When looking for a spot along the banks of the Zambesi on which to establish a camp and rebuild our boat, in September, 1862, Ave were warned by the natives who came to meet us against the pretty little sequestered spots beside the tributary rivulets, as they were certain to be infested by mosquitoes. We, therefore, having in view also the probability of being obliged to stay far into the unhealthy season, tried back about a mile, and selected a limestone spur which had a small valley between it and the higher range in its rear.
Roof, to raise.
This we named Logier Hill, after our old and steadfast friend in Cape Town; and, setting to work with a keen American felling axe, cut down the thorns and brushwood on the top, while the people assisted us in cutting or dragging the fallen bushes to the verge. Three mimosas, which were in a good position, we left standing, and added one for the fourth corner post. Then selecting flexible branches, we framed upon the ground an oval of corresponding size; on this with lighter poles (most of them the young straight branches of the “kookom boyou,” a gigantic sterculia in general appearance, somewhat resembling the baobab), we framed a roof similar in form to that of a marquee, using for lashings the inner bark, stripped from the branches just mentioned. To lift this, as its weight was considerable in proportion to its strength, and all the people were away collecting poles or grass for the completion of our huts, was rather difficult, but we had fortunately a small coil of manilla line and a few blocks. With two of these we made a tackle, and lifting one side of the roof 2ft., supported it by a forked branch while we raised the rest, shoring it in the same manner all round, and then lifting it again and supporting it on longer forks till it was high enough to be fastened securely in its place. We placed forked uprights under it at proper intervals, but as the eaves projected considerably we did not find it necessary to close in the walls, but when the rain came on laid fresh poles upon the roof and thatched it with grass and reeds to the ground. For central supports we took two forked poles, and instead of setting them upright at the two ends of the ridge pole gained additional rigidity by crossing them like an X, and lashing them together in the centre. At one end, raised upon forks above 18in. high, we made a platform of small poles as straight as we could get them to serve for a bed, and when a buffalo was shot spread over it the dried hide to level it a little more. This platform was continued all round between the uprights and the eaves, and various stores were laid on it.
One advantage here was the immunity from the ravages of the white ant, which is seldom found in a limestone country. But as the rainy season came on hosts of the destructive little white-shouldered beetle that feeds on skins, preserved hides, and specimens of all kinds—seeming rather to enjoy arsenic soap and other preservatives—ravaged everything made of untanned leather; while other kinds, larger and still more unpleasant to the eye and touch, would actually commence eating the velschoens off our feet during the short meal time.
We should have preferred reeds for thatching, as when laid at a sufficient angle, say anything above 45°, they cast off water perfectly, although if laid at a lower angle they might be by no means water-proof. Of course the cut ends of the stems must be upward, and the leaves pointing down, or the water will be retained, and allowed to leak through instead of being thrown off; and this rule holds good when grass or such like material is used. If the roof of the hut be conical, the ends may simply be brought up and tied tightly together, or they may be worked into an ornamental form like those of the Bechuana (see p. 281). If it has a ridge as ours had, it must be covered with a horizontal layer, sufficiently thick to keep the water from insinuating itself between the meeting of the two sides.
In our own house we stretched the sails of our boat and calico tent within the roof to keep off any leakage during heavy showers, and added fresh poles and grass to the outside. Sir Richard Glyn, who visited the hill after we had been compelled to abandon it, and who returned to England before us, reported that our house was the strongest building of the kind he had ever seen.
Bamboos, for building.
In countries like the Indian islands, where bamboo can be obtained in any quantity and of any size, from a reed fit for a lady’s arrow to one big enough for the mast of a small sloop, it is easy enough to build a house; the extreme strength and lightness of the material, with its glossy surface and neat and uniform appearance, rendering it in every sense most valuable for such purposes. Poles of uniform size may be planted closely so as to form a wall, or pillars may be placed more or less apart, and mats or blinds of smaller reeds, or larger ones split up, may occupy the intervals. Balconies, strong and sufficiently ornamental, may be formed; and the eaves of the roof may be made to project to any distance, so as to form an effectual verandah; while palisades or fences of any form or height may be constructed ad libitum.