Having At Last Procured A Sufficient Number Of Canoes, We Began To Ascend
The River.
I had the choice of the whole fleet, and selected the best,
though not the largest; it was thirty-
Four feet long by twenty inches wide.
I had six paddlers, and the larger canoe of Sekeletu had ten.
They stand upright, and keep the stroke with great precision, though they
change from side to side as the course demands. The men at the head and stern
are selected from the strongest and most expert of the whole.
The canoes, being flat bottomed, can go into very shallow water;
and whenever the men can feel the bottom they use the paddles,
which are about eight feet long, as poles to punt with. Our fleet
consisted of thirty-three canoes, and about one hundred and sixty men.
It was beautiful to see them skimming along so quickly,
and keeping the time so well. On land the Makalaka fear the Makololo;
on water the Makololo fear them, and can not prevent them
from racing with each other, dashing along at the top of their speed,
and placing their masters' lives in danger. In the event of a capsize,
many of the Makololo would sink like stones. A case of this kind happened
on the first day of our voyage up. The wind, blowing generally from the east,
raises very large waves on the Leeambye. An old doctor of the Makololo
had his canoe filled by one of these waves, and, being unable to swim,
was lost. The Barotse who were in the canoe with him saved themselves
by swimming, and were afraid of being punished with death in the evening
for not saving the doctor as well. Had he been a man of more influence,
they certainly would have suffered death.
We proceeded rapidly up the river, and I felt the pleasure of looking on lands
which had never been seen by a European before. The river is, indeed,
a magnificent one, often more than a mile broad, and adorned with
many islands of from three to five miles in length. Both islands and banks
are covered with forest, and most of the trees on the brink of the water
send down roots from their branches like the banian, or `Ficus Indica'.
The islands at a little distance seem great rounded masses
of sylvan vegetation reclining on the bosom of the glorious stream.
The beauty of the scenery of some of the islands is greatly increased
by the date-palm, with its gracefully curved fronds and refreshing
light green color, near the bottom of the picture, and the lofty palmyra
towering far above, and casting its feathery foliage against a cloudless sky.
It being winter, we had the strange coloring on the banks which
many parts of African landscape assume. The country adjacent to the river
is rocky and undulating, abounding in elephants and all other large game,
except leches and nakongs, which seem generally to avoid stony ground.
The soil is of a reddish color, and very fertile, as is attested
by the great quantity of grain raised annually by the Banyeti.
A great many villages of this poor and very industrious people
are situated on both banks of the river:
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