Themeatisverymuchlikethatofanox,andthisonewasveryfine。
Theonlydangerweactuallyencounteredwasfromafemaleelephant,withthreeyoungonesofdifferentsizesChargingthroughthecentreofourextendedline,andcausingthementothrowdowntheirburdensinagreathurry,shereceivedaspearforhertemerity。
Ineversawanelephantwithmorethanonecalfbefore。
WeknewthatwewerenearourZambesiagain,evenbeforethegreatriverburstuponoursight,bythenumbersofwater-fowlwemet。
Ikilledfourgeesewithtwoshots,and,hadIfollowedthewishesofmymen,couldhavesecuredamealofwater-fowlforthewholeparty。
Ineversawariverwithsomuchanimallifearoundandinit,and,astheBarotsesay,“Itsfishandfowlarealwaysfat。”
Whenoureyesweregladdenedbyaviewofitsgoodlybroadwaters,wefounditverymuchlargerthanitisevenabovethefallsOnemighttrytomakehisvoiceheardacrossitinvainItsflowwasmorerapidthannearSesheke,beingoftenfourandahalfmilesanhour,and,whatIneversawbefore,thewaterwasdiscoloredandofadeepbrownish-red。
InthegreatvalleytheLeeambyeneverbecomesofthiscolor。
Theadjacentcountry,sofarnorthasisknown,isalllevel,andthesoil,beinggenerallycoveredwithdenseherbage,isnotabraded;
butontheeasternridgethecaseisdifferent;thegrassisshort,and,theelevationbeinggreat,thesoiliswasheddownbythestreams,andhencethediscolorationwhichwenowviewThesamethingwasobservedonthewesternridgeWeneversawdiscolorationtillwereachedtheQuango;
thatobtaineditsmatterfromthewesternslopeofthewesternridge,justasthispartoftheZambesireceivesitssoilfromtheeasternslopeoftheeasternridgeItcarriedaconsiderablequantityofwreckofreeds,sticks,andtreesWestruckupontheriverabouteightmileseastoftheconfluencewiththeKafue,andtherebymissedasightofthatinterestingpointThecloudinessoftheweatherwassuchthatbutfewobservationscouldbemadefordeterminingourposition;
so,pursuingourcourse,wewentdowntheleftbank,andcameoppositetheislandofMenyemakabaTheZambesicontainsnumerousislands;thiswasaboutamileandahalfortwomileslong,andupwardofaquarterofamilebroadBesideshumanpopulation,ithasaherdofbuffaloesthatneverleaveitInthedistancetheyseemedtobeupwardofsixtyThehumanandbruteinhabitantsunderstandeachother;forwhentheformerthinktheyoughttoavengethelibertiescommittedontheirgardens,theleadersofthelattercomeoutboldlytogivebattleTheytoldusthattheonlytimeinwhichtheycanthinthemiswhentheriverisfullandpartoftheislandflooded。
TheythenattackthemfromtheircanoesThecomparativelysmallspacetowhichtheyhaveconfinedthemselvesshowshowluxuriantthevegetationofthisregionis;forweretheyinwantofmorepasture,asbuffaloescanswimwell,andthedistancefromthisbanktotheislandisnotmuchmorethan200yards,theymighteasilyremovehither。
Theoppositebankismuchmoredistant。
RangesofhillsappearnowtorunparallelwiththeZambesi,andareaboutfifteenmilesapartThoseonthenorthapproachnearesttotheriver。
TheinhabitantsonthatsidearetheBatonga,thoseonthesouthbankaretheBanyaiThehillsaboundinbuffaloes,andelephantsarenumerous,andmanyarekilledbythepeopleonbothbanksTheyerectstagesonhightreesoverhangingthepathsbywhichtheelephantscome,andthenusealargespearwithahandlenearlyasthickasaman’swrist,andfourorfivefeetlongWhentheanimalcomesbeneaththeythrowthespear,andifitentersbetweentheribsabove,asthebladeisatleasttwentyincheslongbytwobroad,themotionofthehandle,asitisaidedbyknockingagainstthetrees,makesfrightfulgasheswithin,andsooncausesdeathTheykillthemalsobymeansofaspearinsertedinabeamofwood,whichbeingsuspendedonthebranchofatreebyacordattachedtoalatchfastenedinthepath,andintendedtobestruckbytheanimal’sfoot,leadstothefallofthebeam,and,thespearbeingpoisoned,causesdeathinafewhours。
Weweredetainedbycontinuousrainsseveraldaysatthisisland。
Thecloudsresteduponthetopsofthehillsastheycamefromtheeastward,andthenpoureddownplenteousshowersonthevalleysbelow。
Assoonaswecouldmove,TombaNyama,theheadmanoftheisland,volunteeredtheloanofacanoetocrossasmallriver,calledtheChongwe,whichwefoundtobeaboutfiftyorsixtyyardsbroadandflooded。
AllthispartofthecountrywaswellknowntoSekwebu,andheinformedusthat,whenhepassedthroughitasaboy,theinhabitantspossessedabundanceofcattle,andtherewerenotsetse。
TheexistenceoftheinsectnowshowsthatitmayreturnincompanywiththelargergameThevegetationalongthebankwasexceedinglyrank,andthebushessotangledthatitwasdifficulttogetonThepathshadbeenmadebythewildanimalsalone,forthegeneralpathwayofthepeopleistheriver,intheircanoes。
Weusuallyfollowedthefootpathsofthegame,andofthesetherewasnolack。
Buffaloes,zebras,pallahs,andwaterbucksabound,andthereisalsoagreatabundanceofwildpigs,koodoos,andtheblackantelope。
Wegotonebuffaloashewasrollinghimselfinapoolofmud。
Hehadalargepieceofskintornoffhisflank,itwasbelievedbyanalligator。
Wewerestruckbythefactthat,assoonaswecamebetweentherangesofhillswhichflanktheZambesi,therainsfeltwarm。
Atsunrisethethermometerstoodatfrom82Degto86Deg。;
atmidday,inthecoolestshade,namely,inmylittletent,underashadytree,at96Degto98Deg。;andatsunsetitwas86Deg。
Thisisdifferentfromanythingweexperiencedintheinterior,fortheserainsalwaysbringdownthemercuryto72Degoreven68Deg。
There,too,wefoundasmallblackcoleopterousinsect,whichstunglikethemosquito,butinjectedlesspoison;
itputsusinmindofthatinsect,whichdoesnotexistinthehighlandswehadleft。
JANUARY6TH,1856EachvillagewepassedfurnisheduswithacoupleofmentotakeusontothenextTheywereusefulinshowingusthepartsleastcoveredwithjungleWhenwecamenearavillage,wesawmen,women,andchildrenemployedinweedingtheirgardens,theybeinggreatagriculturistsMostofthemenaremuscular,andhavelargeplowmanhandsTheircoloristhesameadmixture,fromverydarktolightolive,thatwesawinLondaThoughallhavethicklipsandflatnoses,onlythemoredegradedofthepopulationpossesstheuglynegrophysiognomyTheymarkthemselvesbyalineoflittleraisedcicatrices,eachofwhichisaquarterofaninchlong;
theyextendfromthetipofthenosetotherootofthehairontheforehead。
ItisremarkablethatInevermetwithanAlbinoincrossingAfrica,though,fromaccountspublishedbythePortuguese,Iwasledtoexpectthattheywereheldinfavorasdoctorsbycertainchiefs。
Isawseveralinthesouth:oneatKurumanisafull-grownwoman,andamanhavingthispeculiarityofskinwasmetwithinthecolony。
Theirbodiesarealwaysblisteredonexposuretothesun,astheskinismoretenderthanthatoftheblacksTheKurumanwomanlivedsometimeatKolobeng,andgenerallyhadonherbosomandshoulderstheremainsoflargeblistersShewasmostanxioustobemadeblack,butnitrateofsilver,takeninternally,didnotproduceitsusualeffect。
DuringthetimeIresidedatMabotsa,awomancametothestationwithafineboy,anAlbinoThefatherhadorderedhertothrowhimaway,butsheclungtoheroffspringformanyyearsHewasremarkablyintelligentforhisageThepupiloftheeyewasofapinkcolor,andtheeyeitselfwasunsteadyinvisionThehair,orratherwool,wasyellow,andthefeatureswerethosecommonamongtheBechuanas。
AfterIlefttheplacethemotherissaidtohavebecometiredoflivingapartfromthefather,whorefusedtohaveherwhilesheretainedtheson。
Shetookhimoutoneday,andkilledhimclosetothevillageofMabotsa,andnothingwasdonetoherbytheauthoritiesFromhavingmetwithnoAlbinosinLonda,Isuspecttheyaretherealsoputtodeath。
WesawonedwarfonlyinLonda,andbrandsonhimshowedhehadoncebeenaslave;andthereisonedwarfwomanatLinyanti。
Thegeneralabsenceofdeformedpersonsispartlyowingtotheirdestructionininfancy,andpartlytothemodeoflifebeinganaturalone,sofarasventilationandfoodareconcernedTheyusebutfewunwholesomemixturesascondiments,and,thoughtheirundressexposesthemtothevicissitudesofthetemperature,itdoesnotharborvomites。
Itwasobservedthat,whensmallpoxandmeaslesvisitedthecountry,theyweremostsevereonthehalf-casteswhowereclothedInseveraltribes,achildwhichissaidto“tlola“,transgress,isputtodeath。
“Tlolo“,ortransgression,isascribedtoseveralcuriouscases。
AchildwhocuttheupperfrontteethbeforetheunderwasalwaysputtodeathamongtheBakaa,and,Ibelieve,alsoamongtheBakwainsInsometribes,acaseoftwinsrendersoneofthemliabletodeath;andanox,which,whilelyinginthepen,beatsthegroundwithitstail,istreatedinthesamewayItisthoughttobecallingdeathtovisitthetribe。
WhenIwascomingthroughLonda,mymencarriedagreatnumberoffowls,ofalargerbreedthananytheyhadathomeIfonecrowedbeforemidnight,ithadbeenguiltyof“tlolo“,andwaskilledThemenoftencarriedthemsittingontheirguns,and,ifonebegantocrowinaforest,theownerwouldgiveitabeating,bywayofteachingitnottobeguiltyofcrowingatunseasonablehours。
Thewomenhereareinthehabitofpiercingtheupperlip,andgraduallyenlargingtheorificeuntiltheycaninsertashell。
Thelipthenappearsdrawnoutbeyondtheperpendicularofthenose,andgivesthemamostungainlyaspectSekweburemarked,“Thesewomenwanttomaketheirmouthslikethoseofducks;“
and,indeed,itdoesappearasiftheyhadtheideathatfemalebeautyofliphadbeenattainedbythe`Ornithorhynchusparadoxus’alone。
ThiscustomprevailsthroughoutthecountryoftheMaravi,andnoonecouldseeitwithoutconfessingthatfashionhadneverledwomentoafreakmoremadWehadrainsnoweveryday,andconsiderablecloudiness,butthesunoftenburstthroughwithscorchingintensity。
Allcalloutagainstitthen,saying,“Othesun!thatisrainagain。”
Itwasworthnoticingthatmycompanionsnevercomplainedoftheheatwhileonthehighlands,butwhenwedescendedintothelowlandsofAngola,andherealso,theybegantofretonaccountofitImyselffeltanoppressivesteaminessintheatmospherewhichIhadnotexperiencedonthehigherlands。
Asthegamewasabundantandmypartyverylarge,IhadstilltosupplytheirwantswiththegunWeslaughteredtheoxenonlywhenunsuccessfulinhuntingWealwaysenteredintofriendlyrelationswiththeheadmenofthedifferentvillages,andtheypresentedgrainandotherfoodfreelyOnemangaveabasinfulofrice,thefirstwemetwithinthecountryItisneverseenintheinteriorHesaidheknewitwas“whiteman’scorn“,andwhenIwishedtobuysomemore,heaskedmetogivehimaslaveThiswasthefirstsymptomoftheslave-tradeonthissideofthecountryThelastofthesefriendlyheadmenwasnamedMobala;andhavingpassedhiminpeace,wehadnoanticipationofanythingelse;but,afterafewhours,wereachedSeloleorChilole,andfoundthathenotonlyconsideredusenemies,buthadactuallysentanexpresstoraisethetribeofMburumaagainstus。
AllthewomenofSelolehadfled,andthefewpeoplewemetexhibitedsymptomsofterrorAnarmedpartyhadcomefromMburumainobediencetothecall;buttheheadmanofthecompany,beingMburuma’sbrother,suspectingthatitwasahoax,cametoourencampmentandtoldusthewholeWhenweexplainedourobjects,hetoldusthatMburuma,hehadnodoubt,wouldreceiveuswellThereasonwhySeloleactedinthisfoolishmannerweafterwardfoundtobethis:
anItaliannamedSimoens,andnicknamedSiriatombadon’teattobacco,hadmarriedthedaughterofachiefcalledSekokole,livingnorthofTete。
Hearmedapartyoffiftyslaveswithguns,and,ascendingtheriverincanoessomedistancebeyondtheislandMeyamakaba,attackedseveralinhabitedislandsbeyond,securingalargenumberofprisoners,andmuchivoryOnhisreturn,thedifferentchiefs,attheinstigationofhisfather-in-law,whoalsodidnotwishhimtosetupasachief,united,attackedanddispersedthepartyofSimoens,andkilledhimwhiletryingtoescapeonfootSeloleimaginedthatIwasanotherItalian,or,asheexpressedit,“Siriatombarisenfromthedead。”InhismessagetoMburumaheevensaidthatMobala,andallthevillagesbeyond,wereutterlydestroyedbyourfire-arms,butthesightofMobalahimself,whohadcometothevillageofSelole,ledthebrotherofMburumatoseeatoncethatitwasallahoax。