Below Sinamane's
The Banks Are Often Worn Down Fifty Feet, And Composed Of Shingle And
Gravel Of Igneous Rocks, Sometimes Set In A Ferruginous Matrix.
The
bottom is all gravel and shingle, how formed we cannot imagine,
unless in pot-holes in the deep fissure above.
The bottom above the
Falls, save a few rocks close by them, is generally sandy or of soft
tufa. Every damp spot is covered with maize, pumpkins, water-melons,
tobacco, and hemp. There is a pretty numerous Batoka population on
both sides of the river. As we sailed slowly down, the people
saluted us from the banks, by clapping their hands. A headman even
hailed us, and brought a generous present of corn and pumpkins.
Moemba owns a rich island, called Mosanga, a mile in length, on which
his village stands. He has the reputation of being a brave warrior,
and is certainly a great talker; but he gave us strangers something
better than a stream of words. We received a handsome present of
corn, and the fattest goat we had ever seen; it resembled mutton.
His people were as liberal as their chief. They brought two large
baskets of corn, and a lot of tobacco, as a sort of general
contribution to the travellers. One of Sinamane's canoe-men, after
trying to get his pay, deserted here, and went back before the
stipulated time, with the story, that the Englishman had stolen the
canoes. Shortly after sunrise next morning, Sinamane came into the
village with fifty of his "long spears," evidently determined to
retake his property by force; he saw at a glance that his man had
deceived him.
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