54-0 SEINE'S HOSTILITY. 



cloudiness, but the sun often burst through with scorching 

 intensity. All call out against it then, saying, " O the 

 sun ! that is rain again." It was worth noticing that 

 my companions never complained of the heat while on the 

 highlands, but when we descended into the lowlands of 

 Angola, and here also, they began to fret on account of 

 it. I myself felt an oppressive steaminess in the atmo- 

 sphere, which I had not experienced on the higher lands. 

 As the game was abundant and my party very large, I 

 had still to supply their wants with the gun. We 

 slaughtered the oxen only when unsuccessful in hunting. 

 We always entered into friendly relations with the head- 

 men of the different villages, and they presented grain and 

 other food freely. One man gave a basinful of rice, the 

 first we met with in the country. It is never seen in the 

 interior. He said he knew it was "white man's corn," 

 and when I wished to buy some more, he asked me to give 

 him a slave. This was the first symptom of the slave- 

 trade on this side of the country. The last of these 

 friendly head-men was named Mobala ; and having passed 

 him in peace, we had no anticipation of anything else ; 

 but after a few hours we reached Selole or Cliilole, and 

 found that he not only considered us enemies, but had 

 actually sent an express to raise the tribe of Mburuma 

 against us. All the women of Selole had fled, and the 

 few people we met, exhibited symptoms of terror. An 

 armed party had come from Mburuma in obedience to 

 the call, but the head-man of the company, being 

 Mburuma 's brother, suspecting that it was a hoax, came 

 to our encampment and told us the whole. When we 

 explained our objects, he told us that Mburuma, he had 

 no doubt, would receive us well. The reason why Selole 

 acted in this foolish manner, we afterwards found to be 

 this : an Italian named Simoens, and nicknamed Siria- 

 tomba (don't eat tobacco), had married the daughter of 

 a chief called Sekokole, living north of Tete. He armed 

 a party of fifty slaves with guns, and, ascending the river 

 in canoes some distance beyond the island Meya makaba, 

 attacked several inhabited islands beyond, securing a 

 large number of prisoners, and much ivory. On his 

 return, the different chiefs, at the instigation of his 

 father-in-law, who also did not wish him to set up as a 

 chief, united, attacked and dispersed the party of Simoens, 

 and killed him while trying to escape on foot. Selole 



