had several tumours, and a
broken leg, which showed no symptoms of ever having begun to heal. Wild
animals sometimes suffer a great deal from disease, and wearily drag on a
miserable existence before relieved of it by some ravenous beast. Once
we drove off a maneless lion and lioness from a dead buffalo, which had
been in the last stage of a decline. They had watched him staggering to
the river to quench his thirst, and sprang on him as he was crawling up
the bank. One had caught him by the throat, and the other by his high
projecting backbone, which was broken by the lion's powerful fangs. The
struggle, if any, must have been short. They had only eaten the
intestines when we frightened them off. It is curious that this is the
part that wild animals always begin with, and that it is also the first
choice of our men. Were it not a wise arrangement that only the
strongest males should continue the breed, one could hardly help pitying
the solitary buffalo expelled from the herd for some physical blemish, or
on account of the weakness of approaching old age. Banished from female
society, he naturally becomes morose and savage; the necessary
watchfulness against enemies is now never shared by others; disgusted, he
passes into a state of chronic war with all who enjoy life, and the
sooner after his expulsion that he fills the lion's or the wild-dog's
maw, the better for himself and for the peace of the country.

We encamped on the 20th of June at a spot where Dr. Livingstone, on his
journey from the West to the East Coast, was formerly menaced by a chief
named Mpende. No offence had been committed against him, but he had
firearms, and, with the express object of showing his power, he
threatened to attack the strangers. Mpende's counsellors having,
however, found out that Dr. Livingstone belonged to a tribe of whom they
had heard that "they loved the black man and did not make slaves," his
conduct at once changed from enmity to kindness, and, as the place was
one well selected for defence, it was perhaps quite as well for Mpende
that he decided as he did. Three of his counsellors now visited us, and
we gave them a handsome present for their chief, who came himself next
morning and made us a present of a goat, a basket of boiled maize, and
another of vetches. A few miles above this the headman, Chilondo of
Nyamasusa, apologized for not formerly lending us canoes. "He was
absent, and his children were to blame for n