the country to which I
was going." They are generally smiths; a mass of iron had just been
brought in to him from some outlying furnaces. It is made into hoes,
which are sold for native cloths down the Loangwa.

_3rd December, 1866._--March through a hilly country covered with
dwarf forest to Kande's village, still on the Lokuzhwa. We made some
westing. The village was surrounded by a dense hedge of bamboo and a
species of bushy fig that loves edges of water-bearing streams: it is
not found where the moisture is not perennial. Kande is a fine tall
smith; I asked him if he knew his antecedents; he said he had been
bought by Babisa at Chipeta, and left at Chilunda's, and therefore
belonged to no one. Two Waiyau now volunteered to go on with us, and
as they declared their masters were killed by the Mazitu, and Kande
seemed to confirm them, we let them join. In general, runaway slaves
are bad characters, but these two seem good men, and we want them to
fill up our complement: another volunteer we employ as goatherd.

A continuous tap-tapping in the villages shows that bark cloth is
being made. The bark, on being removed from the-tree, is steeped in
water, or in a black muddy hole, till the outer of the two inner barks
can be separated, then commences the tapping with a mallet to separate
and soften the fibres. The head of this is often of ebony, with the
face cut into small furrows, which, without breaking, separate and
soften the fibres.

[Illustration.]

_4th December, 1866._--Marched westwards, over a hilly, dwarf
forest-covered country: as we advanced, trees increased in size, but
no people inhabited it; we spent a miserable night at Katette, wetted
by a heavy thunder-shower, which lasted a good while. Morning _(5th
December_) muggy, clouded all over, and rolling thunder in distance.
Went three hours with, for a wonder, no water, but made westing
chiefly, and got on to the Lokuzhwa again: all the people are
collected on it.

_6th December, 1866._--Too ill to march.

_7th December, 1866._--Went on, and passed Mesumbe's village, also
protected by bamboos, and came to the hill Mparawe, with a village
perched on its northern base and well up its sides. The Babisa have
begun to imitate the Mazitu by attacking and plundering Manganja
villages. Muasi's brother was so attacked, and now is here and eager
to attack in return. In various villages we have observed miniature
huts, about two feet high, very neatly thatched a