He Had Brought The Relics Of Our Fugitive Mail,
And It Was A Disappointment To Find That All Had Been Lost, With The
Exception Of A Bundle Of Old Newspapers, Two Photographs, And Three
Letters, Which Had Been Written Before We Left England.
The distance from Mazaro, on the Zambesi side, to the Kwakwa at
Nterra, is about six miles, over a surprisingly rich dark soil.
We
passed the night in the long shed, erected at Nterra, on the banks of
this river, for the use of travellers, who have often to wait several
days for canoes; we tried to sleep, but the mosquitoes and rats were
so troublesome as to render sleep impossible. The rats, or rather
large mice, closely resembling Mus pumilio (Smith), of this region,
are quite facetious, and, having a great deal of fun in them, often
laugh heartily. Again and again they woke us up by scampering over
our faces, and then bursting into a loud laugh of He! he! he! at
having performed the feat. Their sense of the ludicrous appears to
be exquisite; they screamed with laughter at the attempts which
disturbed and angry human nature made in the dark to bring their ill-
timed merriment to a close. Unlike their prudent European cousins,
which are said to leave a sinking ship, a party of these took up
their quarters in our leaky and sinking vessel. Quiet and invisible
by day, they emerged at night, and cut their funny pranks. No sooner
were we all asleep, than they made a sudden dash over the lockers and
across our faces for the cabin door, where all broke out into a loud
He!
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