ise call weakness, that the conviction is produced anywhere,
that our motives are high enough to secure sincere respect.

A jungle of mimosa, ebony, and "wait-a-bit" thorn lies between the
Chicova flats and the cultivated plain, on which stand the villages of
the chief, Chitora. He brought us a present of food and drink, because,
as he, with the innate politeness of an African, said, he "did not wish
us to sleep hungry: he had heard of the Doctor when he passed down, and
had a great desire to see and converse with him; but he was a child then,
and could not speak in the presence of great men. He was glad that he
had seen the English now, and was sorry that his people were away, or he
should have made them cook for us." All his subsequent conduct showed
him to be sincere.

Many of the African women are particular about the water they use for
drinking and cooking, and prefer that which is filtered through sand. To
secure this, they scrape holes in the sandbanks beside the stream, and
scoop up the water, which slowly filters through, rather than take it
from the equally clear and limpid river. This practice is common in the
Zambesi, the Rovuma, and Lake Nyassa; and some of the Portuguese at Tette
have adopted the native custom, and send canoes to a low island in the
middle of the river for water. Chitora's people also obtained their
supply from shallow wells in the sandy bed of a small rivulet close to
the village. The habit may have arisen from observing the unhealthiness
of the main stream at certain seasons. During nearly nine months in the
year, ordure is deposited around countless villages along the thousands
of miles drained by the Zambesi. When the heavy rains come down, and
sweep the vast fetid accumulation into the torrents, the water is
polluted with filth; and, but for the precaution mentioned, the natives
would prove themselves as little fastidious as those in London who drink
the abomination poured into the Thames by Reading and Oxford. It is no
wonder that sailors suffered so much from fever after drinking African
river water, before the present admirable system of condensing it was
adopted in our navy.

The scent of man is excessively terrible to game of all kinds, much more
so, probably, than the sight of him. A herd of antelopes, a hundred
yards off, gazed at us as we moved along the winding path, and timidly
stood their ground until half our line had passed, but darted off the
instant they "g