At Other Times They Are Off To Their Fields
Before The Day Dawns, And The First Sound One Hears Is The Loud
Talking Of Men And Women, In Which They Usually Indulge In The Dark
To Scare Off Beasts By The Sound Of The Human Voice.
When no work is
to be done, the first warning of approaching day is the hemp-smoker's
loud ringing cough.
Having been delayed one morning by some negotiation about guides, who
were used chiefly to introduce us to other villages, we two whites
walked a little way ahead, taking the direction of the stream. The
men having been always able to find out our route by the prints of
our shoes, we went on for a number of miles. This time, however,
they lost our track, and failed to follow us. The path was well
marked by elephants, hyenas, pallahs, and zebras, but for many a day
no human foot had trod it. When the sun went down a deserted hamlet
was reached, where we made comfortable beds for ourselves of grass.
Firing muskets to attract the attention of those who have strayed is
the usual resource in these cases. On this occasion the sound of
firearms tended to mislead us; for, hearing shots next morning, a
long weary march led us only to some native hunters, who had been
shooting buffaloes. Returning to a small village, we met with some
people who remembered our passing up to the Lake in the boat; they
were as kind as they could be. The only food they possessed was
tamarinds, prepared with ashes, and a little cowitch meal. The
cowitch, as mentioned before, has a velvety brown covering of minute
prickles, which, if touched, enter the pores of the skin and cause a
painful tingling. The women in times of scarcity collect the pods,
kindle a fire of grass over them to destroy the prickles, then steep
the beans till they begin to sprout, wash them in pure water, and
either boil them or pound them into meal, which resembles our bean-
meal. This plant climbs up the long grass, and abounds in all reedy
parts, and, though a plague to the traveller who touches its pods, it
performs good service in times of famine by saving many a life from
starvation. Its name here is Kitedzi.
Having travelled at least twenty miles in search of our party that
day, our rest on a mat in the best hut of the village was very sweet.
We had dined the evening before on a pigeon each, and had eaten only
a handful of kitedzi porridge this afternoon. The good wife of the
village took a little corn which she had kept for seed, ground it
after dark, and made it into porridge. This, and a cup of wild
vegetables of a sweetish taste for a relish, a little boy brought in
and put down, with several vigorous claps of his hands, in the manner
which is esteemed polite, and which is strictly enjoined on all
children.
On the third day of separation, Akosanjere, the headman of this
village, conducted us forward to our party who had gone on to Nseze,
a district to the westward. This incident is mentioned, not for any
interest it possesses, apart from the idea of the people it conveys.
We were completely separated from our men for nearly three days, and
had nothing wherewith to purchase food. The people were sorely
pressed by famine and war, and their hospitality, poor as it was, did
them great credit, and was most grateful to us. Our own men had
become confused and wandered, but had done their utmost to find us;
on our rejoining them, the ox was slain, and all, having been on
short commons, rejoiced in this "day of slaughter." Akosanjere was,
of course, rewarded to his heart's content.
As we pursued our way, we came close up to a range of mountains, the
most prominent peak of which is called Mvai. This is a great, bare,
rounded block of granite shooting up from the rest of the chain. It
and several other masses of rock are of a light grey colour, with
white patches, as if of lichens; the sides and summits are generally
thinly covered with rather scraggy trees. There are several other
prominent peaks - one, for instance, still further north, called
Chirobve. Each has a name, but we could never ascertain that there
was an appellation which applied to the whole. This fact, and our
wish to commemorate the name of Dr. Kirk, induced us afterwards, when
we could not discover a particular peak mentioned to us formerly as
Molomo-ao-koku, or Cock's-bill, to call the whole chain from the west
of the Cataracts up to the north end of the Lake, "Kirk's Range."
The part we slept at opposite Mvai was named Paudio, and was
evidently a continuation of the district of one of our stations on
the Shire, at which observations for latitude were formerly taken.
Leaving Paudio, we had Kirk's Range close on our left and at least
3000 feet above us, and probably not less than 5000 feet above the
sea. Far to our right extended a long green wooded country rising
gradually up to a ridge, ornamented with several detached mountains,
which bounded the Shire Valley. In front, northwards, lay a valley
as rich and lovely as we ever saw anywhere, terminating at the
mountains, which, stretched away some thirty miles beyond our range
of vision and ended at Cape Maclear. The groups of trees had never
been subjected to the landscape gardener's art; but had been cut down
mercilessly, just as suited the convenience of the cultivator; yet
the various combinations of open forest, sloping woodland, grassy
lawns, and massive clumps of dark green foliage along the running
streams, formed as beautiful a landscape as could be seen on the
Thames. This valley is named Goa or Gova, and as we moved through it
we found that what was smooth to the eye was very much furrowed by
running streams winding round innumerable knolls.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 113 of 134
Words from 114442 to 115464
of 136856
