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.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 532 of 572
Words from 284164 to 284667
of 306638
