at the woman did not seem a very
desirable wife, I gave my permission to his marriage, provided that the
Catholic Missionaries, to which church he belonged, were willing to
perform the ceremony for the woman was not a Christian. The woman was
very pleased and thanked me in the native fashion by at once asking for
a necklace of beads for a wedding present. The demand for _tips_. becomes
sometimes quite humorous. A native girl fell down and cut herself and
one of the officials dressed the wound until it healed. The parents
then came and asked for a tip and when the astonished individual
required to know the reason said that the girl had been every day to
have her wound attended to and she ought to be paid for it.

One day as I was sitting after lunch half asleep, a green and white
serpent glided through the open door into my room. It happened that my
guns were leaning against the opposite wall and I did not fancy jumping
over the beast, so simply shouted. It then withdrew on to the verandah
and I followed as quickly as possible with a gun. In the meantime
Chikaia came running up and gave it several blows on the back with a
heavy piece of wood. The sentry then appeared and before I could stop
him cut off its head. The skin was thus spoilt which was a great pity as
it measured more than ten feet in length.

As it was not easy to procure paddlers at Enguetra I decided to send on
one of the boys Mavunga with some of the heavy baggage on November 17th
and to follow him the next day. He was very nervous at the idea of
travelling alone and wished to borrow a revolver, but this of course I
refused. It is curious that these coast boys fear the natives of the
interior so much and still more curious that the presence of a single
white man at once restores confidence. It is indeed becoming more
apparent every day that the natives have a very genuine respect and
admiration for the Europeans and credit them with powers which neither
they nor any other people possess.

I leave Enguetra on the 18th in a most comfortable canoe with an awning
so high that it is possible to stand upright, a great luxury in canoe
travelling. The Likati flows swiftly through dense forests and we glide
down the rapids very quickly and comfortably. No villages exist along
the banks and nothing is visible except the forest until we reach
Kati-kati a clearing in which a mud hut has been erected for the
convenience of travellers. I went for a stroll in the fores