They Said, "If We
Put A Hoe Into The Water, Or The Smallest Bit Of Iron, It Sinks
Immediately.
How then can such a mass of iron float?
It must go to
the bottom." The minority answered that this might be true with
them, but white men had medicine for everything. "They could even
make a woman, all except the speaking; look at that one on the
figure-head of the vessel." The unbelievers were astonished, and
could hardly believe their eyes, when they saw the ship float lightly
and gracefully on the river, instead of going to the bottom, as they
so confidently predicted. "Truly," they said, "these men have
powerful medicine."
Birds are numerous on the Shupanga estate. Some kinds remain all the
year round, while many others are there only for a few months.
Flocks of green pigeons come in April to feed on the young fruit of
the wild fig-trees, which is also eaten by a large species of bat in
the evenings. The pretty little black weaver, with yellow shoulders,
appears to enjoy life intensely after assuming his wooing dress. A
hearty breakfast is eaten in the mornings and then come the hours for
making merry. A select party of three or four perch on the bushes
which skirt a small grassy plain, and cheer themselves with the music
of their own quiet and self-complacent song. A playful performance
on the wind succeeds. Expanding his soft velvet-like plumage, one
glides with quivering pinions to the centre of the open space,
singing as he flies, then turns with a rapid whirring sound from his
wings - somewhat like a child's rattle - and returns to his place
again.
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