iders, half the size of your hand, on the
walls were harmless. "But," said he, as he raised his hand and pointed
to a hole over the door, "there is a nest of scorpions; you must be
careful in moving in or out, for they will spring upon you."

Well, you ought to have seen us dodging in and out that door. After
supper, not discrediting the veracity of the gentleman, we set to work,
and for an hour we spoiled the walls by smashing spiders with slippers.

The next morning the mission station was excited over the loss of their
only donkey. The donkey had been feeding in the field and a
boa-constrictor had captured him, squeezed him into pulp, dragged him a
hundred yards down to the river bank, and was preparing to swallow him.
The missionaries, all with guns, took aim and fired, killing the
twenty-five-foot boa-constrictor. The boa was turned over to the natives
and they had a great feast. The missionaries told us many tales about
how the boa-constrictor would come by night and steal away their goats,
hogs, and dogs.

The sand around Lukunga is a hot-bed for miniature fleas, or "jiggers."
The second day of our stay at Lukunga our feet had swollen and itched
terribly, and on examination we found that these "jiggers" had entered
under our toe nails and had grown to the size of a pea. A native was
called and with a small sharpened stick they were cut out. We saw
natives with toes and fingers eaten entirely off by these pests. Mr.
Hoste told us to keep our toes well greased with palm oil. We followed
his instructions, but grease with sand and sun made our socks rather
"heavy."

The native church here is very strong spiritually. The church bell, a
real big brass bell, begins to ring at 8 A. M. and continues for an
hour. The natives in the neighborhood come teeming by every trail, take
their seats quietly, and listen attentively to the preaching of God's
word. No excitement, no shouting, but an intelligent interest shown by
looking and listening from start to finish.

In the evening you can hear from every quarter our hymns sung by the
natives in their own language. They are having their family devotions
before retiring.

Our second day's march brought us to a large river. Our loads and men
were ferried over in canoes. Mr. Lapsley and I decided to swim it, and
so we jumped in and struck out for the opposite shore. On landing we
were told by a native watchman that we had done a very daring thing. He
explained with much excit