The men go armed generally with guns. (The country is full of flint muskets marked the “Tower,” and introduced by the slave trade.) Often they carry their _bows_ with half-a-dozen arrows. They never go unarmed. One chief used to be fond of carrying a large _spear_, which served as a kind of staff. Most of them carry knives as well. These weapons are necessary for protection against beasts of prey and other enemies, and may be used where game is seen. The Mangoni carry a shield like the Zulus. On coming down from the Lake region to the Portuguese settlements at Quilimane, one of the first things that strikes us is, that natives under the Portuguese Government go about without carrying any deadly weapon. On the hills round Blantyre, a man scarcely sits down to sew his wives’ calico in his own village without having his bow and arrows by his side. They do not seem to be expert marksmen; but they were able to send their arrows very much farther than I could do, let me try never so hard. They were fond of asking us to competitions of this nature. One time Kumpama of Cherasulo challenged us to a shooting match—his arrows against our guns! They allowed us, however, to stand too far back, and the arrows of his bowmen fell short of the target. Little boys are to be seen using their arrows from their earliest years, and they shoot small birds very cleverly. They use the assagai, but more for thrusting than for throwing. Apart from war, chances for its use occur when they steal upon a buck before he awakes. A large broad spear is used in killing fish. Some carry knob-sticks, or staves of a similar nature. They are useful for shaking the dew or rain off the long grass, as well as for defensive purposes. Little axes of various kinds are carried in the hand; they may be borne as credentials where a chief has to send by an unknown messenger. The usual African axes are said to resemble those used in Britain in the Roman period. C.—HOUSES. The houses, or huts (nyumba) in which they dwell, are all round. It is misleading to say that they dwell in them, as they scarcely enter them, except to sleep, or when driven by bad weather. Sometimes the women boil a pot inside the house, but often the cooking is done outside; all the meals are eaten outside. When the head of a house has any sewing to do, he does it on a mat before his door, or in the village forum. His wife does not sew, and most of her occupations (57) are necessarily outdoor. “A house,” says the native, “is made to sleep in.” The walls form a circle—say about twelve feet in diameter—and are made of strong posts, sometimes close to each other, but generally with spaces between, where bamboos and grass are brought into requisition. The framework of the roof is placed upon the top of the circle, and some thatch is thrown on. The floor and walls are plastered with clay.