In Going In The First Instance N.E. From The Uppermost Cataract, We
Followed In A Measure The Great Bend Of The River Towards The Foot Of
Mount Zomba.
Here we had a view of its most imposing side, the west,
with the plateau some 3000 feet high, stretching away to its south,
and Mounts Chiradzuru and Mochiru towering aloft to the sky.
From
that goodly highland station, it was once hoped by the noble
Mackenzie, who, for largeness of heart and loving disposition, really
deserved to be called the "Bishop of Central Africa," that light and
liberty would spread to all the interior. We still think it may be a
centre for civilizing influences; for any one descending from these
cool heights, and stepping into a boat on the Upper Shire, can sail
three hundred miles without a check into the heart of Africa.
We passed through a tract of country covered with mopane trees, where
the hard baked soil refused to let the usual thick crops of grass
grow; and here we came upon very many tracks of buffaloes, elephants,
antelopes, and the spoor of one lion. An ox we drove along with us,
as provision for the way, was sorely bitten by the tsetse. The
effect of the bite was, as usual, quite apparent two days afterwards,
in the general flaccidity of the muscles, the drooping ears, and
looks of illness. It always excited our wonder that we, who were
frequently much bitten too by the same insects, felt no harm from
their attacks.
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