e
latter. The temperature generally throughout the day was from 94 Deg. to
97 Deg. in the coolest shade we could find.

The rivulets which cut up the valley of Cassange were now dry, but the
Lui and Luare contained abundance of rather brackish water. The banks
are lined with palm, wild date-trees, and many guavas, the fruit of
which was now becoming ripe. A tree much like the mango abounds, but
it does not yield fruit. In these rivers a kind of edible muscle is
plentiful, the shells of which exist in all the alluvial beds of the
ancient rivers as far as the Kuruman. The brackish nature of the water
probably enables it to exist here. On the open grassy lawns great
numbers of a species of lark are seen. They are black, with
yellow shoulders. Another black bird, with a long tail ('Centropus
Senegalensis'), floats awkwardly, with its tail in a perpendicular
position, over the long grass. It always chooses the highest points,
and is caught on them with bird-lime, the long black tail-feathers
being highly esteemed by the natives for plumes. We saw here also the
"Lehututu" ('Tragopan Leadbeaterii'), a large bird strongly resembling
a turkey; it is black on the ground, but when it flies the outer half of
the wings are white. It kills serpents, striking them dexterously behind
the head. It derives its native name from the noise it makes, and it
is found as far as Kolobeng. Another species like it is called the
Abyssinian hornbill.

Before we reached Cassange we were overtaken by the commandant, Senhor
Carvalho, who was returning, with a detachment of fifty men and a
field-piece, from an unsuccessful search after some rebels. The rebels
had fled, and all he could do was to burn their huts. He kindly invited
me to take up my residence with him; but, not wishing to pass by the
gentleman (Captain Neves) who had so kindly received me on my first
arrival in the Portuguese possessions, I declined. Senhor Rego had been
superseded in his command, because the Governor Amaral, who had come
into office since my departure from Loanda, had determined that the law
which requires the office of commandant to be exclusively occupied by
military officers of the line should once more come into operation. I
was again most kindly welcomed by my friend, Captain Neves, whom I found
laboring under a violent inflammation and abscess of the hand. There
is nothing in the situation of this village to indicate unhealthiness,
except, perhaps, the rank luxur