This Is Stated On Native Testimony; But I Can Very Well
Believe That Level Plains, In Which Neither Wells Nor
Gullies are met with,
may, after the dry season, present the opposite extreme to what we witnessed.
Water, however, could
Always be got by digging, a proof of which we had
on our return when brought to a stand on this very plain by severe fever:
about twelve miles from the Kasai my men dug down a few feet,
and found an abundant supply; and we saw on one of the islands
the garden of a man who, in the dry season, had drunk water from a well
in like manner. Plains like these can not be inhabited
while the present system of cultivation lasts. The population is not yet
so very large as to need them. They find garden-ground enough
on the gentle slopes at the sides of the rivulets, and possess no cattle
to eat off the millions of acres of fine hay we were now wading through.
Any one who has visited the Cape Colony will understand me
when I say that these immense crops resemble sown grasses
more than the tufty vegetation of the south.
I would here request the particular attention of the reader to the phenomena
these periodically deluged plains present, because they have a most important
bearing on the physical geography of a very large portion of this country.
The plains of Lobale, to the west of this, give rise to a great many streams,
which unite, and form the deep, never-failing Chobe. Similar extensive flats
give birth to the Loeti and Kasai, and, as we shall see further on,
all the rivers of an extensive region owe their origin to oozing bogs,
and not to fountains.
When released from our island by the rain ceasing, we marched on
till we came to a ridge of dry inhabited land in the N.W.
The inhabitants, according to custom, lent us the roofs of some huts
to save the men the trouble of booth-making. I suspect that the story
in Park's "Travels", of the men lifting up the hut to place it on the lion,
referred to the roof only. We leave them for the villagers to replace
at their leisure. No payment is expected for the use of them.
By night it rained so copiously that all our beds were flooded from below;
and from this time forth we always made a furrow round each booth,
and used the earth to raise our sleeping-places. My men turned out
to work in the wet most willingly; indeed, they always did.
I could not but contrast their conduct with that of Intemese.
He was thoroughly imbued with the slave spirit, and lied on all occasions
without compunction. Untruthfulness is a sort of refuge
for the weak and oppressed. We expected to move on the 4th,
but he declared that we were so near Katema's, if we did not send forward
to apprise that chief of our approach, he would certainly impose a fine.
It rained the whole day, so we were reconciled to the delay; but on Sunday,
the 5th, he let us know that we were still two days distant from Katema.
We unfortunately could not manage without him, for the country was so deluged,
we should have been brought to a halt before we went many miles
by some deep valley, every one of which was full of water.
Intemese continued to plait his basket with all his might, and would not come
to our religious service. He seemed to be afraid of our incantations,
but was always merry and jocular.
6TH. Soon after starting we crossed a branch of the Lokalueje
by means of a canoe, and in the afternoon passed over the main stream
by a like conveyance. The former, as is the case with all branches of rivers
in this country, is called nyuana Kalueje (child of the Kalueje).
Hippopotami exist in the Lokalueje, so it may be inferred to be perennial,
as the inhabitants asserted. We can not judge of the size of the stream
from what we now saw. It had about forty yards of deep, fast-flowing water,
but probably not more than half that amount in the dry season.
Besides these, we crossed numerous feeders in our N.N.W. course,
and, there being no canoes, got frequently wet in the course of the day.
The oxen in some places had their heads only above water, and the stream,
flowing over their backs, wetted our blankets, which we used as saddles.
The arm-pit was the only safe spot for carrying the watch,
for there it was preserved from rains above and waters below.
The men on foot crossed these gullies holding up their burdens
at arms' length.
The Lokalueje winds from northeast to southwest into the Leeba.
The country adjacent to its banks is extremely fine and fertile,
with here and there patches of forest or clumps of magnificent trees.
The villagers through whose gardens we passed continue to sow and reap
all the year round. The grains, as maize, lotsa (`Pennisetum typhoideum'),
lokesh or millet, are to be seen at all stages of their growth -
some just ripe, while at this time the Makololo crops are not half grown.
My companions, who have a good idea of the different qualities of soils,
expressed the greatest admiration of the agricultural capabilities of
the whole of Londa, and here they were loud in their praises of the pasturage.
They have an accurate idea of the varieties of grasses best adapted
for different kinds of stock, and lament because here there are no cows
to feed off the rich green crop, which at this time imparts special beauty
to the landscape.
Great numbers of the omnivorous feeding fish, `Glanis siluris', or mosala,
spread themselves over the flooded plains, and, as the waters retire,
try to find their way back again to the rivers.
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