But on our replying to his demand that we were English, "Oh! are you ?" he said; "I thought you were Bazungu (Portuguese).

They are the people I take payments from:" and he apologized for his mistake.
Bazungu, or Azungu, is a term applied to all foreigners of a light colour, and to Arabs; even to trading slaves if clothed; it probably means foreigners, or visitors,--from _zunga_, to visit or wander,--and the Portuguese were the only foreigners these men had ever seen.

As we had no desire to pass for people of that nation--quite the contrary--we usually made a broad line of demarcation by saying that we were English, and the English neither bought, sold, nor held black people as slaves, but wished to put a stop to the slave-trade altogether.
We called upon our friend, Mpende, in passing.

He provided a hut for us, with new mats spread on the floor.

Having told him that we were hurrying on because the rains were near, "Are they near ?" eagerly inquired an old counsellor, "and are we to have plenty of rain this year ?" We could only say that it was about the usual time for the rains to commence; and that there were the usual indications in great abundance of clouds floating westwards, but that we knew nothing more than they did themselves.
The hippopotami are more wary here than higher up, as the natives hunt them with guns.