At Different Points On The Slopes Of These Valleys Which
We Now For The First Time Entered, There Are Oozing Fountains,
Surrounded By Clumps Of The Same Evergreen, Straight, Large-Leaved Trees
We Have Noticed Along The Streams.
These spots are generally covered
with a mat of grassy vegetation, and possess more the character of bogs
than of fountains.
They slowly discharge into the stream below,
and are so numerous along both banks as to give a peculiar character
to the landscape. These groups of sylvan vegetation are generally
of a rounded form, and the trunks of the trees are tall and straight,
while those on the level plains above are low and scraggy in their growth.
There can be little doubt but that the water, which stands for months
on the plains, soaks in, and finds its way into the rivers and rivulets
by percolating through the soil, and out by these oozing bogs;
and the difference between the growth of these trees, though they be of
different species, may be a proof that the stuntedness of those on the plains
is owing to being, in the course of each year, more subjected to drought
than moisture.
Reaching the village of Kabinje, in the evening he sent us
a present of tobacco, Mutokuane or "bang" (`Cannabis sativa'), and maize,
by the man who went forward to announce our arrival, and a message
expressing satisfaction at the prospect of having trade with the coast.
The westing we were making brought us among people who are frequently
visited by the Mambari as slave-dealers. This trade causes bloodshed;
for when a poor family is selected as the victims, it is necessary
to get rid of the older members of it, because they are supposed
to be able to give annoyance to the chief afterward by means of enchantments.
The belief in the power of charms for good or evil produces not only honesty,
but a great amount of gentle dealing. The powerful are often
restrained in their despotism from a fear that the weak and helpless
may injure them by their medical knowledge. They have many fears.
A man at one of the villages we came to showed us the grave of his child,
and, with much apparent feeling, told us she had been burned to death
in her hut. He had come with all his family, and built huts around it
in order to weep for her. He thought, if the grave were left unwatched,
the witches would come and bewitch them by putting medicines on the body.
They have a more decided belief in the continued existence of departed spirits
than any of the more southerly tribes. Even the Barotse possess it
in a strong degree, for one of my men of that tribe, on experiencing headache,
said, with a sad and thoughtful countenance, "My father is scolding me because
I do not give him any of the food I eat." I asked where his father was.
"Among the Barimo," was the reply.
When we wished to move on, Kabinje refused a guide to the next village
because he was at war with it; but, after much persuasion, he consented,
provided that the guide should be allowed to return as soon as he came
in sight of the enemy's village. This we felt to be a misfortune,
as the people all suspect a man who comes telling his own tale;
but there being no help for it, we went on, and found the head man
of a village on the rivulet Kalomba, called Kangenke,
a very different man from what his enemy represented. We found, too,
that the idea of buying and selling took the place of giving for friendship.
As I had nothing with which to purchase food except a parcel of beads
which were preserved for worse times, I began to fear that we should soon
be compelled to suffer more from hunger than we had done.
The people demanded gunpowder for every thing. If we had possessed
any quantity of that article, we should have got on well,
for here it is of great value. On our return, near this spot
we found a good-sized fowl was sold for a single charge of gunpowder.
Next to that, English calico was in great demand, and so were beads;
but money was of no value whatever. Gold is quite unknown;
it is thought to be brass; trade is carried on by barter alone.
The people know nothing of money. A purse-proud person would here feel
the ground move from beneath his feet. Occasionally a large piece of copper,
in the shape of a St. Andrew's cross, is offered for sale.
FEBRUARY 27TH. Kangenke promptly furnished guides this morning,
so we went briskly on a short distance, and came to a part of the Kasye,
Kasai, or Loke, where he had appointed two canoes to convey us across.
This is a most beautiful river, and very much like the Clyde in Scotland.
The slope of the valley down to the stream is about five hundred yards,
and finely wooded. It is, perhaps, one hundred yards broad,
and was winding slowly from side to side in the beautiful green glen,
in a course to the north and northeast. In both the directions
from which it came and to which it went it seemed to be alternately
embowered in sylvan vegetation, or rich meadows covered with tall grass.
The men pointed out its course, and said, "Though you sail along it
for months, you will turn without seeing the end of it."
While at the ford of the Kasai we were subjected to a trick, of which
we had been forewarned by the people of Shinte. A knife had been dropped
by one of Kangenke's people in order to entrap my men; it was put down
near our encampment, as if lost, the owner in the mean time watching
till one of my men picked it up. Nothing was said until our party
was divided, one half on this, and the other on that bank of the river.
Then the charge was made to me that one of my men had stolen a knife.
Certain of my people's honesty, I desired the man, who was making
a great noise, to search the luggage for it; the unlucky lad
who had taken the bait then came forward and confessed that he had the knife
in a basket, which was already taken over the river.
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