330 
FOUNTAINS—YILLAGE OF KABINJE. Chap. XVIII. 
equally beautiful, and with a stream also in its centre. It may 
seem mere trifling to note such an unimportant thing as the 
occurrence of a valley, there being so many in every country 
under the sun; but as these were branches of that in which the 
Kasai or Loke flows, and both that river and its feeders derive 
their water in a singular manner from the valley sides, I may be 
excused for calHng particular attention to the more furrowed 
nature of the country. 
At different points on the slopes of these valleys which we 
now for the first time entered, there are oozing fountains, sur¬ 
rounded by clumps of the same evergreen, straight, large-leaved 
trees we have noticed along the streams. These spots are gene¬ 
rally covered with a mat of grassy vegetation, and possess more 
the character of bogs than of fountains. They slowly discharge 
into the stream below, and are so numerous along both banks 
as to give a peculiar character to the landscape. These groups 
of sylvan vegetation are generally of a rounded form, and the 
trunks of the trees are tall and straight, while those on the level 
plains above are low and scraggy in their growth. There can 
be little doubt but that the water, which stands for months on 
the plains, soaks in, and finds its way into the rivers and rivulets 
by percolating through the soil, and out by these oozing bogs; 
and the difference between the growth of the trees, though they 
be of different species, may be a proof that the stuntedness of 
those on the plains, is owing to being in the course of each year 
more subjected to drought than moisture. 
Beaching the village of Kabinje, in the evening he sent us a 
present of tobacco, Mutokuane or ‘‘bang” {Cannabis saliva), and 
maize, by the man who went forward to announce our arrival, 
and a message expressing satisfaction at the prospect of having 
trade with the coast. The westing we were making brought us 
among people who are frequently visited by the Mambari, as 
slave-dealers. This trade causes bloodshed; for when a poor 
family is selected as the victims, it is necessary to get rid of the 
older members of it, because they are supposed to be able to give 
annoyance to the chief afterwards by means of enchantments. 
The behef in the power of charms for good or evil produces 
not only honesty, but a great amount of gentle dealing. The 
powerful are often restrained in their despotism, from a fear 
