I made very good blue ink from the juice of a berry, the fruit of a creeper, which is the colour of port wine when expressed.  A little ferri carb. ammon., added to this is all that is required.

The poodle dog Chitane is rapidly changing the colour of its hair.  All the parts corresponding to the ribs and neck are rapidly becoming red; the majority of country dogs are of this colour.

The Manganja, or Wa-nyassa, are an aboriginal race; they have great masses of hair, and but little, if any, of the prognathous in the profile.  Their bodies and limbs are very well made, and the countenance of the men is often very pleasant.  The women are very plain and lumpy, but exceedingly industrious in their gardens from early morning till about 11 A.M., then from 3 P.M. till dark, or pounding corn and grinding it:  the men make twine or nets by day, and are at their fisheries in the evenings and nights.  They build the huts, the women plaster them.

A black fish, the Nsaka, makes a hole, with raised edges, which, with the depth from which they are taken, is from fifteen to eighteen inches, and from two to three feet broad.  It is called by the natives their house.  The pair live in it for some time, or until the female becomes large for spawning; this operation over, the house is left.

I gave Mokalaose some pumpkin seed and peas.  He took me into his house, and presented a quantity of beer.  I drank a little, and seeing me desist from taking more, he asked if I wished a servant-girl to “pata mimba.”  Not knowing what was meant, I offered the girl the calabash of beer, and told her to drink, but this was not the intention.  He asked if I did not wish more; and then took the vessel, and as he drank the girl performed the operation on himself.  Placing herself in front, she put both hands round his waist below the short ribs, and pressing gradually drew them round to his belly in front.  He took several prolonged draughts, and at each she repeated the operation, as if to make the liquor go equally over the stomach.  Our topers don’t seem to have discovered the need for this.

5th September, 1866.—­Our march is along the shore to Ngombo promontory, which approaches so near to Senga or Tsenga opposite, as to narrow the Lake to some sixteen or eighteen miles.  It is a low sandy point, the edge fringed on the north-west and part of the south with a belt of papyrus and reeds; the central parts wooded.  Part of the south side has high sandy dunes, blown up by the south wind, which strikes it at right angles there.  One was blowing as we marched along the southern side eastwards, and was very tiresome.  We reached Panthunda’s village by a brook called Lilole.  Another we crossed before coming to it is named Libesa:  these brooks form the favourite spawning grounds of the sanjika and mpasa, two of the best fishes of the Lake.  The sanjika is very like our herring in shape and taste and size; the mpasa larger every way:  both live on green herbage formed at the bottom of the Lake and rivers.