20th October, 1866.—­In passing along we came to a village embowered in fine trees; the headman is Kaveta, a really fine specimen of the Kanthunda, tall, well-made, with a fine forehead and Assyrian nose.  He proposed to us to remain over night with him, and I unluckily declined.

Convoying us out a mile, we parted with this gentleman, and then came to a smith’s village, where the same invitation was given and refused.  A sort of infatuation drove us on, and after a long hot march we found the great Chisumpi, the facsimile in black of Sir Colin Campbell; his nose, mouth, and the numerous wrinkles on his face were identical with those of the great General, but here all resemblance ceased.  Two men had preceded us to give information, and when I followed I saw that his village was one of squalid misery, the only fine things about being the lofty trees in which it lay.  Chisumpi begged me to sleep at a village about half a mile behind:  his son was browbeating him on some domestic affair, and the older man implored me to go.  Next morning he came early to that village, and arranged for our departure, offering nothing, and apparently not wishing to see us at all.  I suspect that though paramount chief, he is weak-minded, and has lost thereby all his influence, but in the people’s eyes he is still a great one.

Several of my men exhibiting symptoms of distress, I inquired for a village in which we could rest Saturday and Sunday, and at a distance from Chisumpi.  A headman volunteered to lead us to one west of this.  In passing the sepulchral grove of Chisumpi our guide remarked, “Chisumpi’s forefathers sleep there.”  This was the first time I have heard the word “sleep” applied to death in these parts.  The trees in these groves, and around many of the villages, are very large, and show what the country would become if depopulated.

We crossed the Diampwe or Adiampwe, from five to fifteen yards wide, and well supplied with water even now.  It rises near the Ndomo mountains, and flows northwards into the Lintipe and Lake.  We found Chitokola’s village, called Paritala, a pleasant one on the east side of the Adiampwe Valley.  Many elephants and other animals feed in the valley, and we saw the Bechuana Hopo[32] again after many years.

The Ambarre, otherwise Nyumbo plant, has a pea-shaped, or rather papilionaceous flower, with a fine scent.  It seems to grow quite wild; its flowers are yellow.

Chaola is the poison used by the Maravi for their arrows, it is said to cause mortification.

One of the wonders usually told of us in this upland region is that we sleep without fire.  The boys’ blankets suffice for warmth during the night, when the thermometer sinks to 64 deg.-60 deg., but no one else has covering sufficient; some huts in process of building here show that a thick coating of plaster is put on outside the roof before the grass thatch is applied; not a chink is left for the admission of air.