Confluence of Loangwa and
Zambesi -- Hostile Appearances -- Ruins of a Church -- Turmoil of Spirit
-- Cross the River -- Friendly Parting -- Ruins of stone Houses -- The
Situation of Zumbo for Commerce -- Pleasant Gardens -- Dr. Lacerda's Visit
to Cazembe -- Pereira's Statement -- Unsuccessful Attempt to establish
Trade with the People of Cazembe -- One of my Men tossed by a Buffalo --
Meet a Man with Jacket and Hat on -- Hear of the Portuguese and native War
-- Holms and Terraces on the Banks of a River -- Dancing for Corn --
Beautiful Country -- Mpende's Hostility -- Incantations -- A Fight
anticipated -- Courage and Remarks of my Men -- Visit from two old
Councilors of Mpende -- Their Opinion of the English -- Mpende concludes
not to fight us -- His subsequent Friendship -- Aids us to cross the River
-- The Country -- Sweet Potatoes -- Bakwain Theory of Rain confirmed --
Thunder without Clouds -- Desertion of one of my Men -- Other Natives'
Ideas of the English -- Dalama (gold) -- Inhabitants dislike Slave-buyers
-- Meet native Traders with American Calico -- Game-laws -- Elephant
Medicine -- Salt from the Sand -- Fertility of Soil -- Spotted Hyaena --
Liberality and Politeness of the People -- Presents -- A stingy white
Trader -- Natives' Remarks about him -- Effect on their Minds -- Rain and
Wind now from an opposite Direction -- Scarcity of Fuel -- Trees for
Boat-building -- Boroma -- Freshets -- Leave the River -- Chicova, its
Geological Features -- Small Rapid near Tete -- Loquacious Guide --
Nyampungo, the Rain-charmer -- An old Man -- No Silver -- Gold-washing --
No Cattle.
14TH. We reached the
confluence of the Loangwa and the Zambesi, most thankful to God for his
great mercies in helping us thus far. Mburuma's people had behaved so
suspiciously, that, though we had guides from him, we were by no means
sure that we should not be attacked in crossing the Loangwa. We saw them
here collecting in large numbers, and, though professing friendship, they
kept at a distance from our camp. They refused to lend us more canoes than
two, though they have many. They have no intercourse with Europeans except
through the Babisa. They tell us that this was formerly the residence of
the Bazunga, and maintain silence as to the cause of their leaving it. I
walked about some ruins I discovered, built of stone, and found the
remains of a church, and on one side lay a broken bell, with the letters
I. H. S. and a cross, but no date. There were no inscriptions on stone,
and the people could not tell what the Bazunga called their place. We
found afterward it was Zumbo.
I felt some turmoil of
spirit in the evening at the prospect of having all my efforts for the
welfare of this great region and its teeming population knocked on the
head by savages to-morrow, who might be said to "know not what they do."
It seemed such a pity that the important fact of the existence of the two
healthy ridges which I had discovered should not become known in
Christendom, for a confirmation would thereby have been given to the idea
that Africa is not open to the Gospel. But I read that Jesus said, "All
power is given unto me in heaven and on earth; go ye, therefore, and teach
all nations . . . and lo, I AM WITH YOU ALWAY, EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE
WORLD." I took this as His word of honor, and then went out to take
observations for latitude and longitude, which, I think, were very
successful. (The church: lat. 15d 37' 22" S., long. 30d 32' E.)
15TH. The natives of the
surrounding country collected around us this morning, all armed. The women
and children were sent away, and one of Mburuma's wives, who lives in the
vicinity, was not allowed to approach, though she had come from her
village to pay me a visit. Only one canoe was lent to us, though we saw
two others tied to the bank. The part we crossed was about a mile from the
confluence, and, as it was now flooded, it seemed upward of half a mile in
breadth. We passed all our goods first on to an island in the middle, then
the remaining cattle and men; occupying the post of honor, I, as usual,
was the last to enter the canoe. A number of the inhabitants stood armed
all the time we were embarking. I showed them my watch, lens, and other
things to keep them amused, until there only remained those who were to
enter the canoe with me. I thanked them for their kindness, and wished
them peace. After all, they may have been influenced only by the intention
to be ready in case I should play them some false trick, for they have
reason to be distrustful of the whites. The guides came over to bid us
adieu, and we sat under a mango-tree fifteen feet in circumference. We
found them more communicative now. They said that the land on both sides
belonged to the Bazunga, and that they had left of old, on the approach of
Changamera, Ngaba, and Mpakane. Sekwebu was with the last named, but he
maintained that they never came to the confluence, though they carried off
all the cattle of Mburuma. The guides confirmed this by saying that the
Bazunga were not attacked, but fled in alarm on the approach of the enemy.
This mango-tree he knew by its proper name, and we found seven others and
several tamarinds, and were informed that the chief Mburuma sends men
annually to gather the fruit, but, like many Africans whom I have known,
has not had patience to propagate more trees. I gave them some little
presents for themselves, a handkerchief and a few beads, and they were
highly pleased with a cloth of red baize for Mburuma, which Sekeletu
had given me to purchase a canoe. We were thankful to part good friends.
Next morning we passed
along the bottom of the range, called Mazanzwe, and found the ruins of
eight or ten stone houses. They all faced the river, and were high enough
up the flanks of the hill Mazanzwe to command a pleasant view of the broad
Zambesi. These establishments had all been built on one plan -- a house on
one side of a large court, surrounded by a wall; both houses and walls had
been built of soft gray sandstone cemented together with mud. The work had
been performed by slaves ignorant of building, for the stones were not
often placed so as to cover the seams below. Hence you frequently find the
joinings forming one seam from the top to the bottom. Much mortar or clay
had been used to cover defects, and now trees of the fig family grow upon
the walls, and clasp them with their roots. When the clay is moistened,
masses of the walls come down by wholesale. Some of the rafters and beams
had fallen in, but were entire, and there were some trees in the middle of
the houses as large as a man's body. On the opposite or south bank of the
Zambesi we saw the remains of a wall on a height which was probably a
fort, and the church stood at a central point, formed by the right bank of
the Loangwa and the left of the Zambesi.
The situation of Zumbo was
admirably well chosen as a site for commerce. Looking backward we see a
mass of high, dark mountains, covered with trees; behind us rises the fine
high hill Mazanzwe, which stretches away northward along the left bank of
the Loangwa; to the S.E. lies an open country, with a small round hill in
the distance called Tofulo. The merchants, as they sat beneath the
verandahs in front of their houses, had a magnificent view of the two
rivers at their confluence; of their church at the angle; and of all the
gardens which they had on both sides of the rivers. In these they
cultivated wheat without irrigation, and, as the Portuguese assert, of a
grain twice the size of that at Tete. From the guides we learned that the
inhabitants had not imbibed much idea of Christianity, for they used the
same term for the church bell which they did for a diviner's drum. From
this point the merchants had water communication in three directions
beyond, namely, from the Loangwa to the N.N.W., by the Kafue to the W.,
and by the Zambesi to the S.W. Their attention, however, was chiefly
attracted to the N. or Londa; and the principal articles of trade were
ivory and slaves. Private enterprise was always restrained, for the
colonies of the Portuguese being strictly military, and the pay of the
commandants being very small, the officers have always been obliged to
engage in trade; and had they not employed their power to draw the trade
to themselves by preventing private traders from making bargains beyond
the villages, and only at regulated prices, they would have had no trade,
as they themselves were obliged to remain always at their posts.
Several expeditions went to
the north as far as to Cazembe, and Dr. Lacerda, himself commandant of
Tete, went to that chief's residence. Unfortunately, he was cut off while
there, and his papers, taken possession of by a Jesuit who accompanied
him, were lost to the world. This Jesuit probably intended to act fairly
and have them published; but soon after his return he was called away by
death himself, and the papers were lost sight of. Dr. Lacerda had a strong
desire to open up communication with Angola, which would have been of
importance then, as affording a speedier mode of communication with
Portugal than by the way of the Cape; but since the opening of the
overland passage to India, a quicker transit is effected from Eastern
Africa to Lisbon by way of the Red Sea. Besides Lacerda, Cazembe was
visited by Pereira, who gave a glowing account of that chief's power,
which none of my inquiries have confirmed. The people of Matiamvo stated
to me that Cazembe was a vassal of their chief: and, from all the native
visitors whom I have seen, he appears to be exactly like Shinte and
Katema, only a little more powerful. The term "Emperor", which has been
applied to him, seems totally inappropriate. The statement of Pereira that
twenty negroes were slaughtered in a day, was not confirmed by any one
else, though numbers may have been killed on some particular occasion
during the time of his visit, for we find throughout all the country north
of 20 Deg., which I consider to be real negro, the custom of slaughtering
victims to accompany the departed soul of a chief, and human sacrifices
are occasionally offered, and certain parts of the bodies are used as
charms. It is on account of the existence of such rites, with the
similarity of the language, and the fact that the names of rivers are
repeated again and again from north to south through all that region, that
I consider them to have been originally one family.
The last expedition to
Cazembe was somewhat of the same nature as the others, and failed in
establishing a commerce, because the people of Cazembe, who had come to
Tete to invite the Portuguese to visit them, had not been allowed to trade
with whom they might. As it had not been free-trade there, Cazembe did not
see why it should be free-trade at his town; he accordingly would not
allow his people to furnish the party with food except at his price; and
the expedition, being half starved in consequence, came away voting
unanimously that Cazembe was a great bore.
When we left the Loangwa we
thought we had got rid of the hills; but there are some behind Mazanzwe,
though five or six miles off from the river. Tsetse and the hills had
destroyed two riding oxen, and when the little one that I now rode knocked
up, I was forced to march on foot. The bush being very dense and high, we
were going along among the trees, when three buffaloes, which we had
unconsciously passed above the wind, thought that they were surrounded by
men, and dashed through our line. My ox set off at a gallop, and when I
could manage to glance back, I saw one of the men up in the air about five
feet above a buffalo, which was tearing along with a stream of blood
running down his flank. When I got back to the poor fellow, I found that
he had lighted on his face, and, though he had been carried on the horns
of the buffalo about twenty yards before getting the final toss, the skin
was not pierced nor was a bone broken. When the beasts appeared, he had
thrown down his load and stabbed one in the side. It turned suddenly upon
him, and, before he could use a tree for defense, carried him off. We
shampooed him well, and then went on, and in about a week he was able to
engage in the hunt again.
At Zumbo we had entered
upon old gray sandstone, with shingle in it, dipping generally toward the
south, and forming the bed of the river. The Zambesi is very broad here,
but contains many inhabited islands. We slept opposite one on the 16th
called Shibanga. The nights are warm, the temperature never falling below
80 Deg.; it was 91 Deg. even at sunset. One can not cool the water by a
wet towel round the vessel, and we feel no pleasure in drinking warm
water, though the heat makes us imbibe large quantities. We often noticed
lumps of a froth-like substance on the bushes as large as cricket-balls,
which we could not explain.
On the morning of the 17th
we were pleased to see a person coming from the island of Shibanga with
jacket and hat on. He was quite black, but had come from the Portuguese
settlement at Tete or Nyungwe; and now, for the first time, we understood
that the Portuguese settlement was on the other bank of the river, and
that they had been fighting with the natives for the last two years. We
had thus got into the midst of a Caffre war, without any particular wish
to be on either side. He advised us to cross the river at once, as Mpende
lived on this side. We had been warned by the guides of Mburuma against
him, for they said that if we could get past Mpende we might reach the
white men, but that he was determined that no white man should pass him.
Wishing to follow this man's advice, we proposed to borrow his canoes;
but, being afraid to offend the lords of the river, he declined. The
consequence was, we were obliged to remain on the enemy's side. The next
island belonged to a man named Zungo, a fine, frank fellow, who brought us
at once a present of corn, bound in a peculiar way in grass. He freely
accepted our apology for having no present to give in return, as he knew
that there were no goods in the interior, and, besides, sent forward a
recommendation to his brother-in-law Pangola. The country adjacent to the
river is covered with dense bush, thorny and tangled, making one stoop or
wait till the men broke or held the branches on one side. There is much
rank grass, but it is not so high or rank as that of Angola. The maize,
however, which is grown here is equal in size to that which the Americans
sell for seed at the Cape. There is usually a holm adjacent to the river,
studded with villages and gardens. The holms are but partially cultivated,
and on the other parts grows rank and weedy grass.
There is then a second
terrace, on which trees and bushes abound; and I thought I could detect a
third and higher steppe. But I never could discover terraces on the
adjacent country, such as in other countries show ancient sea-beaches. The
path runs sometimes on the one and sometimes on the other of these river
terraces. Canoes are essentially necessary; but I find that they here cost
too much for my means, and higher up, where my hoes might have secured
one, I was unwilling to enter into a canoe and part with my men while
there was danger of their being attacked.
18TH. Yesterday we rested
under a broad-spreading fig-tree. Large numbers of buffaloes and
water-antelopes were feeding quietly in the meadows; the people have
either no guns or no ammunition, or they would not be so tame. Pangola
visited us, and presented us with food. In few other countries would one
hundred and fourteen sturdy vagabonds be supported by the generosity of
the head men and villagers, and whatever they gave be presented with
politeness. My men got pretty well supplied individually, for they went
into the villages and commenced dancing. The young women were especially
pleased with the new steps they had to show, though I suspect many of them
were invented for the occasion, and would say, "Dance for me, and I will
grind corn for you." At every fresh instance of liberality, Sekwebu said,
"Did not I tell you that these people had hearts, while we were still at
Linyanti"
All agreed that the character he had given was true, and some remarked,
"Look! although we have been so long away from home, not one of us has
become lean." It was a fact that we had been all well supplied either with
meat by my gun or their own spears, or food from the great generosity of
the inhabitants. Pangola promised to ferry us across the Zambesi, but
failed to fulfill his promise. He seemed to wish to avoid offending his
neighbor Mpende by aiding us to escape from his hands, so we proceeded
along the bank. Although we were in doubt as to our reception by Mpende, I
could not help admiring the beautiful country as we passed along. There
is, indeed, only a small part under cultivation in this fertile valley,
but my mind naturally turned to the comparison of it with Kolobeng, where
we waited anxiously during months for rain, and only a mere thunder-shower
followed. I shall never forget the dry, hot east winds of that region; the
yellowish, sultry, cloudless sky; the grass and all the plants drooping
from drought, the cattle lean, the people dispirited, and our own hearts
sick from hope deferred. There we often heard in the dead of the
night the shrill whistle of the rain-doctor calling for rain that would
not come, while here we listened to the rolling thunder by night, and
beheld the swelling valleys adorned with plenty by day.
We have rain almost daily,
and every thing is beautifully fresh and green. I felt somewhat as people
do on coming ashore after a long voyage -- inclined to look upon the
landscape in the most favorable light. The hills are covered with forests,
and there is often a long line of fleecy cloud lying on them about midway
up; they are very beautiful. Finding no one willing to aid us in crossing
the river, we proceeded to the village of the chief Mpende.
A fine large conical hill
now appeared to the N.N.E.; it is the highest I have seen in these parts,
and at some points it appears to be two cones joined together, the
northern one being a little lower than the southern. Another high hill
stands on the same side to the N.E., and, from its similarity in shape to
an axe at the top, is called Motemwa. Beyond it, eastward, lies the
country of Kaimbwa, a chief who has been engaged in actual conflict with
the Bazunga, and beat them too, according to the version of things here.
The hills on the north bank are named Kamoenja. When we came to Mpende's
village, he immediately sent to inquire who we were, and then ordered the
guides who had come with us from the last village to go back and call
their masters. He sent no message to us whatever.
We had traveled very slowly
up to this point, the tsetse-stricken oxen being now unable to go two
miles an hour. We were also delayed by being obliged to stop at every
village, and send notice of our approach to the head man, who came and
received a little information, and gave some food. If we had passed on
without taking any notice of them, they would have considered it impolite,
and we should have appeared more as enemies than friends. I consoled
myself for the loss of time by the thought that these conversations tended
to the opening of our future path.
23D. This morning, at
sunrise, a party of Mpende's people came close to our encampment, uttering
strange cries and waving some bright red substance toward us. They then
lighted a fire with charms in it, and departed, uttering the same hideous
screams as before. This was intended to render us powerless, and probably
also to frighten us. Ever since dawn, parties of armed men have been seen
collecting from all quarters, and numbers passed us while it was yet dark.
Had we moved down the river at once, it would have been considered an
indication of fear or defiance, and so would a retreat. I therefore
resolved to wait, trusting in Him who has the hearts of all men in His
hands.
They evidently intended to
attack us, for no friendly message was sent; and when three of the Batoka
the night before entered the village to beg food, a man went round about
each of them, making a noise like a lion. The villagers then called upon
them to do homage, and, when they complied, the chief ordered some chaff
to be given them, as if it had been food. Other things also showed
unmistakable hostility. As we were now pretty certain of a skirmish, I
ordered an ox to be slaughtered, as this is a means which Sebituane
employed for inspiring courage. I have no doubt that we should have been
victorious; indeed, my men, who were far better acquainted with fighting
than any of the people on the Zambesi, were rejoicing in the prospect of
securing captives to carry the tusks for them. "We shall now," said they,
"get both corn and clothes in plenty." They were in a sad state, poor
fellows; for the rains we had encountered had made their skin-clothing
drop off piecemeal, and they were looked upon with disgust by the well-fed
and well-clothed Zambesians. They were, however, veterans in marauding,
and the head men, instead of being depressed by fear, as the people of
Mpende intended should be the case in using their charms, hinted broadly
to me that I ought to allow them to keep Mpende's wives. The roasting of
meat went on fast and furious, and some of the young men said to me, "You
have seen us with elephants, but you don't know yet what we can do with
men." I believe that, had Mpende struck the first blow, he would soon have
found out that he never made a greater mistake in his life. His whole
tribe was assembled at about the distance of half a mile. As the country
is covered with trees, we did not see them; but every now and then a few
came about us as spies, and would answer no questions. I handed a leg of
the ox to two of these, and desired them to take it to Mpende. After
waiting a considerable time in suspense, two old men made their
appearance, and said they had come to inquire who I was. I replied, "I am
a Lekoa" (an Englishman). They said, "We don't know that tribe. We suppose
you are a Mozunga, the tribe with which we have been fighting." As I was
not yet aware that the term Mozunga was applied to a Portuguese, and
thought they meant half-castes, I showed them my hair and the skin of my
bosom, and asked if the Bazunga had hair and skin like mine. As the
Portuguese have the custom of cutting the hair close, and are also
somewhat darker than we are, they answered, "No; we never saw skin so
white as that;" and added, "Ah! you must be one of that tribe that loves
(literally, `has heart to') the black men." I, of course, gladly responded
in the affirmative.
They returned to the
village, and we afterward heard that there had been a long discussion
between Mpende and his councilors, and that one of the men with whom we
had remained to talk the day before had been our advocate. He was named
Sindese Oalea. When we were passing his village, after some conversation,
he said to his people, "Is that the man whom they wish to stop after he
has passed so many tribes? What can Mpende say to refusing him a passage?"
It was owing to this man, and the fact that I belonged to the
"friendly white tribe", that Mpende was persuaded to allow us to pass.
When we knew the favorable decision of the council, I sent Sekwebu to
speak about the purchase of a canoe, as one of my men had become very ill,
and I wished to relieve his companions by taking him in a canoe.
Before Sekwebu could finish
his story, Mpende remarked, "That white man is truly one of our friends.
See how he lets me know his afflictions!" Sekwebu adroitly took advantage
of this turn in the conversation, and said, "Ah! if you only knew him as
well as we do who have lived with him, you would understand that he highly
values your friendship and that of Mburuma, and, as he is a stranger, he
trusts in you to direct him." He replied, "Well, he ought to cross to the
other side of the river, for this bank is hilly and rough, and the way to
Tete is longer on this than on the opposite bank." "But who will take us
across, if you do not?" "Truly!" replied Mpende; "I only wish you had come
sooner to tell me about him; but you shall cross." Mpende said frequently
he was sorry he had not known me sooner, but that he had been prevented by
his enchanter from coming near me; and he lamented that the same person
had kept him from eating the meat which I had presented. He did every
thing he could afterward to aid us on our course, and our departure was as
different as possible from our approach to his village. I was very much
pleased to find the English name spoken of with such great respect so far
from the coast, and most thankful that no collision occurred to damage its
influence.
24TH. Mpende sent two of
his principal men to order the people of a large island below to ferry us
across. The river is very broad, and, though my men were well acquainted
with the management of canoes, we could not all cross over before dark. It
is 1200 yards from bank to bank, and between 700 and 800 of deep water,
flowing at the rate of 3-3/4 miles per hour. We landed first on an island;
then, to prevent our friends playing false with us, hauled the canoes up
to our bivouac, and slept in them.
Next morning we all reached
the opposite bank in safety. We observed, as we came along the Zambesi,
that it had fallen two feet below the height at which we first found it,
and the water, though still muddy enough to deposit a film at the bottom
of vessels in a few hours, is not nearly so red as it was, nor is there so
much wreck on its surface. It is therefore not yet the period of the
central Zambesi inundation, as we were aware also from our knowledge of
the interior. The present height of the water has been caused by rains
outside the eastern ridge. The people here seem abundantly supplied with
English cotton goods. The Babisa are the medium of trade, for we were
informed that the Bazunga, who formerly visited these parts, have been
prevented by the war from coming for the last two years.
The Babisa are said to be
so fond of a tusk that they will even sell a newly-married wife for one.
As we were now not far from the latitude of Mozambique, I was somewhat
tempted to strike away from the river to that port, instead of going to
the S.E., in the direction the river flows; but, the great object of my
journey being to secure water-carriage, I resolved to continue along the
Zambesi, though it did lead me among the enemies of the Portuguese.
The region to the north of
the ranges of hills on our left is called Senga, from being the country of
the Basenga, who are said to be great workers in iron, and to possess
abundance of fine iron ore, which, when broken, shows veins of the pure
metal in its substance. It has been well roasted in the operations of
nature.
Beyond Senga lies a range
of mountains called Mashinga, to which the Portuguese in former times went
to wash for gold, and beyond that are great numbers of tribes which pass
under the general term Maravi. To the northeast there are extensive plains
destitute of trees, but covered with grass, and in some places it is
marshy. The whole of the country to the north of the Zambesi is asserted
to be very much more fertile than that to the south.
The Maravi, for instance,
raise sweet potatoes of immense size, but when these are planted on the
southern bank they soon degenerate. The root of this plant (`Convolvulus
batata') does not keep more than two or three days, unless it is cut into
thin slices and dried in the sun, but the Maravi manage to preserve them
for months by digging a pit and burying them therein inclosed in
wood-ashes. Unfortunately, the Maravi, and all the tribes on that side of
the country, are at enmity with the Portuguese, and, as they practice
night attacks in their warfare, it is dangerous to travel among them.
29TH. I was most sincerely
thankful to find myself on the south bank of the Zambesi, and, having
nothing else, I sent back one of my two spoons and a shirt as a
thank-offering to Mpende. The different head men along this river act very
much in concert, and if one refuses passage they all do, uttering the sage
remark, "If so-and-so did not lend his canoes, he must have had some good
reason." The next island we came to was that of a man named Mozinkwa. Here
we were detained some days by continuous rains, and thought we observed
the confirmation of the Bakwain theory of rains. A double tier of clouds
floated quickly away to the west, and as soon as they began to come in an
opposite direction the rains poured down. The inhabitants who live in a
dry region like that of Kolobeng are nearly all as weather-wise as the
rain-makers, and any one living among them for any length of time becomes
as much interested in the motions of the clouds as they are themselves.
Mr. Moffat, who was as sorely tried by droughts as we were, and had his
attention directed in the same way, has noted the curious pheomenon of
thunder without clouds. Mrs. L. heard it once, but I never had that good
fortune.
It is worth the attention
of the observant. Humboldt has seen rain without clouds, a phenomenon
quite as singular. I have been in the vicinity of the fall of three
aerolites, none of which I could afterward discover. One fell into the
lake Kumadau with a report somewhat like a sharp peal of thunder. The
women of the Bakurutse villages there all uttered a scream on hearing it.
This happened at midday, and so did another at what is called the Great
Chuai, which was visible in its descent, and was also accompanied with a
thundering noise. The third fell near Kuruman, and at night, and was seen
as a falling star by people at Motito and at Daniel's Kuil, places distant
forty miles on opposite sides of the spot. It sounded to me like the
report of a great gun, and a few seconds after, a lesser sound, as if
striking the earth after a rebound. Does the passage of a few such
aerolites through the atmosphere to the earth by day cause thunder without
clouds?
We were detained here so
long that my tent became again quite rotten. One of my men, after long
sickness, which I did not understand, died here. He was one of the Batoka,
and when unable to walk I had some difficulty in making his companions
carry him. They wished to leave him to die when his case became hopeless.
Another of them deserted to Mozinkwa. He said that his motive for doing so
was that the Makololo had killed both his father and mother, and, as he
had neither wife nor child, there was no reason why he should continue
longer with them. I did not object to his statements, but said if he
should change his mind he would be welcome to rejoin us, and intimated to
Mozinkwa that he must not be sold as a slave. We are now among people
inured to slave-dealing. We were visited by men who had been as far as
Tete or Nyungwe, and were told that we were but ten days from that fort.
One of them, a Mashona man, who had come from a great distance to the
southwest, was anxious to accompany us to the country of the white men; he
had traveled far, and I found that he had also knowledge of the English
tribe, and of their hatred to the trade in slaves. He told Sekwebu that
the "English were men", an emphasis being put upon the term MEN, which
leaves the impression that others are, as they express it in speaking
scornfully, "only THINGS". Several spoke in the same manner, and I found
that from Mpende's downward I rose higher every day in the estimation of
my own people. Even the slaves gave a very high character to the English,
and I found out afterward that, when I was first reported at Tete, the
servants of my friend the commandant said to him in joke, "Ah! this is our
brother who is coming; we shall all leave you and go with him." We had
still, however, some difficulties in store for us before reaching that
point.
The man who wished to
accompany us came and told us before our departure that his wife would not
allow him to go, and she herself came to confirm the decision. Here the
women have only a small puncture in the upper lip, in which they insert a
little button of tin. The perforation is made by degrees, a ring with an
opening in it being attached to the lip, and the ends squeezed gradually
together. The pressure on the flesh between the ends of the ring causes
its absorption, and a hole is the result. Children may be seen with the
ring on the lip, but not yet punctured. The tin they purchase from the
Portuguese, and, although silver is reported to have been found in former
times in this district, no one could distinguish it from tin. But they had
a knowledge of gold, and for the first time I heard the word "dalama"
(gold) in the native language.
The word is quite unknown
in the interior, and so is the metal itself. In conversing with the
different people, we found the idea prevalent that those who had purchased
slaves from them had done them an injury. "All the slaves of Nyungwe,"
said one, "are our children; the Bazunga have made a town at our expense."
When I asked if they had not taken the prices offered them, they at once
admitted it, but still thought that they had been injured by being so far
tempted. From the way in which the lands of Zumbo were spoken of as still
belonging to the Portuguese (and they are said to have been obtained by
purchase), I was inclined to conclude that the purchase of land is not
looked upon by the inhabitants in the same light as the purchase of
slaves.
FEBRUARY 1ST. We met some
native traders, and, as many of my men were now in a state of nudity, I
bought some American calico marked "Lawrence Mills, Lowell", with two
small tusks, and distributed it among the most needy. After leaving
Mozinkwa's we came to the Zingesi, a sand-rivulet in flood (lat. 15d 38'
34" S., long. 31d 1' E.). It was sixty or seventy yards wide, and
waist-deep. Like all these sand-rivers, it is for the most part dry; but
by digging down a few feet, water is to be found, which is percolating
along the bed on a stratum of clay. This is the phenomenon which is
dignified by the name of "a river flowing under ground." In trying to ford
this I felt thousands of particles of coarse sand striking my legs, and
the slight disturbance of our footsteps caused deep holes to be made in
the bed. The water, which is almost always very rapid in them, dug out the
sand beneath our feet in a second or two, and we were all sinking by that
means so deep that we were glad to relinquish the attempt to ford it
before we got half way over; the oxen were carried away down into the
Zambesi. These sand-rivers remove vast masses of disintegrated rock before
it is fine enough to form soil. The man who preceded me was only
thigh-deep, but the disturbance caused by his feet made it breast-deep for
me. The shower of particles and gravel which struck against my legs gave
me the idea that the amount of matter removed by every freshet must be
very great. In most rivers where much wearing is going on, a person diving
to the bottom may hear literally thousands of stones knocking against each
other. This attrition, being carried on for hundreds of miles in different
rivers, must have an effect greater than if all the pestles and mortars
and mills of the world were grinding and wearing away the rocks. The
pounding to which I refer may be heard most distinctly in the Vaal River,
when that is slightly in flood. It was there I first heard it.
In the Leeambye, in the
middle of the country, where there is no discoloration, and little carried
along but sand, it is not to be heard. While opposite the village of a
head man called Mosusa, a number of elephants took refuge on an island in
the river. There were two males, and a third not full grown; indeed,
scarcely the size of a female. This was the first instance I had ever seen
of a comparatively young one with the males, for they usually remain with
the female herd till as large as their dams. The inhabitants were very
anxious that my men should attack them, as they go into the gardens on the
islands, and do much damage. The men went, but the elephants ran about
half a mile to the opposite end of the island, and swam to the main land
with their probosces above the water, and, no canoe being near, they
escaped. They swim strongly, with the proboscis erect in the air. I was
not very desirous to have one of these animals killed, for we understood
that when we passed Mpende we came into a country where the game-laws are
strictly enforced. The lands of each chief are very well defined, the
boundaries being usually marked by rivulets, great numbers of which flow
into the Zambesi from both banks, and, if an elephant is wounded on one
man's land and dies on that of another, the under half of the carcass is
claimed by the lord of the soil; and so stringent is the law, that the
hunter can not begin at once to cut up his own elephant, but must send
notice to the lord of the soil on which it lies, and wait until that
personage sends one authorized to see a fair partition made. If the hunter
should begin to cut up before the agent of the landowner arrives, he is
liable to lose both the tusks and all the flesh. The hind leg of a buffalo
must also be given to the man on whose land the animal was grazing, and a
still larger quantity of the eland, which here and every where else in the
country is esteemed right royal food. In the country above Zumbo we did
not find a vestige of this law; and but for the fact that it existed in
the country of the Bamapela, far to the south of this, I should have been
disposed to regard it in the same light as I do the payment for leave to
pass -- an imposition levied on him who is seen to be weak because in the
hands of his slaves. The only game-laws in the interior are, that the man
who first wounds an animal, though he has inflicted but a mere scratch, is
considered the killer of it; the second is entitled to a hind quarter, and
the third to a fore leg.
The chiefs are generally
entitled to a share as tribute; in some parts it is the breast, in others
the whole of the ribs and one fore leg. I generally respected this law,
although exceptions are sometimes made when animals are killed by guns.
The knowledge that he who succeeds in reaching the wounded beast first is
entitled to a share stimulates the whole party to greater exertions in
dispatching it. One of my men, having a knowledge of elephant medicine,
was considered the leader in the hunt; he went before the others, examined
the animals, and on his decision all depended. If he decided to attack a
herd, the rest went boldly on; but if he declined, none of them would
engage. A certain part of the elephant belonged to him by right of the
office he held, and such was the faith in medicine held by the slaves of
the Portuguese whom we met hunting, that they offered to pay this man
handsomely if he would show them the elephant medicine.
When near Mosusa's village
we passed a rivulet called Chowe, now running with rain-water. The
inhabitants there extract a little salt from the sand when it is dry, and
all the people of the adjacent country come to purchase it from them. This
was the first salt we had met with since leaving Angola, for none is to be
found in either the country of the Balonda or Barotse; but we heard of
salt-pans about a fortnight west of Naliele, and I got a small supply from
Mpololo while there. That had long since been finished, and I had again
lived two months without salt, suffering no inconvenience except an
occasional longing for animal food or milk.
In marching along, the rich
reddish-brown soil was so clammy that it was very difficult to walk. It
is, however, extremely fertile, and the people cultivate amazing
quantities of corn, maize, millet, ground-nuts, pumpkins, and cucumbers.
We observed that, when plants failed in one spot, they were in the habit
of transplanting them into another, and they had also grown large numbers
of young plants on the islands, where they are favored by moisture from
the river, and were now removing them to the main land. The fact of their
being obliged to do this shows that there is less rain here than in Londa,
for there we observed the grain in all stages of its growth at the same
time.
The people here build their
huts in gardens on high stages. This is necessary on account of danger
from the spotted hyaena, which is said to be very fierce, and also as a
protection against lions and elephants. The hyaena is a very cowardly
animal, but frequently approaches persons lying asleep, and makes an ugly
gash on the face. Mozinkwa had lost his upper lip in this way, and I have
heard of men being killed by them; children, too, are sometimes carried
off; for, though he is so cowardly that the human voice will make him run
away at once, yet, when his teeth are in the flesh, he holds on, and shows
amazing power of jaw. Leg-bones of oxen, from which the natives have
extracted the marrow and every thing eatable, are by this animal crunched
up with the greatest ease, which he apparently effects by turning them
round in his teeth till they are in a suitable position for being split.
We had now come among
people who had plenty, and were really very liberal. My men never returned
from a village without some corn or maize in their hands. The real
politeness with which food is given by nearly all the interior tribes, who
have not had much intercourse with Europeans, makes it a pleasure to
accept. Again and again I have heard an apology made for the smallness of
the present, or regret expressed that they had not received notice of my
approach in time to grind more, and generally they readily accepted our
excuse at having nothing to give in return by saying that they were quite
aware that there are no white men's goods in the interior. When I had it
in my power, I always gave something really useful. To Katema, Shinte, and
others, I gave presents which cost me about 2 Pounds each, and I could
return to them at any time without having a character for stinginess. How
some men can offer three buttons, or some other equally contemptible gift,
while they have abundance in their possession, is to me unaccountable.
They surely do not know, when they write it in their books, that they are
declaring they have compromised the honor of Englishmen. The people
receive the offering with a degree of shame, and ladies may be seen to
hand it quickly to the attendants, and, when they retire, laugh until the
tears stand in their eyes, saying to those about them, "Is that a white
man? then there are niggards among them too. Some of them are born without
hearts!" One white trader, having presented an OLD GUN to a chief, became
a standing joke in the tribe: "The white man who made a present of a gun
that was new when his grandfather was sucking his great-grandmother." When
these tricks are repeated, the natives come to the conclusion that people
who show such a want of sense must be told their duty; they therefore let
them know what they ought to give, and travelers then complain of being
pestered with their "shameless begging". I was troubled by importunity on
the confines of civilization only, and when I first came to Africa.
FEBRUARY 4TH. We were much
detained by rains, a heavy shower without wind falling every morning about
daybreak; it often cleared up after that, admitting of our moving on a few
miles. A continuous rain of several hours then set in. The wind up to this
point was always from the east, but both rain and wind now came so
generally from the west, or opposite direction to what we had been
accustomed to in the interior, that we were obliged to make our encampment
face the east, in order to have them in our backs. The country adjacent to
the river abounds in large trees; but the population is so numerous that,
those left being all green, it is difficult to get dry firewood. On coming
to some places, too, we were warned by the villagers not to cut the trees
growing in certain spots, as they contained the graves of their ancestors.
There are many tamarind-trees, and another very similar, which yields a
fruit as large as a small walnut, of which the elephants are very fond. It
is called Motondo, and the Portuguese extol its timber as excellent for
building boats, as it does not soon rot in water.
On the 6th we came to the
village of Boroma, which is situated among a number of others, each
surrounded by extensive patches of cultivation. On the opposite side of
the river we have a great cluster of conical hills called Chorichori.
Boroma did not make his appearance, but sent a substitute who acted
civilly. I sent Sekwebu in the morning to state that we intended to move
on; his mother replied that, as she had expected that we should remain, no
food was ready, but she sent a basket of corn and a fowl. As an excuse why
Boroma did not present himself, she said that he was seized that morning
by the Barimo, which probably meant that his lordship was drunk.
We marched along the river
to a point opposite the hill Pinkwe (lat. 15d 39' 11" S., long. 32d 5'
E.), but the late abundant rains now flooded the Zambesi again, and great
quantities of wreck appeared upon the stream. It is probable that frequent
freshets, caused by the rains on this side of the ridge, have prevented
the Portuguese near the coast from recognizing the one peculiar flood of
inundation observed in the interior, and caused the belief that it is
flooded soon after the commencement of the rains. The course of the Nile
being in the opposite direction to this, it does not receive these
subsidiary waters, and hence its inundation is recognized all the way
along its course. If the Leeambye were prolonged southward into the Cape
Colony, its flood would be identical with that of the Nile. It would not
be influenced by any streams in the Kalahari, for there, as in a
corresponding part of the Nile, there would be no feeders. It is to be
remembered that the great ancient river which flowed to the lake at
Boochap took this course exactly, and probably flowed thither until the
fissure of the falls was made.
This flood having filled
the river, we found the numerous rivulets which flow into it filled
also, and when going along the Zambesi, we lost so much time in passing up
each little stream till we could find a ford about waist deep, and then
returning to the bank, that I resolved to leave the river altogether, and
strike away to the southeast. We accordingly struck off when opposite the
hill Pinkwe, and came into a hard Mopane country. In a hole of one of the
mopane-trees I noticed that a squirrel (`Sciurus cepapi') had placed a
great number of fresh leaves over a store of seed. It is not against the
cold of winter that they thus lay up food, but it is a provision against
the hot season, when the trees have generally no seed.
A great many silicified
trees are met with lying on the ground all over this part of the country;
some are broken off horizontally, and stand upright; others are lying
prone, and broken across into a number of pieces. One was 4 feet 8 inches
in diameter, and the wood must have been soft like that of the baobab, for
there were only six concentric rings to the inch. As the semidiameter was
only 28 inches, this large tree could have been but 168 years old. I found
also a piece of palm-tree transformed into oxide of iron, and the pores
filled with pure silica. These fossil trees lie upon soft gray sandstone
containing banks of shingle, which forms the underlying rock of the
country all the way from Zumbo to near Lupata. It is met with at
Litubaruba and in Angola, with similar banks of shingle imbedded exactly
like those now seen on the sea-beach, but I never could find a shell.
There are many nodules and mounds of hardened clay upon it, which seem to
have been deposited in eddies made round the roots of these ancient trees,
for they appear of different colors in wavy and twisted lines. Above this
we have small quantities of calcareous marl.
As we were now in the
district of Chicova, I examined the geological structure of the country
with interest, because here, it has been stated, there once existed silver
mines. The general rock is the gray soft sandstone I have mentioned, but
at the rivulet Bangue we come upon a dike of basalt six yards wide,
running north and south. When we cross this, we come upon several others,
some of which run more to the eastward. The sandstone is then found to
have been disturbed, and at the rivulet called Nake we found it tilted up
and exhibiting a section, which was coarse sandstone above,
sandstone-flag, shale, and, lastly, a thin seam of coal. The section was
only shown for a short distance, and then became lost by a fault made by a
dike of basalt, which ran to the E.N.E. in the direction of Chicova. This
Chicova is not a kingdom, as has been stated, but a level tract, a part of
which is annually overflowed by the Zambesi, and is well adapted for the
cultivation of corn. It is said to be below the northern end of the hill
Bungwe. I was very much pleased in discovering this small specimen of such
a precious mineral as coal. I saw no indication of silver, and, if it ever
was worked by the natives, it is remarkable that they have entirely lost
the knowledge of it, and can not distinguish between silver and tin. In
connection with these basaltic dikes, it may be mentioned that when I
reached Tete I was informed of the existence of a small rapid in the river
near Chicova; had I known this previously, I certainly would not have left
the river without examining it. It is called Kebrabasa, and is described
as a number of rocks which jut out across the stream. I have no doubt but
that it is formed by some of the basaltic dikes which we now saw, for they
generally ran toward that point. I was partly influenced in leaving the
river by a wish to avoid several chiefs in that direction, who levy a
heavy tribute on those who pass up or down. Our path lay along the bed of
the Nake for some distance, the banks being covered with impenetrable
thickets. The villages are not numerous, but we went from one to the
other, and were treated kindly.
Here they call themselves
Bambiri, though the general name of the whole nation is Banyai. One of our
guides was an inveterate talker, always stopping and asking for pay, that
he might go on with a merry heart. I thought that he led us in the most
difficult paths in order to make us feel his value, for, after passing
through one thicket after another, we always came into the bed of the Nake
again, and as that was full of coarse sand, and the water only ankle deep,
and as hot as a foot-bath from the powerful rays of the sun, we were all
completely tired out. He likewise gave us a bad character at every village
we passed, calling to them that they were to allow him to lead us astray,
as we were a bad set. Sekwebu knew every word he said, and, as he became
intolerable, I dismissed him, giving him six feet of calico I had bought
from native traders, and telling him that his tongue was a nuisance. It is
in general best, when a scolding is necessary, to give it in combination
with a present, and then end it by good wishes. This fellow went off
smiling, and my men remarked, "His tongue is cured now." The country
around the Nake is hilly, and the valleys covered with tangled jungle. The
people who live in this district have reclaimed their gardens from the
forest, and the soil is extremely fertile. The Nake flows northerly, and
then to the east. It is 50 or 60 yards wide, but during most of the year
is dry, affording water only by digging in the sand. We found in its bed
masses of volcanic rock, identical with those I subsequently recognized as
such at Aden.
13TH. The head man of these
parts is named Nyampungo. I sent the last fragment of cloth we had, with a
request that we should be furnished with a guide to the next chief. After
a long conference with his council, the cloth was returned with a promise
of compliance, and a request for some beads only. This man is
supposed to possess the charm for rain, and other tribes send to him to
beg it. This shows that what we inferred before was correct, that less
rain falls in this country than in Londa. Nyampungo behaved in quite a
gentlemanly manner, presented me with some rice, and told my people to go
among all the villages and beg for themselves. An old man, father-in-law
of the chief, told me that he had seen books before, but never knew what
they meant. They pray to departed chiefs and relatives, but the idea of
praying to God seemed new, and they heard it with reverence. As this was
an intelligent old man, I asked him about the silver, but he was as
ignorant of it as the rest, and said, "We never dug silver, but we have
washed for gold in the sands of the rivers Mazoe and Luia, which unite in
the Luenya." I think that this is quite conclusive on the question of no
silver having been dug by the natives of this district.
Nyampungo is afflicted with
a kind of disease called Sesenda, which I imagine to be a species of
leprosy common in this quarter, though they are a cleanly people. They
never had cattle. The chief's father had always lived in their present
position, and, when I asked him why he did not possess these useful
animals, he said, "Who would give us the medicine to enable us to keep
them?" I found out the reason afterward in the prevalence of tsetse, but
of this he was ignorant, having supposed that he could not keep cattle
because he had no medicine. |