402 Wanderings in Easterfi Africa, 
released from a cage. The mange, the Wasuahiii, 
and our own men turned out to see us off, and very 
cordially wished us a pleasant journey, though they 
thought they were looking upon us for the last time. 
Our men said they would do nothing but " voya 
Mulungu " {i.e., pray to God) till we returned. 
We reached the border of the inhabited district at 
II a.m. It was a delightful walk, if walk it may be 
called, for it was really stiff climbing. Now we 
passed through lanes shut in on either hand by high 
hedges of brambles, nettles, creepers, ferns, and many 
beautiful flowering plants ; then we entered fine groves 
of plantations, crossed deep hollows and limpid streams, 
made our way through gardens of masombo and 
vikoa (potatoes), along fine valleys, over grassy lawns, 
and by all manner of enchanting scenes and romantic 
spots. Here are fairy woods and bowers, sunny hills 
and shady dells, murmuring brooks, bridges, viaducts, 
and, in fact, the whole collection of sylvan beauties 
and delights ; enough to elicit poetry from the most 
prosaic of mortals. 
On the border we stopped to collect our men and 
to lay in provisions for the trip, and we proceeded no 
farther that day. We encamped within a well-built 
stockade, with which this part of the country is sur- 
rounded. The people brought us abundance of Indian 
corn, plantains, honey, butter, milk, etc. Among those 
who came to see us was an Albino, quite a rara avis, 
not a black swan, but a white negro, Moche pos- 
sessed another of these anomalies in the person of 
a young girl. My present visitor was a man of 
between 35 and 40 years of age. He was not 
pleasant to look upon ; my men shuddered at the 
