It is, however,
an excellent self-sower, and fine fodder; it rises to the height of
common meadow-grass in England, and would be a capital plant for
spreading over a new country not so abundantly supplied with grasses
as this is.
We have sometimes noticed two or three leaves together pierced
through by these seeds, and thus made, as it were, into wings to
carry them to any soil suited to their growth.
We always follow the native paths, though they are generally not more
than fifteen inches broad, and so often have deep little holes in
them, made for the purpose of setting traps for small animals, and
are so much obscured by the long grass, that one has to keep one's
eyes on the ground more than is pleasant. In spite, however, of all
drawbacks, it is vastly more easy to travel on these tracks than to
go straight over uncultivated ground, or virgin forest. A path
usually leads to some village, though sometimes it turns out to be a
mere game track leading nowhere.
In going north, we came into a part called Mpemba where Chibisa was
owned as chief, but the people did not know that he had been
assassinated by the Portuguese Terera.
