taking a bath there, it makes the skin perfectly clean, and none of the
mud adheres: it is strange that the Portuguese do not resort to it for
the numerous cutaneous diseases with which they are so often afflicted.

A few clumps of the palm and acacia trees appear west of Morambala, on
the rich plain forming the tongue of land between the rivers Shire and
Zambesi. This is a good place for all sorts of game. The Zambesi canoe-
men were afraid to sleep on it from the idea of lions being there; they
preferred to pass the night on an island. Some black men, who
accompanied us as volunteer workmen from Shupanga, called out one evening
that a lion stood on the bank. It was very dark, and we could only see
two sparkling lights, said to be the lion's eyes looking at us; for here,
as elsewhere, they have a theory that the lion's eyes always flash fire
at night. Not being fireflies--as they did not move when a shot was
fired in their direction--they were probably glowworms.

Beyond Morambala the Shire comes winding through an extensive marsh. For
many miles to the north a broad sea of fresh green grass extends, and is
so level, that it might be used for taking the meridian altitude of the
sun. Ten or fifteen miles north of Morambala, stands the dome-shaped
mountain Makanga, or Chi-kanda; several others with granitic-looking
peaks stretch away to the north, and form the eastern boundary of the
valley; another range, but of metamorphic rocks, commencing opposite
Senna, bounds the valley on the west. After streaming through a portion
of this marsh, we came to a broad belt of palm and other trees, crossing
the fine plain on the right bank. Marks of large game were abundant.
Elephants had been feeding on the palm nuts, which have a pleasant fruity
taste, and are used as food by man. Two pythons were observed coiled
together among the branches of a large tree, and were both shot. The
larger of the two, a female, was ten feet long. They are harmless, and