Zambesi. Such droughts iu all probability are due to the
influence ot the distant mountains north and south a t
river basin. . , •
The great scourge of all the great river b a s m s of Afnca
is the malarial fever. I t is very prevalent, m.Tette, but
much more so nearer the sea. The changes of season are
usually the most deadly periods. Many men and women
were in the hospital when I was in the town.
Personally, I got on well, improving in condition every
day The resting was thorough, and I had an ample supp y
of cooked food. A pair of shoes, just like dancmg-masters
slippers (being the only articles of my size to be found in
the town), tended to work wonders m comfort and returning
T p r n d a visit to the Jesuit fathers, of whom two were
French and one Hungarian. Fever seemed to have affected
them greatly, their ghost-like forms being very unpleasant
o loo! uPL , the result, probably, of the exceedingly
aedentevy life tbey led, coupled witk t t .
tbeir being stationed so long in one place. Then com
panions were o few very unbealthy-leoWng litUe b o y s -
orphans—evidently half-castes.
Should any one desire to have a relative buried with a
s e r v i c e b y the priests, the Jesuit father, bearing a cross leads
(he funeral procession, with a number of little boys » b ed in
white. One of these funerals I witnessed, and was astonishe
to remark how very few people followed; none, in feet, save
the relatives of the deceased. No crowd was attracted.
This may be looked upon as another example of the slow
ness of the native to imitate the customs of the white m a .
A more commonplace, but perhaps more significant, nstance
is that neither coffee, (ea nor sugar have ever pi * d the
palates of the native inhabitants of Tette, who still prefei
to imbibe their unvarying beverage, the simply-concocted
beer.
The races of the Zambesi valley are very dark-skinned,
much more so than the people I have encountered on the
high lands. Possibly this is what impressed Livingstone,
who in one of his books has remarked that moisture and
heat produced the blackest types of man.
The vitality of the people is wonderful. On the morning
after a birth the happy mother may be seen again in the
fields, seated under the shade of a tree, with the new arrival
swathed in cloths and slung on her back, showing that she
herself is ready and willing again to begin work.
Marriage customs are simple. When a man becomes
enamoured, his usual course is to plead his suit either through
his eldest aunt, or one of the girl’s sisters. The medium
is designated buia. To this person he presents his petition,
handing her at the same time a string of white beads, while
with many urgent entreaties he begs that , she will lay his
proposal before the young girl’s family. The medium then
lodges the application in due form, and receives from the
family several strings of beads of the same colour, with the
assurance that the offer is provisionally accepted. The
young man then enters the service of his prospective fatherin
law, in the capacity of a domestic servant, so that the
family may learn something of his disposition. After a
service of two months, the plea is again placed before the
father of the intended bride by the same medium, who
receives the presents that are to be distributed among
all the members of the family, to the extent of twenty
strings of white porcelains and a few yards of calico.
White only is accepted, as coloured cloth would betoken
evil.
Accompanied by an escort of relatives and friends, the
E 2