supposed it was; for, when so much moisture falls under a vertical sun, all vegetable life must grow up almost spontaneously. It does so on the equator in the most profuse manner; but down at 5° south, where there are six months' drought, the case is somewhat different; and the people would be subject to famines if they did not take advantage of their rainy season to lay in sufficient stores for the fine: and here we touch on the misfortune of the country; for the negro is too lazy to do so effectively, owing chiefly, as we shall see presently, to want of a strong protecting government. One substantial fact has been established, owing to our having crossed over ten degrees of latitude in the centre of the continent, or from 5° south to 5° north latitude, which is this: There exists a regular gradation of fertility, surprisingly rich on the equator, but decreasing systematically from it; and the reason why this great fertile zone is confined to the equatorial regions, is the same as that which has constituted it the great focus of water or lake supply, whence issue the principal rivers of Africa. On the equator lie the rainbearing influences of the Mountains of the Moon. The equatorial line is, in fact, the centre of atmospheric motion.

Fauna

In treating of this branch of natural history, we will first take man—the true curly-head, flab-nosed, pouch-mouthed negro—not the Wahuma. 2 They are well distributed all over these latitudes, but are not found anywhere in dense communities. Their system of government is mostly of the patriarchal character. Some are pastorals, but most are agriculturalists; and this difference, I believe, originates solely from want of a stable government, to enable them to reap what they produce; for where the negro can save his cattle, which is his wealth, by eating grain, he will do it. In the same way as all animals, whether wild or tame, require a guide to lead their flocks, so do the negroes find it necessary to have chiefs over their villages and little communities, who are their referees on all domestic or political questions. They have both their district and their village chiefs, but, in the countries we are about to travel over, no kings such as we shall find that the Wahuma have. The district chief is absolute, though guided in great measure by his "grey-beards," who constantly attend his residence, and talk over their affairs of state. These commonly concern petty internal matters; for they are too selfish and too narrow-minded to care for anything but their own private concerns. The grey-beards circulate the orders of the chief amongst the village chiefs, who are fined when they do not comply with them; and hence all orders are pretty well obeyed.

One thing only tends to disorganise the country, and that is war, caused, in the first instance, by polygamy, producing a family of half-brothers, who, all aspiring to succeed their father, fight continually with one another, and make their chief aim slaves and cattle; whilst, in the second instance, slavery keeps them ever fighting and reducing their numbers. The government revenues are levied, on a very small scale, exclusively for the benefit of the chief and his grey-beards. For instance, as a sort of land-tax, the chief has a right to drink free from the village brews of pombe (a kind of beer made by fermentation), which are made in turn by all the villagers successively. In case of an elephant being killed, he also takes a share of the meat, and claims one of its tusks as his right; further, all leopard, lion, or zebra skins are his by right. On merchandise brought into the country by traders, he has a general right to make any exactions he thinks he has the power of enforcing, without any regard to justice or a regulated tariff. This right is called Hongo, in the plural Mahongo. Another source of revenue is in the effects of all people condemned for sorcery, who are either burnt, or speared and cast into the jungles, and their property seized by the grey-beards for their chief.

As to punishments, all irreclaimable thieves or murderers are killed and disposed of in the same manner as these sorcerers; whilst on minor thieves a penalty equivalent to the extent of the depredation is levied. Illicit intercourse being treated as petty larceny, a value is fixed according to the value of the woman—for it must be remembered all women are property. Indeed, marriages are considered a very profitable speculation, the girl's hand being in the father's gift, who marries her to any one who will pay her price. This arrangement, however, is not considered a simple matter of buying and selling, but delights in the high-sounding title of "dowry." Slaves, cows, goats, fowls, brass wire, or beads, are the usual things given for this species of dowry. The marriage-knot, however, is never irretrievably tied; for if the wife finds a defect in her husband, she can return to her father by refunding the dowry; whilst the husband, if he objects to his wife, can claim half-price on sending her home again, which is considered fair, because as a second-hand article her future value would be diminished by half. By this system, it must be observed, polygamy is a source of wealth, since a man's means are measured by the number of his progeny; but it has other advantages besides the dowry, for the women work more than the men do, both in and out of doors; and, in addition to the females, the sons work for the household until they marry, and in after life take care of their parents in the same way as in the first instance the parents took care of them.

Twins are usually hailed with delight, because they swell the power of the family, though in some instances they are put to death. Albinos are valued, though their colour is not admired. If death occurs in a natural manner, the body is usually either buried in the village or outside. A large portion of the negro races affect nudity, despising clothing as effeminate; but these are chiefly the more boisterous roving pastorals, who are too lazy either to grow cotton or strip the trees of their bark. Their young women go naked; but the mothers suspend a little tail both before and behind. As the hair of the negro will not grow long, a barber might be dispensed with, were it not that they delight in odd fashions, and are therefore continually either shaving it off altogether, or else fashioning it after the most whimsical designs. No people in the world are so proud and headstrong as the negroes, whether they be pastoral or agriculturalists. With them, as with the rest of the world, "familiarity breeds contempt"; hospitality lives only one day; for though proud of a rich or white visitor—and they implore him to stop, that they may keep feeding their eyes on his curiosities—they seldom give more than a cow or a goat, though professing to supply a whole camp with provisions.

Taking the negroes as a whole, one does not find very marked or much difference in them. Each tribe has its characteristics, it is true. For instance, one cuts his teeth or tattoos his face in a different manner from the others; but by the constant intermarriage with slaves, much of this effect is lost, and it is further lost sight of owing to the prevalence of migrations caused by wars and the division of governments. As with the tribal marks so with their weapons; those most commonly in use are the spear, assage, shield, bow and arrow. It is true some affect one, some the other; but in no way do we see that the courage of tribes can be determined by the use of any particular weapon: for the bravest use the arrow, which is the more dreaded; while the weakest confine themselves to the spear. Lines of traffic are the worst tracks (there are no roads in the districts here referred to) for a traveller to go upon, not only