We were thus forced
to come back and remain. In the following morning they put us
in the proper path, which in a few hours led us through a forest
that would otherwise have taken us days to penetrate.
Beyond this forest we found the village of Nyakalonga, a sister of
the late Matiamvo, who treated us handsomely. She wished her people
to guide us to the next village, but this they declined
unless we engaged in trade. She then requested us to wait an hour or two
till she could get ready a present of meal, manioc roots,
ground-nuts, and a fowl. It was truly pleasant to meet with people
possessing some civility, after the hauteur we had experienced
on the slave-path. She sent her son to the next village
without requiring payment. The stream which ran past her village
was quite impassable there, and for a distance of about a mile on either side,
the bog being soft and shaky, and, when the crust was broken through,
about six feet deep.
On the 28th we reached the village of the chief Bango (lat. 12d 22' 53" S.,
long. 20d 58' E.), who brought us a handsome present of meal,
and the meat of an entire pallah.
