"We Shall Now," Said They,
"Get Both Corn And Clothes In Plenty." They Were In A Sad State,
Poor Fellows; For The Rains We Had Encountered Had Made Their Skin-Clothing
Drop Off Piecemeal, And They Were Looked Upon With Disgust
By The Well-Fed And Well-Clothed Zambesians.
They were, however,
veterans in marauding, and the head men, instead of being depressed by fear,
as the people
Of Mpende intended should be the case in using their charms,
hinted broadly to me that I ought to allow them to keep Mpende's wives.
The roasting of meat went on fast and furious, and some of the young men
said to me, "You have seen us with elephants, but you don't know yet
what we can do with men." I believe that, had Mpende struck the first blow,
he would soon have found out that he never made a greater mistake in his life.
His whole tribe was assembled at about the distance of half a mile.
As the country is covered with trees, we did not see them;
but every now and then a few came about us as spies, and would answer
no questions. I handed a leg of the ox to two of these, and desired them
to take it to Mpende. After waiting a considerable time in suspense,
two old men made their appearance, and said they had come to inquire
who I was. I replied, "I am a Lekoa" (an Englishman). They said,
"We don't know that tribe. We suppose you are a Mozunga, the tribe with which
we have been fighting." As I was not yet aware that the term Mozunga
was applied to a Portuguese, and thought they meant half-castes,
I showed them my hair and the skin of my bosom, and asked if the Bazunga
had hair and skin like mine. As the Portuguese have the custom
of cutting the hair close, and are also somewhat darker than we are,
they answered, "No; we never saw skin so white as that;" and added,
"Ah! you must be one of that tribe that loves (literally, `has heart to')
the black men." I, of course, gladly responded in the affirmative.
They returned to the village, and we afterward heard that there had been
a long discussion between Mpende and his councilors, and that one of the men
with whom we had remained to talk the day before had been our advocate.
He was named Sindese Oalea. When we were passing his village,
after some conversation, he said to his people, "Is that the man
whom they wish to stop after he has passed so many tribes?
What can Mpende say to refusing him a passage?" It was owing to this man,
and the fact that I belonged to the "friendly white tribe",
that Mpende was persuaded to allow us to pass. When we knew
the favorable decision of the council, I sent Sekwebu to speak about
the purchase of a canoe, as one of my men had become very ill,
and I wished to relieve his companions by taking him in a canoe.
Before Sekwebu could finish his story, Mpende remarked, "That white man
is truly one of our friends. See how he lets me know his afflictions!"
Sekwebu adroitly took advantage of this turn in the conversation,
and said, "Ah! if you only knew him as well as we do who have
lived with him, you would understand that he highly values
your friendship and that of Mburuma, and, as he is a stranger,
he trusts in you to direct him." He replied, "Well, he ought to cross
to the other side of the river, for this bank is hilly and rough,
and the way to Tete is longer on this than on the opposite bank."
"But who will take us across, if you do not?" "Truly!" replied Mpende;
"I only wish you had come sooner to tell me about him; but you shall cross."
Mpende said frequently he was sorry he had not known me sooner,
but that he had been prevented by his enchanter from coming near me;
and he lamented that the same person had kept him from eating the meat
which I had presented. He did every thing he could afterward
to aid us on our course, and our departure was as different as possible
from our approach to his village. I was very much pleased
to find the English name spoken of with such great respect
so far from the coast, and most thankful that no collision occurred
to damage its influence.
24TH. Mpende sent two of his principal men to order the people
of a large island below to ferry us across. The river is very broad,
and, though my men were well acquainted with the management of canoes,
we could not all cross over before dark. It is 1200 yards from bank to bank,
and between 700 and 800 of deep water, flowing at the rate of 3-3/4 miles
per hour. We landed first on an island; then, to prevent our friends
playing false with us, hauled the canoes up to our bivouac, and slept in them.
Next morning we all reached the opposite bank in safety. We observed,
as we came along the Zambesi, that it had fallen two feet below the height
at which we first found it, and the water, though still muddy enough
to deposit a film at the bottom of vessels in a few hours,
is not nearly so red as it was, nor is there so much wreck on its surface.
It is therefore not yet the period of the central Zambesi inundation,
as we were aware also from our knowledge of the interior.
The present height of the water has been caused by rains
outside the eastern ridge. The people here seem abundantly supplied
with English cotton goods. The Babisa are the medium of trade,
for we were informed that the Bazunga, who formerly visited these parts,
have been prevented by the war from coming for the last two years.
The Babisa are said to be so fond of a tusk that they will even sell
a newly-married wife for one.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 246 of 295
Words from 254074 to 255108
of 306638
