And 27 Deg. S.
in the centre of the continent during the last two centuries at least.
There is no appearance of recent fracture or disturbance of rocks
to be seen in the central country, except the falls of Gonye;
nor is there any evidence or tradition of hurricanes.
I left Naliele on the 13th of August, and, when proceeding along the shore
at midday, a hippopotamus struck the canoe with her forehead,
lifting one half of it quite out of the water, so as nearly to overturn it.
The force of the butt she gave tilted Mashauana out into the river;
the rest of us sprang to the shore, which was only about ten yards off.
Glancing back, I saw her come to the surface a short way off,
and look to the canoe, as if to see if she had done much mischief.
It was a female, whose young one had been speared the day before.
No damage was done except wetting person and goods. This is so unusual
an occurrence, when the precaution is taken to coast along the shore,
that my men exclaimed, "Is the beast mad?" There were eight of us
in the canoe at the time, and the shake it received shows
the immense power of this animal in the water.
On reaching Gonye, Mokwala, the head man, having presented me with a tusk,
I gave it to Pitsane, as he was eagerly collecting ivory
for the Loanda market. The rocks of Gonye are reddish gray sandstone,
nearly horizontal, and perforated by madrepores, the holes showing
the course of the insect in different directions. The rock itself
has been impregnated with iron, and that hardened, forms a glaze
on the surface - an appearance common to many of the rocks of this country.
AUGUST 22D. This is the end of winter. The trees which line the banks
begin to bud and blossom, and there is some show of the influence
of the new sap, which will soon end in buds that push off the old foliage
by assuming a very bright orange color. This orange is so bright that
I mistook it for masses of yellow blossom. There is every variety of shade
in the leaves - yellow, purple, copper, liver-color, and even inky black.
Having got the loan of other canoes from Mpololo, and three oxen
as provision for the way, which made the number we had been presented with
in the Barotse valley amount to thirteen, we proceeded down the river
toward Sesheke, and were as much struck as formerly with the noble river.
The whole scenery is lovely, though the atmosphere is murky
in consequence of the continuance of the smoky tinge of winter.
