552 DANCING FOR CORN. 



villagers, and whatever they gave be presented with 

 politeness. My men got pretty well supplied individually, 

 for they went into the villages and commenced dancing. 

 The young women were especially pleased with the new 

 steps they had to show, though I suspect many of them 

 were invented for the occasion, and would say, " Dance 

 for me, and I will grind corn for you." At every fresh 

 instance of liberality, Sekwebu said, " Did not I tell you 

 that these people had hearts, while we were still at £in- 

 yanti ? " All agreed that the character he had given 

 was true, and some remarked, " Look ! although we 

 have been so long away from home, not one of us has 

 become lean." It was a fact that we had been all well 

 supplied either with meat by my gun or their own spears, 

 or food from the great generosity of the inhabitants. 

 Pangola promised to ferry us across the Zambesi, but 

 failed to fulfil his promise. He seemed to wish to avoid 

 offending his neighbour Mpende by aiding us to escape 

 from his hands, so we proceeded along the bank. Al- 

 though we were in doubt as to our reception by Mpende, 

 I could not help admiring the beautiful country as we 

 passed along. There is, indeed, only a small part under 

 cultivation in this fertile valley, but my mind naturally 

 turned to the comparison of it with Kolobeng, where 

 we waited anxiously during months for rain, and only 

 a mere thunder-shower followed. I shall never forget 

 the dry, hot east winds of that region ; the yellowish, 

 sultry, cloudless sky ; the grass and all the plants drooping 

 from drought, the cattle lean, the people dispirited, and 

 our own hearts sick from hope deferred. There we often 

 heard in the dead of the night the shrill whistle of the 

 rain-doctor calling for rain that would not come, while 

 here we listened to the rolling thunder by night and 

 beheld the swelling valleys adorned with plenty by day. 

 We had rain almost daily, and everything is beautifully 

 fresh and green. I felt somewhat as people do on coming 

 ashore after a long voyage — inclined to look upon the land- 

 scape in the most favourable light. The hills are covered 

 with forests, and there is often a long line of fleecy cloud 

 lying on them about midway up ; they are very beautiful. 

 Finding no one willing to aid us in crossing the river, we 

 proceeded to the village of the chief Mpende. A fine, 

 large, conical hill now appeared to the N.N.K. ; it is the 

 highest I have seen in these parts, and at some points 



