The Chihune Flows Into The Longe,
And That Into The Chihombo, A Feeder Of The Kasai.
Those who know
the difficulties of taking altitudes, times, and distances,
and committing all of them to paper, will sympathize with me
in this and many similar instances.
While at Chihune, the men of a village
brought wax for sale, and, on finding that we wished honey,
went off and soon brought a hive. All the bees in the country
are in possession of the natives, for they place hives
sufficient for them all. After having ascertained this,
we never attended the call of the honey-guide, for we were sure
it would only lead us to a hive which we had no right to touch.
The bird continues its habit of inviting attention to the honey,
though its services in this district are never actually needed.
My Makololo lamented that they never knew before that wax could be sold
for any thing of value.
As we traverse a succession of open lawns and deep forests,
it is interesting to observe something like instinct developed even in trees.
One which, when cut, emits a milky juice, if met with on the open lawns,
grows as an ordinary umbrageous tree, and shows no disposition
to be a climber; when planted in a forest it still takes the same form,
then sends out a climbing branch, which twines round another tree
until it rises thirty or forty feet, or to the level of the other trees,
and there spreads out a second crown where it can enjoy
a fair share of the sun's rays.
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