It Is Noticeable
That All The Companies Which Have Been Proposed In Portugal
Have This Put Prominently In The Preamble,
"And for the abolition
of the inhuman slave-trade." This shows either that the statesmen in Portugal
are enlightened and
Philanthropic, or it may be meant as a trap
for English capitalists; I incline to believe the former. If the Portuguese
really wish to develop the resources of the rich country beyond
their possessions, they ought to invite the co-operation of other nations
on equal terms with themselves. Let the pathway into the interior
be free to all; and, instead of wretched forts, with scarcely an acre of land
around them which can be called their own, let real colonies be made.
If, instead of military establishments, we had civil ones,
and saw emigrants going out with their wives, plows, and seeds,
rather than military convicts with bugles and kettle-drums,
we might hope for a return of prosperity to Eastern Africa.
The village of Senna stands on the right bank of the Zambesi.
There are many reedy islands in front of it, and there is much bush
in the country adjacent. The soil is fertile, but the village,
being in a state of ruin, and having several pools of stagnant water,
is very unhealthy. The bottom rock is the akose of Brongniart,
or granitic grit, and several conical hills of trap have burst through it.
One standing about half a mile west of the village is called Baramuana,
which has another behind it; hence the name, which means "carry a child
on the back". It is 300 or 400 feet high, and on the top
lie two dismounted cannon, which were used to frighten away the Landeens,
who, in one attack upon Senna, killed 150 of the inhabitants.
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