We Liked Chinsamba Very Well, And Found That He Was Decidedly Opposed
To Our Risking Our Lives By Going Further To The N.W. The Mazitu
Were Believed To Occupy All The Hills In That Direction, So We Spent
The 4th Of September With Him.
It is rather a minute thing to mention, and it will only be
understood by those who have children of their own, but the cries of
the little ones, in their infant sorrows, are the same in tone, at
different ages, here as all over the world.
We have been perpetually
reminded of home and family by the wailings which were once familiar
to parental ears and heart, and felt thankful that to the sorrows of
childhood our children would never have superadded the heartrending
woes of the slave-trade.
Taking Chinsamba's advice to avoid the Mazitu in their marauding, we
started on the 5th September away to the N.E., and passed mile after
mile of native cornfields, with an occasional cotton-patch.
After a long march, we passed over a waterless plain about N.N.W. of
the hills of Tsenga to a village on the Lake, and thence up its
shores to Chitanda. The banks of the Lake were now crowded with
fugitives, who had collected there for the poor protection which the
reeds afforded. For miles along the water's edge was one continuous
village of temporary huts. The people had brought a little corn with
them; but they said, "What shall we eat when that is done? When we
plant corn, the wild beasts (Zinyama, as they call the Mazitu) come
and take it. When we plant cassava, they do the same. How are we to
live?" A poor blind woman, thinking we were Mazitu, rushed off in
front of us with outspread arms, lifting the feet high, in the manner
peculiar to those who have lost their sight, and jumped into the
reeds of a stream for safety.
In our way along the shores we crossed several running rivulets of
clear cold water, which, from having reeds at their confluences, had
not been noticed in our previous exploration in the boat. One of
these was called Mokola, and another had a strong odour of
sulphuretted hydrogen. We reached Molamba on the 8th September, and
found our old acquaintance, Nkomo, there still. One of the
advantages of travelling along the shores of the Lake was, that we
could bathe anywhere in its clear fresh water. To us, who had been
obliged so often to restrain our inclination in the Zambesi and Shire
for fear of crocodiles, this was pleasant beyond measure. The water
now was of the same temperature as it was on our former visit, or 72
degrees Fahr. The immense depth of the Lake prevents the rays of the
sun from raising the temperature as high as that of the Shire and
Zambesi; and the crocodiles, having always clear water in the Lake,
and abundance of fish, rarely attack man; many of these reptiles
could be seen basking on the rocks.
A day's march beyond Molamba brought us to the lakelet Chia, which
lies parallel with the Lake. It is three or four miles long, by from
one to one and a half broad, and communicates with the Lake by an arm
of good depth, but with some rocks in it. As we passed up between
the Lake and the eastern shore of this lakelet, we did not see any
streams flowing into it. It is quite remarkable for the abundance of
fish; and we saw upwards of fifty large canoes engaged in the
fishery, which is carried on by means of hand-nets with side-frame
poles about seven feet long. These nets are nearly identical with
those now in use in Normandy - the difference being that the African
net has a piece of stick lashed across the handle-ends of the side
poles to keep them steady, which is a great improvement. The fish
must be very abundant to be scooped out of the water in such
quantities as we saw, and by so many canoes. There is quite a trade
here in dried fish.
The country around is elevated, undulating, and very extensively
planted with cassava. The hoe in use has a handle of four feet in
length, and the iron part is exactly of the same form as that in the
country of the Bechuanas. The baskets here, which are so closely
woven together as to hold beer, are the same with those employed to
hold milk in Kaffirland - a thousand miles distant.
Marching on foot is peculiarly conducive to meditation - one is glad
of any subject to occupy the mind, and relieve the monotony of the
weary treadmill-like trudge-trudging. This Chia net brought to our
mind that the smith's bellows made here of a goatskin bag, with
sticks along the open ends, are the same as those in use in the
Bechuana country far to the south-west. These, with the long-handled
hoe, may only show that each successive horde from north to south
took inventions with it from the same original source. Where that
source may have been is probably indicated by another pair of
bellows, which we observed below the Victoria Falls, being found in
Central India and among the Gipsies of Europe.
Men in remote times may have had more highly-developed instincts,
which enabled them to avoid or use poisons; but the late Archbishop
Whately has proved, that wholly untaught savages never could invent
anything, or even subsist at all. Abundant corroboration of his
arguments is met with in this country, where the natives require but
little in the way of clothing, and have remarkably hardy stomachs.
Although possessing a knowledge of all the edible roots and fruits in
the country, having hoes to dig with, and spears, bows, and arrows to
kill the game, - we have seen that, notwithstanding all these
appliances and means to boot, they have perished of absolute
starvation.
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