408 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
were seated on the ground, sheltered by some bushes, 
and each resting the end of his yoke upon the ground. 
One was in a frightful condition, with open sores swel¬ 
tering under the heat of the sun, being chafed to the 
flesh through the roughness of the bark bindings of the 
yoke. 
Being determined to find out something about the un¬ 
fortunates, and ignoring Mara’s ill-concealed anxiety to 
proceed, I made the latter inquire of the sufferer what 
was the cause of his deplorable condition. His reply’was 
that he had run away and had been recaptured. 
All the time I was here, the black agent looked upon 
me with an undeniably defiant expression. 
Leaving the accursed scene, Mara and myself hastened 
after the Angoni, who had been pressing forward with 
the intention of reaching the mountains that night. We 
had been nearing the range for some time, and following 
the path we passed through another village, in which no 
captive slaves were seen. At length, after mounting a 
steep slope, we sighted the advance party. 
Further northwards—-we ascended gradually, and were 
then 4500 feet above the sea—we passed a number of 
native iron-smelting furnaces, some of which showed 
signs of having been recently used, as small heaps of 
slag lay piled beside them. This slag I found to be very 
vesicular ; the metallic iron was in irregular buttons, and 
had evidently been reduced from brown hematite or 
hydrated peroxide of iron. 
After we joined the Angoni party clouds began to 
gather, and a disagreeable mist rolled along the plains, 
bringing a damping influence upon everything, spirits 
included. 
In the evening I had an opportunity of questioning 
Mara more thoroughly regarding what had occurred at 
the village where the grim realities of slavery had been 
seen. The little I could gather from my guide’s replies 
amounted to this : that an endeavour to bribe his cap¬ 
tives had been made by the driver, as soon as he had 
heard of my approach—for he was on the march and 
evidently knew nothing of my travelling with so small a 
