was made to discover a means of
communication between the external air and the cavity, but
without success. Every part of the latter was probed with the
utmost care, and water was kept in each half for a
considerable time, without any passing into the wood. The
inner surface of the cavity was black, as if charred, and so
was likewise the adjoining wood for half an inch from the
cavity. The tree, at the part where the latter existed, was
19 inches in diameter; the length of the trunk was 18 feet.
When the Batrachia above mentioned were discovered, they
appeared inanimate, but the influence of a warm sun to which
they were subjected soon imparted to them a moderate degree of
vigor. In a few hours from the time they were liberated they
were tolerably active, and able to move from place to place
apparently with great ease."

Before reaching the Makondo rivulet, latitude 13d 23' 12" S., we came
upon the tsetse in such numbers that many bites were inflicted on my
poor ox, in spite of a man with a branch warding them off. The bite
of this insect does not affect the donkey as it does cattle. The next
morning, the spots on which my ox had been bitten were marked by patches
of hair about half an inch broad being wetted by exudation. Poor Sinbad
had carried me all the way from the Leeba to Golungo Alto, and all
the way back again, without losing any of his peculiarities, or ever
becoming reconciled to our perversity in forcing him away each morning
from the pleasant pasturage on which he had fed. I wished to give the
climax to his usefulness, and allay our craving for animal food at the
same time; but my men having some compunction, we carried him to end his
days in peace at Naliele.

Having dispatched a message to our old friend Manenko, we waited a day
opposite her village, which was about fifteen miles from the river. Her
husband was instantly dispatched to meet us with liberal presents of
food, she being unable to travel in consequence of a burn on the foot.
Sambanza gave us a detailed account of the political affairs of the
country, and of Kolimbota's evil doings, and next morning performed
the ceremony called "Kasendi", for cementing our friendship. It is
accomplished thus: The hands of the parties are joined (in this case
Pitsane and Sambanza were the parties engaged); small incisions are made
on the clasped hands, on the pits of the stomach of each, and on the
right cheeks a