In Composing, Extempore, Any New Piece, He Was Never At A
Loss; For If The Right Word Did Not Come He Halted Not, But Eked Out
The Measure With A Peculiar Musical Sound Meaning Nothing At All.
He
accompanied his recitations on the sansa, an instrument figured in
the woodcut, the nine iron keys of which are played with the thumbs,
while the fingers pass behind to hold it.
The hollow end and
ornaments face the breast of the player. Persons of a musical turn,
if too poor to buy a sansa, may be seen playing vigorously on an
instrument made with a number of thick corn-stalks sewn together, as
a sansa frame, and keys of split bamboo, which, though making but
little sound, seems to soothe the player himself. When the
instrument is played with a calabash as a sounding board, it emits a
greater volume of sound. Pieces of shells and tin are added to make
a jingling accompaniment, and the calabash is also ornamented.
After we had passed up, a party of slaves, belonging to the two
native Portuguese who assassinated the chief, Mpangwe, and took
possession of his lands at Zumbo, followed on our footsteps, and
representing themselves to be our "children," bought great quantities
of ivory from the Bawe, for a few coarse beads a tusk. They also
purchased ten large new canoes to carry it, at the rate of six
strings of red or white beads, or two fathoms of grey calico, for
each canoe, and, at the same cheap rate, a number of good-looking
girls.
CHAPTER VII.
The Victoria Falls of the Zambesi - Marvellous grandeur of the
Cataracts - The Makololo's town - The Chief Sekeletu.
During the time we remained at Motunta a splendid meteor was observed
to lighten the whole heavens. The observer's back was turned to it,
but on looking round the streak of light was seen to remain on its
path some seconds. This streak is usually explained to be only the
continuance of the impression made by the shining body on the retina.
This cannot be, as in this case the meteor was not actually seen and
yet the streak was clearly perceived. The rays of planets and stars
also require another explanation than that usually given.
Fruit-trees and gigantic wild fig-trees, and circles of stones on
which corn safes were placed, with worn grindstones, point out where
the villages once stood. The only reason now assigned for this fine
country remaining desolate is the fear of fresh visitations by the
Matebele. The country now slopes gradually to the west into the
Makololo Valley. Two days' march from the Batoka village nearest the
highlands, we met with some hunters who were burning the dry grass,
in order to attract the game by the fresh vegetation which speedily
springs up afterwards. The grass, as already remarked, is excellent
for cattle. One species, with leaves having finely serrated edges,
and of a reddish-brown colour, we noticed our men eating: it tastes
exactly like liquorice-root, and is named kezu-kezu. The tsetse,
known to the Batoka by the name "ndoka," does not exist here, though
buffaloes and elephants abound.
A small trap in the path, baited with a mouse, to catch spotted cats
(F. Genetta), is usually the first indication that we are drawing
near to a village; but when we get within the sounds of pounding
corn, cockcrowing, or the merry shouts of children at play, we know
that the huts are but a few yards off, though the trees conceal them
from view. We reached, on the 4th of August, Moachemba, the first of
the Batoka villages which now owe allegiance to Sekeletu, and could
see distinctly with the naked eye, in the great valley spread out
before us, the columns of vapour rising from the Victoria Falls,
though upwards of 20 miles distant. We were informed that, the rains
having failed this year, the corn crops had been lost, and great
scarcity and much hunger prevailed from Sesheke to Linyanti. Some of
the reports which the men had heard from the Batoka of the hills
concerning their families, were here confirmed. Takelang's wife had
been killed by Mashotlane, the headman at the Falls, on a charge, as
usual, of witchcraft. Inchikola's two wives, believing him to be
dead, had married again; and Masakasa was intensely disgusted to hear
that two years ago his friends, upon a report of his death, threw his
shield over the Falls, slaughtered all his oxen, and held a species
of wild Irish wake, in honour of his memory: he said he meant to
disown them, and to say, when they come to salute him, "I am dead. I
am not here. I belong to another world, and should stink if I came
among you."
All the sad news we had previously heard, of the disastrous results
which followed the attempt of a party of missionaries, under the Rev.
H. Helmore, to plant the gospel at Linyanti, were here fully
confirmed. Several of the missionaries and their native attendants,
from Kuruman, had succumbed to the fever, and the survivors had
retired some weeks before our arrival. We remained the whole of the
7th beside the village of the old Batoka chief, Moshobotwane, the
stoutest man we have seen in Africa. The cause of our delay here was
a severe attack of fever in Charles Livingstone. He took a dose of
our fever pills; was better on the 8th, and marched three hours; then
on the 9th marched eight miles to the Great Falls, and spent the rest
of the day in the fatiguing exercise of sight-seeing. We were in the
very same valley as Linyanti, and this was the same fever which
treated, or rather maltreated, with only a little Dover's powder,
proved so fatal to poor Helmore; the symptoms, too, were identical
with those afterwards described by non-medical persons as those of
poison.
We gave Moshobotwane a present, and a pretty plain exposition of what
we thought of his bloody forays among his Batoka brethren.
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