The Term "Emperor", Which Has Been
Applied To Him, Seems Totally Inappropriate.
The statement of Pereira that
twenty negroes were slaughtered in a day, was not confirmed by any one else,
Though numbers may have been killed on some particular occasion
during the time of his visit, for we find throughout all the country
north of 20 Deg., which I consider to be real negro, the custom of
slaughtering victims to accompany the departed soul of a chief,
and human sacrifices are occasionally offered, and certain parts of the bodies
are used as charms. It is on account of the existence of such rites,
with the similarity of the language, and the fact that the names of rivers
are repeated again and again from north to south through all that region,
that I consider them to have been originally one family.
The last expedition to Cazembe was somewhat of the same nature as the others,
and failed in establishing a commerce, because the people of Cazembe,
who had come to Tete to invite the Portuguese to visit them, had not been
allowed to trade with whom they might. As it had not been free-trade there,
Cazembe did not see why it should be free-trade at his town;
he accordingly would not allow his people to furnish the party with food
except at his price; and the expedition, being half starved in consequence,
came away voting unanimously that Cazembe was a great bore.
When we left the Loangwa we thought we had got rid of the hills;
but there are some behind Mazanzwe, though five or six miles off
from the river. Tsetse and the hills had destroyed two riding oxen,
and when the little one that I now rode knocked up, I was forced
to march on foot. The bush being very dense and high,
we were going along among the trees, when three buffaloes,
which we had unconsciously passed above the wind, thought that they were
surrounded by men, and dashed through our line. My ox set off at a gallop,
and when I could manage to glance back, I saw one of the men up in the air
about five feet above a buffalo, which was tearing along with
a stream of blood running down his flank. When I got back to the poor fellow,
I found that he had lighted on his face, and, though he had been carried
on the horns of the buffalo about twenty yards before getting the final toss,
the skin was not pierced nor was a bone broken. When the beasts appeared,
he had thrown down his load and stabbed one in the side.
It turned suddenly upon him, and, before he could use a tree for defense,
carried him off. We shampooed him well, and then went on,
and in about a week he was able to engage in the hunt again.
At Zumbo we had entered upon old gray sandstone, with shingle in it,
dipping generally toward the south, and forming the bed of the river.
The Zambesi is very broad here, but contains many inhabited islands.
We slept opposite one on the 16th called Shibanga. The nights are warm,
the temperature never falling below 80 Deg.; it was 91 Deg. even at sunset.
One can not cool the water by a wet towel round the vessel,
and we feel no pleasure in drinking warm water, though the heat makes us
imbibe large quantities. We often noticed lumps of a froth-like substance
on the bushes as large as cricket-balls, which we could not explain.
On the morning of the 17th we were pleased to see a person coming
from the island of Shibanga with jacket and hat on. He was quite black,
but had come from the Portuguese settlement at Tete or Nyungwe;
and now, for the first time, we understood that the Portuguese settlement
was on the other bank of the river, and that they had been fighting
with the natives for the last two years. We had thus got into
the midst of a Caffre war, without any particular wish to be on either side.
He advised us to cross the river at once, as Mpende lived on this side.
We had been warned by the guides of Mburuma against him,
for they said that if we could get past Mpende we might reach the white men,
but that he was determined that no white man should pass him.
Wishing to follow this man's advice, we proposed to borrow his canoes;
but, being afraid to offend the lords of the river, he declined.
The consequence was, we were obliged to remain on the enemy's side.
The next island belonged to a man named Zungo, a fine, frank fellow,
who brought us at once a present of corn, bound in a peculiar way in grass.
He freely accepted our apology for having no present to give in return,
as he knew that there were no goods in the interior, and, besides,
sent forward a recommendation to his brother-in-law Pangola. The country
adjacent to the river is covered with dense bush, thorny and tangled,
making one stoop or wait till the men broke or held the branches on one side.
There is much rank grass, but it is not so high or rank as that of Angola.
The maize, however, which is grown here is equal in size to that
which the Americans sell for seed at the Cape. There is usually a holm
adjacent to the river, studded with villages and gardens. The holms are
but partially cultivated, and on the other parts grows rank and weedy grass.
There is then a second terrace, on which trees and bushes abound;
and I thought I could detect a third and higher steppe.
But I never could discover terraces on the adjacent country,
such as in other countries show ancient sea-beaches. The path runs
sometimes on the one and sometimes on the other of these river terraces.
Canoes are essentially necessary; but I find that they here cost too much
for my means, and higher up, where my hoes might have secured one,
I was unwilling to enter into a canoe and part with my men
while there was danger of their being attacked.
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