16TH. After A Short March We Came To A Most Lovely Valley
About A Mile And A Half Wide, And Stretching Away Eastward
Up To A Low Prolongation Of Monakadzi.
A small stream meanders
down the centre of this pleasant green glen; and on a little rill,
which flows into it from the western side, stands the town of Kabompo,
or, as he likes best to be called, Shinte.
(Lat. 12d 37' 35" S.,
long. 22d 47' E.) When Manenko thought the sun was high enough
for us to make a lucky entrance, we found the town embowered
in banana and other tropical trees having great expansion of leaf;
the streets are straight, and present a complete contrast
to those of the Bechuanas, which are all very tortuous.
Here, too, we first saw native huts with square walls and round roofs.
The fences or walls of the courts which surround the huts
are wonderfully straight, and made of upright poles a few inches apart,
with strong grass or leafy bushes neatly woven between. In the courts
were small plantations of tobacco, and a little solanaceous plant
which the Balonda use as a relish; also sugar-cane and bananas.
Many of the poles have grown again, and trees of the `Ficus Indica' family
have been planted around, in order to give to the inhabitants
a grateful shade: they regard this tree with some sort of veneration
as a medicine or charm. Goats were browsing about, and,
when we made our appearance, a crowd of negroes, all fully armed,
ran toward us as if they would eat us up; some had guns,
but the manner in which they were held showed that the owners
were more accustomed to bows and arrows than to white men's weapons.
After surrounding and staring at us for an hour, they began to disperse.
The two native Portuguese traders of whom we had heard had erected
a little encampment opposite the place where ours was about to be made.
One of them, whose spine had been injured in youth - a rare sight
in this country - came and visited us. I returned the visit next morning.
His tall companion had that sickly yellow hue which made him look
fairer than myself, but his head was covered with a crop of unmistakable wool.
They had a gang of young female slaves in a chain, hoeing the ground
in front of their encampment to clear it of weeds and grass;
these were purchased recently in Lobale, whence the traders had now come.
There were many Mambari with them, and the establishment was conducted
with that military order which pervades all the arrangements
of the Portuguese colonists. A drum was beaten and trumpet sounded
at certain hours, quite in military fashion. It was the first time
most of my men had seen slaves in chains. "They are not men," they exclaimed
(meaning they are beasts), "who treat their children so."
The Balonda are real negroes, having much more wool on their heads and bodies
than any of the Bechuana or Caffre tribes.
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