Like Other Carnivora, These Men Can Endure
Hunger For A Much Longer Period Than The Mere Porridge-Eating Tribes.
Our Men Can Cook Meat As Well As Any Reasonable Traveller Could
Desire; And, Boiled In Earthen Pots, Like Indian Chatties, It Tastes
Much Better Than When Cooked In Iron Ones.
CHAPTER V.
Magnificent scenery - Method of marching - Hippopotamus killed - Lions
and buffalo - Sequasha the ivory-trader.
Sandia gave us two guides; and on the 4th of June we left the
Elephant valley, taking a westerly course; and, after crossing a few
ridges, entered the Chingerere or Paguruguru valley, through which,
in the rainy season, runs the streamlet Pajodze. The mountains on
our left, between us and the Zambesi, our guides told us have the
same name as the valley, but that at the confluence of the Pajodze is
called Morumbwa. We struck the river at less than half a mile to the
north of the cataract Morumbwa. On climbing up the base of this
mountain at Pajodze, we found that we were distant only the diameter
of the mountain from the cataract. In measuring the cataract we
formerly stood on its southern flank; now we were perched on its
northern flank, and at once recognized the onion-shaped mountain,
here called Zakavuma, whose smooth convex surface overlooks the
broken water. Its bearing by compass was l80 degrees from the spot
to which we had climbed, and 700 or 800 yards distant. We now, from
this standing-point, therefore, completed our inspection of all
Kebrabasa, and saw what, as a whole, was never before seen by
Europeans so far as any records show.
The remainder of the Kebrabasa path, on to Chicova, was close to the
compressed and rocky river. Ranges of lofty tree-covered mountains,
with deep narrow valleys, in which are dry watercourses, or flowing
rivulets, stretch from the north-west, and are prolonged on the
opposite side of the river in a south-easterly direction. Looking
back, the mountain scenery in Kebrabasa was magnificent; conspicuous
from their form and steep sides, are the two gigantic portals of the
cataract; the vast forests still wore their many brilliant autumnal-
coloured tints of green, yellow, red, purple, and brown, thrown into
relief by the grey bark of the trunks in the background. Among these
variegated trees were some conspicuous for their new livery of fresh
light-green leaves, as though the winter of others was their spring.
The bright sunshine in these mountain forests, and the ever-changing
forms of the cloud shadows, gliding over portions of the surface,
added fresh charms to scenes already surpassingly beautiful.
From what we have seen of the Kebrabasa rocks and rapids, it appears
too evident that they must always form a barrier to navigation at the
ordinary low water of the river; but the rise of the water in this
gorge being as much as eighty feet perpendicularly, it is probable
that a steamer might be taken up at high flood, when all the rapids
are smoothed over, to run on the Upper Zambesi. The most formidable
cataract in it, Morumbwa, has only about twenty feet of fall, in a
distance of thirty yards, and it must entirely disappear when the
water stands eighty feet higher. Those of the Makololo who worked on
board the ship were not sorry at the steamer being left below, as
they had become heartily tired of cutting the wood that the
insatiable furnace of the "Asthmatic" required. Mbia, who was a bit
of a wag, laughingly exclaimed in broken English, "Oh, Kebrabasa
good, very good; no let shippee up to Sekeletu, too muchee work,
cuttee woodyee, cuttee woodyee: Kebrabasa good." It is currently
reported, and commonly believed, that once upon a time a Portuguese
named Jose Pedra, - by the natives called Nyamatimbira, - chief, or
capitao mor, of Zumbo, a man of large enterprise and small humanity,-
-being anxious to ascertain if Kebrabasa could be navigated, made two
slaves fast to a canoe, and launched it from Chicova into Kebrabasa,
in order to see if it would come out at the other end. As neither
slaves nor canoe ever appeared again, his Excellency concluded that
Kebrabasa was unnavigable. A trader had a large canoe swept away by
a sudden rise of the river, and it was found without damage below;
but the most satisfactory information was that of old Sandia, who
asserted that in flood all Kebrabasa became quite smooth, and he had
often seen it so.
We emerged from the thirty-five or forty miles of Kebrabasa hills
into the Chicova plains on the 7th of June, 1860, having made short
marches all the way. The cold nights caused some of our men to cough
badly, and colds in this country almost invariably become fever. The
Zambesi suddenly expands at Chicova, and assumes the size and
appearance it has at Tette. Near this point we found a large seam of
coal exposed in the left bank.
We met with native travellers occasionally. Those on a long journey
carry with them a sleeping-mat and wooden pillow, cooking-pot and bag
of meal, pipe and tobacco-pouch, a knife, bow, and arrows, and two
small sticks, of from two to three feet in length, for making fire,
when obliged to sleep away from human habitations. Dry wood is
always abundant, and they get fire by the following method. A notch
is cut in one of the sticks, which, with a close-grained outside, has
a small core of pith, and this notched stick is laid horizontally on
a knife-blade on the ground; the operator squatting, places his great
toes on each end to keep all steady, and taking the other wand which
is of very hard wood cut to a blunt point, fits it into the notch at
right angles; the upright wand is made to spin rapidly backwards and
forwards between the palms of the hands, drill fashion, and at the
same time is pressed downwards; the friction, in the course of a
minute or so, ignites portions of the pith of the notched stick,
which, rolling over like live charcoal on to the knife-blade, are
lifted into a handful of fine dry grass, and carefully blown, by
waving backwards and forwards in the air.
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