Grass, reeds, bamboos, and other materials used for erecting huts may be cut anywhere. In the dry season the country is covered with grass of from two to eight feet high, according to the richness of the soil. This mass of vegetation will make an enormous blaze. Some set it on fire to catch deer or buffalo, others to catch field-mice, and others for mere sport. Anyone may burn the grass, but if the flames spread to a village or a corn field, the fire-raiser is responsible for the consequences. 89. STREAMS AND RIVERS. In this district one may draw water, bathe, or catch fish anywhere. When a number of men have to cross a stream at a place where they see women bathing, they shout out “Travellers! Travellers!” (alendo). So when a woman comes to a stream and sees a man approaching, she will often turn back with her water-pot, saying, “Perhaps he wants to bathe”. There are certain superstitions also, and it is very common when walking along a stream even in the morning (when no one bathes), to see women emerge from a village and retreat as soon as they observe men advancing. As to fishing, there is no restriction, and the natives use the euphorbia tree (mtutu) which kills fish much as lime would do. 90. HUNTING. Any resident or traveller has a right to hunt. On shooting a large buck or an elephant, he is expected to send the chief a present. But if he be far from the chief’s principal village he seldom does so. A company of native travellers who shoot a buffalo out in the bush far from the abodes of men, will use the whole of it themselves. Strangers may be imposed on by headmen, who, although loud in making demands, have no right to such a present. But their claiming it, shows how much they regard themselves as being separate kings. English hunters used to obtain a great amount of ivory not far from Blantyre, much of it being shot in No-man’s-land. The Mangoni first drove off the Yao, and then receded themselves, leaving the country unoccupied. 91. TRAVELLING. As a matter of theory, a person may travel in this part of the country without asking permission, but unless well acquainted with the chiefs and the people, a foreigner will find it awkward to go without a guide. It is easy, however, except in times of war, to get a guide from one chief to the next. The right to travel naturally implies the right to hunt; arms must be carried for protection and may be used to obtain food. 92. PRIVATE PROPERTY.