gh head he wore a little
battered straw hat, such as seamen manufacture for themselves on board
ship--indeed, his whole costume had evidently been that of a seaman,
exchanged, probably, for some articles which he had to dispose of.
Chickango, signing to us to remain behind the clump of trees, advanced
towards the spot where he expected to find the elephants. Suddenly he
threw up his arms, and began shouting at the top of his voice. His
cries were answered by similar shouts from a distance; and presently,
beckoning to us to come on, he hurried towards the spot whence they
proceeded. Passing through a belt of wood, we came in sight of an
encampment of blacks seated round their fires. There were upwards of
one hundred human beings--men, women, and children. A few of the men
were dressed in cast-off European garments, with rings round their arms
and legs, their woolly heads being mostly uncovered. Chickango
advancing, explained, we concluded, who we were; and we received a
hearty welcome from the party. The chief, an old man, sat in their
centre, attended by his wives. He was distinguished from his companions
by an old battered cocked hat, ornamented with beads. He wore, besides,
a checked shirt and a regular Scotch kilt, which had somehow or other
found its way into his territory. Senhor Silva then explained to us,
through Chickango, that he and his party had come from a considerable
distance up the country, where they had gone to collect _caoutchouc_, or
india-rubber, the packages of which lay piled up near the centre of the
camp. They had collected it some distance up the country, where the
vines which produce it grow in considerable quantities. In South
America it is obtained from a tree; but in Africa from a creeper of
great length, with very few leaves growing on it, and those only at its
extremity. They are broad, dark green, and lance shaped. The larger
vines are often five inches in diameter at the base, with a rough brown
bark. The mode of obtaining it is to make an incision in the bark, but
not in the wood, and through it the milky sap exudes. A small peg Is
then fixed in each hole to prevent its closing, and a cup or calabash
secured underneath. When this is full, a number of them are carried to
the camp, where the substance is spread in thin coatings upon moulds of
clay, and dried layer after layer over a fire. When perfectly dry, the
clay mould is broken and the clay extracted from the interior