Having At Last Procured A Sufficient Number Of Canoes, We Began To Ascend
The River.
I had the choice of the whole fleet, and selected the best,
though not the largest; it was thirty-
Four feet long by twenty inches wide.
I had six paddlers, and the larger canoe of Sekeletu had ten.
They stand upright, and keep the stroke with great precision, though they
change from side to side as the course demands. The men at the head and stern
are selected from the strongest and most expert of the whole.
The canoes, being flat bottomed, can go into very shallow water;
and whenever the men can feel the bottom they use the paddles,
which are about eight feet long, as poles to punt with. Our fleet
consisted of thirty-three canoes, and about one hundred and sixty men.
It was beautiful to see them skimming along so quickly,
and keeping the time so well. On land the Makalaka fear the Makololo;
on water the Makololo fear them, and can not prevent them
from racing with each other, dashing along at the top of their speed,
and placing their masters' lives in danger. In the event of a capsize,
many of the Makololo would sink like stones. A case of this kind happened
on the first day of our voyage up. The wind, blowing generally from the east,
raises very large waves on the Leeambye. An old doctor of the Makololo
had his canoe filled by one of these waves, and, being unable to swim,
was lost. The Barotse who were in the canoe with him saved themselves
by swimming, and were afraid of being punished with death in the evening
for not saving the doctor as well. Had he been a man of more influence,
they certainly would have suffered death.
We proceeded rapidly up the river, and I felt the pleasure of looking on lands
which had never been seen by a European before. The river is, indeed,
a magnificent one, often more than a mile broad, and adorned with
many islands of from three to five miles in length. Both islands and banks
are covered with forest, and most of the trees on the brink of the water
send down roots from their branches like the banian, or `Ficus Indica'.
The islands at a little distance seem great rounded masses
of sylvan vegetation reclining on the bosom of the glorious stream.
The beauty of the scenery of some of the islands is greatly increased
by the date-palm, with its gracefully curved fronds and refreshing
light green color, near the bottom of the picture, and the lofty palmyra
towering far above, and casting its feathery foliage against a cloudless sky.
It being winter, we had the strange coloring on the banks which
many parts of African landscape assume. The country adjacent to the river
is rocky and undulating, abounding in elephants and all other large game,
except leches and nakongs, which seem generally to avoid stony ground.
The soil is of a reddish color, and very fertile, as is attested
by the great quantity of grain raised annually by the Banyeti.
A great many villages of this poor and very industrious people
are situated on both banks of the river: they are expert hunters
of the hippopotami and other animals, and very proficient in the manufacture
of articles of wood and iron. The whole of this part of the country
being infested with the tsetse, they are unable to rear domestic animals.
This may have led to their skill in handicraft works. Some make
large wooden vessels with very neat lids, and wooden bowls of all sizes;
and since the idea of sitting on stools has entered the Makololo mind,
they have shown great taste in the different forms given
to the legs of these pieces of furniture.
Other Banyeti, or Manyeti, as they are called, make neat and strong baskets
of the split roots of a certain tree, while others excel in pottery and iron.
I can not find that they have ever been warlike. Indeed, the wars
in the centre of the country, where no slave-trade existed,
have seldom been about any thing else but cattle. So well known is this,
that several tribes refuse to keep cattle because they tempt their enemies
to come and steal. Nevertheless, they have no objection to eat them
when offered, and their country admits of being well stocked.
I have heard of but one war having occurred from another cause.
Three brothers, Barolongs, fought for the possession of a woman
who was considered worth a battle, and the tribe has remained
permanently divided ever since.
From the bend up to the north, called Katima-molelo (I quenched fire),
the bed of the river is rocky, and the stream runs fast,
forming a succession of rapids and cataracts, which prevent
continuous navigation when the water is low. The rapids are not visible
when the river is full, but the cataracts of Nambwe, Bombwe, and Kale must
always be dangerous. The fall at each of these is between four and six feet.
But the falls of Gonye present a much more serious obstacle.
There we were obliged to take the canoes out of the water,
and carry them more than a mile by land. The fall is about thirty feet.
The main body of water, which comes over the ledge of rock
when the river is low, is collected into a space seventy or eighty yards wide
before it takes the leap, and, a mass of rock being thrust forward
against the roaring torrent, a loud sound is produced. Tradition reports
the destruction in this place of two hippopotamus-hunters, who,
over-eager in the pursuit of a wounded animal, were, with their intended prey,
drawn down into the frightful gulf. There is also a tradition of a man,
evidently of a superior mind, who left his own countrymen, the Barotse,
and came down the river, took advantage of the falls, and led out
a portion of the water there for irrigation.
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