Had The Portuguese
Possessed This Territory As A Real Colony, This Important Point
Would Not Have Been Left Unoccupied; As It Is, There Is Not Even
A Native Village Placed At The Entrance Of This Splendid River
To Show The Way In.
On the 9th of May sixteen of my men were employed to carry government goods
in canoes up to Tete.
They were much pleased at getting this work.
On the 11th the whole of the inhabitants of Senna, with the commandant,
accompanied us to the boats. A venerable old man, son of a judge,
said they were in much sorrow on account of the miserable state of decay
into which they had sunk, and of the insolent conduct of the people of Kisaka
now in the village. We were abundantly supplied with provisions
by the commandant and Senhor Ferrao, and sailed pleasantly
down the broad river. About thirty miles below Senna
we passed the mouth of the River Zangwe on our right, which farther up
goes by the name of Pungwe; and about five miles farther on our left,
close to the end of a low range into which Morumbala merges,
we crossed the mouth of the Shire, which seemed to be about 200 yards broad.
A little inland from the confluence there is another rebel stockade,
which was attacked by Ensign Rebeiro with three European soldiers,
and captured; they disarmed the rebels and threw the guns into the water.
This ensign and Miranda volunteered to disperse the people of Kisaka
who were riding roughshod over the inhabitants of Senna; but the offer
was declined, the few real Portuguese fearing the disloyal half-castes
among whom they dwelt. Slavery and immorality have here done their work;
nowhere else does the European name stand at so low an ebb; but what
can be expected? Few Portuguese women are ever taken to the colonies,
and here I did not observe that honorable regard for the offspring
which I noticed in Angola. The son of a late governor of Tete
was pointed out to me in the condition and habit of a slave.
There is neither priest nor school at Senna, though there are
ruins of churches and convents.
On passing the Shire we observed great quantities of the plant Alfacinya,
already mentioned, floating down into the Zambesi. It is probably
the `Pistia stratiotes', a gigantic "duck-weed". It was mixed
with quantities of another aquatic plant, which the Barotse named "Njefu",
containing in the petiole of the leaf a pleasant-tasted nut.
This was so esteemed by Sebituane that he made it part of his tribute
from the subjected tribes. Dr. Hooker kindly informs me
that the njefu "is probably a species of `Trapa', the nuts of which
are eaten in the south of Europe and in India. Government derives
a large revenue from them in Kashmir, amounting to 12,000 Pounds per annum
for 128,000 ass-loads! The ancient Thracians are said to have
eaten them largely. In the south of France they are called water-chestnuts."
The existence of these plants in such abundance in the Shire
may show that it flows from large collections of still water.
We found them growing in all the still branches and lagoons of the Leeambye
in the far north, and there also we met a beautiful little floating plant,
the `Azolla Nilotica', which is found in the upper Nile.
They are seldom seen in flowing streams.
A few miles beyond the Shire we left the hills entirely,
and sailed between extensive flats. The banks seen in the distance
are covered with trees. We slept on a large inhabited island,
and then came to the entrance of the River Mutu (latitude 18d 3' 37" S.,
longitude 35d 46' E.): the point of departure is called Mazaro,
or "mouth of the Mutu". The people who live on the north are called Baroro,
and their country Bororo. The whole of the right bank is in subjection
to the Landeens, who, it was imagined, would levy a tribute upon us,
for this they are accustomed to do to passengers. I regret
that we did not meet them, for, though they are named Caffres,
I am not sure whether they are of the Zulu family or of the Mashona.
I should have liked to form their acquaintance, and to learn
what they really think of white men. I understood from Sekwebu,
and from one of Changamera's people who lives at Linyanti,
and was present at the attack on Senna, that they consider the whites
as a conquered tribe.
The Zambesi at Mazaro is a magnificent river, more than half a mile wide,
and without islands. The opposite bank is covered with
forests of fine timber; but the delta which begins here
is only an immense flat, covered with high, coarse grass and reeds,
with here and there a few mango and cocoanut trees. This was the point
which was reached by the late lamented Captain Parker,
who fell at the Sulina mouth of the Danube. I had a strong desire
to follow the Zambesi farther, and ascertain where this enormous body of water
found its way into the sea; but on hearing from the Portuguese
that he had ascended to this point, and had been highly pleased
with the capabilities of the river, I felt sure that his valuable opinion
must be in possession of the Admiralty. On my arrival in England
I applied to Captain Washington, Hydrographer to the Admiralty,
and he promptly furnished the document for publication
by the Royal Geographical Society.
The river between Mazaro and the sea must therefore be judged of
from the testimony of one more competent to decide on its merits
than a mere landsman like myself.
`On the Quilimane and Zambesi Rivers'. From the Journal
of the late Capt. HYDE PARKER, R.N., H. M. Brig "Pantaloon".
"The Luabo is the main outlet of the Great Zambesi. In the rainy season
- January and February principally - the whole country is overflowed,
and the water escapes by the different rivers as far up as Quilimane;
but in the dry season neither Quilimane nor Olinda communicates with it.
The position of the river is rather incorrect in the Admiralty chart,
being six miles too much to the southward, and also considerably
to the westward.
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