were in
full bloom. The thermometer in the shade generally stood at 98 deg. from
1 to 3 p.m., but it sank as low as 65 deg. by night, so that the heat
was by no means exhausting. At the surface of the ground in the sun it
marked 125 deg., and three inches below 138 deg. The hand cannot be
held on the ground, and even the horny soles of the natives are
protected by hide sandals, yet the ants were busy working in it. The
water in the floods was as high as 100 deg., but as water does not
conduct heat readily downwards, deliriously cool water may be obtained
by anyone walking into the middle and lifting up the water from the
bottom to the surface by the hands.

We at last reached a spot where, by climbing the highest tree, we could
see a fine large sheet of water, surrounded on all sides by an
impenetrable belt of reeds. This was the river Chobe, and is called
Zambesi. We struggled through the high, serrated grass, the heat
stifling for want of air, and when we reached one of the islands, my
strong moleskins were worn through at the knees, and the leather
trousers of my companion were torn, and his legs bleeding. The Makololo
said in their figurative language: "He has dropped among us from the
clouds, yet came riding on the back of a hippopotamus. We Makololo
thought no one could cross the Chobe without our knowledge, but here he
drops among us like a bird."

On our arrival at Linyanti, the capital, the chief, Sekelutu, took me
aside and pressed me to mention those things I liked best and hoped to
get from him. Anything either in or out of the town should be freely
given if I would only mention it. I explained to him that my object was
to elevate him and his people to be Christians; but he replied that he
did not wish to learn to read the Book, for he was afraid "it might
change his heart and make him content with one wife like Sechele." I
liked the frankness of Sekelutu, for nothing is so wearying to the
spirit as talking to those who agree with everything advanced.

While at Linyanti I was taken with fever, from chills caught by leaving
my warm wagon in the evening to conduct family worship at my people's
fires. Anxious to ascertain whether the natives possessed the knowledge
of any remedy, I sent for one of their doctors. He put some roots into
a pot with water, and when it was boiling, placed it beneath a blanket
thrown around both me and it. This produced no effect, and after being
stewed in their vapour baths, smo