andtheresidenceofthepeoplehereisintendedtosecuresafetyforthemselvesandtheirgardensfromtheirenemies;thereisplentyofgarden-groundoutsidethehills;heretheyareobligedtomakepitfallstoprotectthegrainagainstthehippopotami。
Astheseanimalshadnotbeendisturbedbyguns,theywereremarkablytame,andtooknonoticeofourpassingWeagainsawnumbersofyoungones,notmuchlargerthanterrierdogs,sittingonthenecksoftheirdams,thelittlesaucy-lookingheadscockingupbetweentheoldone’sears;
astheybecomealittleoldertheysitonthewithersNeedingmeat,weshotafull-growncow,andfound,aswehadoftendonebefore,thefleshtobeverymuchlikeporkTheheightofthisanimalwas4feet10inches,andfromthepointofthenosetotherootofthetail10feet6Theyseemquarrelsome,forbothmalesandfemalesarefoundcoveredwithscars,andyoungmalesareoftenkilledbytheelderones:
wemetaninstanceofthisnearthefalls。
Wecametoagreatmanylittlevillagesamongthehills,asiftheinhabitantshadreasontohidethemselvesfromtheobservationoftheirenemies。
Whiledetainedcuttingupthehippopotamus,IascendedahillcalledMabueasulastonessmellbadly,and,thoughnotthehighestinsight,itwascertainlynot100feetlowerthanthemostelevated。
Theboiling-pointofwatershowedittobeabout900feetabovetheriver,whichwasofthelevelofLinyantiThesehillsseemedtomymenofprodigiousaltitude,fortheyhadbeenaccustomedtoant-hillsonly。
Thementionofmountainsthatpiercedthecloudsmadethemdrawintheirbreathandholdtheirhandstotheirmouths。
AndwhenItoldthemthattheirpreviousdescriptionofTabacheuhadledmetoexpectsomethingofthesort,Ifoundthattheideaofacloud-cappedmountainhadneverenteredintotheirheads。
Themountainscertainlylookhigh,fromhavingabruptsides;
butIhadrecognizedthefactbythepointofebullitionofwater,thattheyareofaconsiderablyloweraltitudethanthetopoftheridgewehadleftTheyconstitute,infact,asortoflowfringeontheoutsideoftheeasternridge,exactlyastheapparentlyhighmountainsofAngolaGolungoAltoformanouterlowfringetothewesternridge。
Iwasmuchstruckbythesimilarityofconformationandnatureoftherocksonbothsidesofthecontinent;butthereisadifferenceinthestructureofthesubtendingridges,asmaybeunderstoodbytheannexedidealgeologicalsection。
[TheASCIIeditioncannotincludethedrawingofthecross-section,butthecommentsareincludedinfullAL。,1997。]
TRAPWithmodernshells,andsimilartothosenowfoundintheseaadjacent,withstronglymagneticironore。
MICASCHISTDippingEast。
SANDSTONElikethatofEastAfricaTherocksPungoAndongoofPungoAndongoareaconglomerateofroundedshingleinRocks4000feetamatrixofsandstone,andstandonhorizontalsandstone,onwhichfossilpalmsappear。
CTUFAANDTRAPInLonda,thebottomofthevalleyE2500feetisformedofferruginousconglomerateonthesurface;
NLakeNgamihardenedsandstone,withmadreporeholes,Tbanksofgravel,andoccasionallytrap;
Rsouthof12Degrees,largepatchesofsoftATUFAcalcareoustufa,withpebblesofjasper,Lagates,&c。,lieonvarioushorizontaltraps,amygdaloidswithanalamiandmesotype,whichisPburstthroughbybasalticrocksforminghills,LandshowingthatthebottomofthevalleyARADIATEDZEOLITEconsistsofoldsilurianschists;
TtherearealsovariousgraniticrocksEcroppingthroughthetrap。
UBASALTICROCKSAugiticporphyryandbasalt,。withtufaoverit。
PlaceofGreatCataract。
MICASCHISTWhitemicaschistdippingwest,andgneiss。
MICASCHISTWhitemicaschistandwhitemarble。
HilltopsTRAPHotfountain;conicalhillsofigneousrocks,4000feetcontainingmuchmica。
Bottoms3500feet。
MICASCHISTPinkmarbledolomite,onhillsofmicaschist,ofvariouscolours,withtrap,schorlingneiss,kyaniteordisthenegneissosemicaintheschist。
1500ftCOALINSANDSTONESpecularandmagneticirononvariousigneousrocks;finelylaminatedporphyry;
granite;hotfountain。
Sandstoneoverlyingcoal;trapdykes;
syeniticporphyrydykes;blackvesiculartrap,penetratinginthinveinstheclayshaleofthecountry,convertingitintoporcellanite,andpartiallycrystallizingthecoalOnthissandstoneliefossilpalms,andconiferoustreesconvertedintosilica,asonasimilarrockinAngola。
COMPACTSILICEOUSSCHIST。
IGNEOUSROCKSTrappeanrocks,withhotfountain。
CALCAREOUSTUFAArkose,orgraniticgrit,withmodernshellscoveredbycalcareoustufa。
ghtsaregivenasanapproximationobtainedfromobservingtheboilingpointofwater,theyaredrawnonascaleof1/10ofaninchper1000feetinaltitudeThesectionisnecessarilyexaggeratedinlongitude,asitwastraversedindifferentlatitudes,thewesternsidebeingin8d-12d,theeastern
Wecanseefromthishillfivedistinctranges,ofwhichBolengoisthemostwesterly,andKomangaisthemosteasterly。
ThesecondisnamedSekonkamena,andthethirdFunze。
Verymanyconicalhillsappearamongthem,andtheyaregenerallycoveredwithtreesOntheirtopswehavebeautifulwhitequartzrocks,andsomehaveacappingofdolomiteOnthewestofthesecondrangewehavegreatmassesofkyaniteordisthene,andontheflanksofthethirdandfourthagreatdealofspecularironorewhichismagnetic,andcontainingaverylargepercentageofthemetalThesidesoftheserangesaregenerallyveryprecipitous,andtherearerivuletsbetweenwhicharenotperennialManyofthehillshavebeenraisedbygranite,exactlylikethatoftheKalomoDikesofthisgranitemaybeseenthrustingupimmensemassesofmicaschistandquartzorsandstoneschist,andmakingthestratafoldoverthemoneachside,asclotheshunguponalineTheuppermoststratumisalwaysdolomiteorbrightwhitequartz。
Semalembueintendedthatweshouldgoalittletothenortheast,andpassthroughthepeoplecalledBabimpe,andwesawsomeofthatpeople,whoinvitedustocomethatwayonaccountofitsbeingsmoother;
but,feelinganxioustogetbacktotheZambesiagain,wedecidedtocrossthehillstowarditsconfluencewiththeKafue。
Thedistance,whichinastraightlineisbutsmall,occupiedthreedays。
Theprecipitousnatureofthesidesofthismassofhillsknockeduptheoxenandforcedustoslaughtertwo,oneofwhich,averylargeone,andornamentedwithupwardofthirtypiecesofitsownskindetachedandhangingdown,SekeletuhadwishedustotaketothewhitepeopleasaspecimenofhiscattleWesawmanyelephantsamongthehills,andmymenranoffandkilledthreeWhenwecametothetopoftheouterrangeofthehillswehadagloriousview。
AtashortdistancebelowuswesawtheKafue,wendingawayoveraforest-cladplaintotheconfluence,andontheothersideoftheZambesi,beyondthat,layalongrangeofdarkhillsAlineoffleecycloudsappearedlyingalongthecourseofthatriverattheirbaseTheplainbelowus,attheleftoftheKafue,hadmorelargegameonitthananywhereelseIhadseeninAfricaHundredsofbuffaloesandzebrasgrazedontheopenspaces,andtherestoodlordlyelephantsfeedingmajestically,nothingmovingapparentlybuttheproboscisIwishedthatIhadbeenabletotakeaphotographofascenesoseldombeheld,andwhichisdestined,asgunsincrease,topassawayfromearthWhenwedescendedwefoundalltheanimalsremarkablytameTheelephantsstoodbeneaththetrees,fanningthemselveswiththeirlargeears,asiftheydidnotseeusat200or300yardsdistanceThenumberofanimalswasquiteastonishing,andmademethinkthathereIcouldrealizeanimageofthattimewhenMegatheriafedundisturbedintheprimevalforests。
Wesawgreatnumbersofred-coloredpigs`Potamochoerus’
standinggazingatusinwonderThepeopleliveonthehills,and,havingnoguns,seldomdisturbthegameTheyhaveneverbeenvisited,evenbyhalf-castes;butBabisatradershavecomeoccasionally。
ContinuousrainskeptusforsometimeonthebanksoftheChiponga,andherewewereunfortunateenoughtocomeamongthetsetse。
MrJNGray,oftheBritishMuseum,haskindlyobligedmewithadrawingoftheinsect,withtheravagesofwhichIhaveunfortunatelybeentoofamiliarFordescription,seep94-96[Chapter4Paragraphs16-20]。
No1istheinsectsomewhatsmallerthanlife,fromthespecimenhavingcontractedindrying;theyarealittlelargerthanthecommonhouse-fly。
No2istheinsectmagnified;andNo3showsthemagnifiedproboscisandpoison-bulbattheroot。*
*Unfortunately,theseillustrationscannotbepresentedinthisASCIItext。
Fortunately,informationontheTsetseisnolongerdifficulttofind。
The“somewhatsmallerthanlife“drawingisabout1cmfromheadtotail,notincludingwingsorproboscisAL。,1997。
Wetriedtoleaveonemorning,buttheraincomingonafreshbroughtustoastand,andafterwaitinganhour,wettotheskin,wewerefaintoretraceourstepstoourshedsTheserainswerefromtheeast,andthecloudsmightbeseenonthehillsexactlyasthe“Table-cloth“onTableMountainThiswasthefirstwettingwehadgotsinceweleftSesheke,forIhadgainedsomeexperienceintraveling。
InLondawebravedtherain,and,asIdespisedbeingcarriedinourfrequentpassagethroughrunningwater,Iwasprettyconstantlydrenched;
butnow,whenwesawastormcoming,weinvariablyhalted。
Themensoonpulledgrasssufficienttomakealittleshelterforthemselvesbyplacingitonabush,and,havinggotmycamp-stoolandumbrella,withalittlegrassundermyfeet,Ikeptmyselfperfectlydry。
Wealsolightedlargefires,andthemenwerenotchilledbystreamsofwaterrunningdowntheirpersons,andabstractingtheheat,astheywouldhavebeenhadtheybeenexposedtotherain。
Whenitwasovertheywarmedthemselvesbythefires,andwetraveledoncomfortablyTheeffectofthiscarewas,thatwehadmuchlesssicknessthanwithasmallerpartyinjourneyingtoLoandaAnotherimprovementmadefrommyexperiencewasavoidinganentirechangeofdietIngoingtoLoandaItooklittleornoEuropeanfood,inordernottoburdenmymenandmakethemlosespirit,buttrustedentirelytowhatmightbegotbythegunandtheliberalityoftheBalonda;butonthisjourneyItooksomeflourwhichhadbeenleftinthewagon,withsomegotontheisland,andbakedmyownbreadallthewayinanextemporaneousovenmadebyaninvertedpotWiththeseprecautions,aided,nodoubt,bythegreaterhealthinessofthedistrictoverwhichwepassed,Ienjoyedperfecthealth。
WhenwelefttheChipongoonthe30thwepassedamongtherangeofhillsonourleft,whicharecomposedofmicaandclayslate。
Atthebottomwefoundaforestoflargesilicifiedtrees,alllyingasiftheelevationoftherangehadmadethemfallawayfromit,andtowardtheriverAnordinary-sizedtreestandingonend,measured22inchesindiameter:therewere12laminaetotheinch。
Theseareeasilycounted,becausethereisusuallyascaleofpuresilicabetweeneach,whichhasnotbeensomuchaffectedbytheweatherastherestoftheringitself:theedgesoftheringsthusstandoutplainlyMrQuekett,havingkindlyexaminedsomespecimens,findsthatitis“silicifiedCONIFEROUSWOODoftheARAUCARIANtype;
andthenearestalliedwoodthatheknowsofisthatfound,alsoinafossilstate,inNewSouthWales。”ThenumbersoflargegamewerequiteastonishingIneversawelephantssotameasthoseneartheChiponga:theystoodclosetoourpathwithoutbeingtheleastafraid。
Thisisdifferentfromtheirconductwheretheyhavebeenaccustomedtoguns,fortheretheytakealarmatthedistanceofamile,andbegintorunifashotisfiredevenatalongerdistanceMymenkilledanotherhere,andrewardedthevillagersoftheChipongafortheirliberalityinmealbyloadingthemwithfleshWespentanightatabaobab,whichwashollow,andwouldholdtwentymeninsideIthadbeenusedasalodging-housebytheBabisa。
AsweapproachednearertheZambesi,thecountrybecamecoveredwithbroad-leavedbushes,prettythicklyplanted,andwehadseveraltimestoshouttoelephantstogetoutofourwayAtanopenspace,aherdofbuffaloescametrottinguptolookatouroxen,anditwasonlybyshootingonethatImadethemretreat。