ons of little beasts fall on one all
day long. Soup might here be called hexapoda bouillon and a glass of
wine in a few minutes becomes a tincture of insects. Butterflies are
especially numerous and are of groat beauty. They are so lazy or sleepy
that one can nearly always pick them up with one's fingers. Ducks are
not agile creatures on land but here they waddle slowly up to the
butterflies and as often as not catch them in their beaks.

The native is a curious mixture of simplicity and cunning He is very
fond of strong alcohol but does not care much for wine. The mess boy
here apparently stole some whisky and instead of filling the bottle up
with water added red wine to the requisite amount. Of course the colour
led to instant detection and of course he knew nothing about it, but he
lurched about violently as he waited at dinner and it was obvious the
new European drink was acting rather forcibly. It is very troublesome to
have to lock up every bottle when travelling, yet it is absolutely
necessary. There is, however, I hear a patent lock which can be fixed
over the cork and is easily fastened to the bottle. This is worth
remembering.

One day Chikaia slated that the Sultan of Enguetra intended to attack
the Post that night and if he had done so it might have fared badly
with us for we were only two white men with perhaps fifteen or twenty
soldiers. However, a heavy tornado broke and perhaps the warriors
refused to face the storm for nothing happened. The boys were very
alarmed and did not hesitate to say so. As the relationship between the
Sultan and the State was not very satisfactory the report might have
been true, otherwise it might well have been idle gossip. War had then
not been declared but the State soon after sent a force to occupy the
district.

Chikaia, who is a Christian, formed a violent attachment to a woman who
worked in the plantation here and asked to be allowed to marry her,
although at the time she appeared to be the wife of a soldier with whom
she was living. Chikaia, however, said she was not legally married, so
we investigated the case. The supposed husband swore they were married,
the woman swore they were not. The man, however, in this case evidently
lied for he said the ceremony took place at a certain Post and was
conducted by a certain official. Now only Commissaires of Districts and
Missionaries can legalise marriages and the official named was neither.
After representing to Chikaia th