. 



All the surrounding country was formerly densely peopled, 

 though now desolate and still. The old head-man of 

 this place told us that his father once went to Bambala, 

 where white traders lived, when our informant was a child, 



