Their Geographical Opinions Are Now Only Stated, Without
Any Further Comment Than That The Itinerary Given By The Arabs And
Others shows that the Loapula is twice crossed on the way to
Cazembe's; and we may add that we have
Never found any difficulty
from the alleged incapacity of the negro to tell which way a river
flows.
The boiling-point of water showed a descent, from the edge of the
plateau to our furthest point west, of 170 feet; but this can only be
considered as an approximation, and no dependence could have been
placed on it, had we not had the courses of the streams to confirm
this rather rough mode of ascertaining altitudes. The slope, as
shown by the watershed, was to the "Loangwa of the Maravi," and
towards the Moitala, or south-west, west, and north-west. After we
leave the feeders of Lake Nyassa, the water drains towards the centre
of the continent. The course of the Kasai, a river seen during Dr.
Livingstone's journey to the West Coast, and its feeders was to the
north-east, or somewhat in the same direction. Whether the water
thus drained off finds its way out by the Congo, or by the Nile, has
not yet been ascertained. Some parts of the continent have been said
to resemble an inverted dinner-plate. This portion seems more of the
shape, if shape it has, of a wide-awake hat, with the crown a little
depressed. The altitude of the brim in some parts is considerable;
in others, as at Tette and the bottom of Murchison's Cataracts, it is
so small that it could be ascertained only by eliminating the daily
variations of the barometer, by simultaneous observations on the
Coast, and at points some two or three hundred miles inland. So long
as African rivers remain in what we may call the brim, they present
no obstructions; but no sooner do they emerge from the higher lands
than their utility is impaired by cataracts. The low lying belt is
very irregular. At times sloping up in the manner of the rim of an
inverted dinner-plate - while in other cases, a high ridge rises near
the sea, to be succeeded by a lower district inland before we reach
the central plateau. The breadth of the low lands is sometimes as
much as three hundred miles, and that breadth determines the limits
of navigation from the seaward.
We made three long marches beyond Muazi's in a north-westerly
direction; the people were civil enough, but refused to sell us any
food. We were travelling too fast, they said; in fact, they were
startled, and before they recovered their surprise, we were obliged
to depart. We suspected that Muazi had sent them orders to refuse us
food, that we might thus be prevented from going into the depopulated
district; but this may have been mere suspicion, the result of our
own uncharitable feelings.
We spent one night at Machambwe's village, and another at Chimbuzi's.
It is seldom that we can find the headman on first entering a
village.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 239 of 263
Words from 124169 to 124685
of 136856
