On The 5th, After Crossing Some Hills, We Rested At The Village Of
Simariango.
The bellows of the blacksmith here were somewhat
different from the common goatskin bags, and more like those seen in
Madagascar.
They consisted of two wooden vessels, like a lady's
bandbox of small dimensions, the upper ends of which were covered
with leather, and looked something like the heads of drums, except
that the leather bagged in the centre. They were fitted with long
nozzles, through which the air was driven by working the loose
covering of the tops up and down by means of a small piece of wood
attached to their centres. The blacksmith said that tin was obtained
from a people in the north, called Marendi, and that he had made it
into bracelets; we had never heard before of tin being found in the
country.
Our course then lay down the bed of a rivulet, called Mapatizia, in
which there was much calc spar, with calcareous schist, and then the
Tette grey sandstone, which usually overlies coal. On the 6th we
arrived at the islet Chilombe, belonging to Sinamane, where the
Zambesi runs broad and smooth again, and were well received by
Sinamane himself. Never was Sunday more welcome to the weary than
this, the last we were to spend with our convoy.
We now saw many good-looking young men and women. The dresses of the
ladies are identical with those of Nubian women in Upper Egypt. To a
belt on the waist a great number of strings are attached to hang all
round the person.
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