Our
Men Looked Blank At This Piece Of News, And Said, "Let Us Go Back To
The Ship, It Is Of No Use Trying To Find The Lake." "We Shall Go And
See Those Wonderful Rocks At Any Rate," Said The Doctor.
"And when
you see them," replied Masakasa, "you will just want to see something
else.
But there IS a lake," rejoined Masakasa, "for all their
denying it, for it is down in a book." Masakasa, having unbounded
faith in whatever was in a book, went and scolded the natives for
telling him an untruth. "There is a lake," said he, "for how could
the white men know about it in a book if it did not exist?" They
then admitted that there was a lake a few miles off. Subsequent
inquiries make it probable that the story of the "perpendicular
rocks" may have had reference to a fissure, known to both natives and
Arabs, in the north-eastern portion of the lake. The walls rise so
high that the path along the bottom is said to be underground. It is
probably a crack similar to that which made the Victoria Falls, and
formed the Shire Valley.
The chief brought a small present of meal in the evening, and sat
with us for a few minutes. On leaving us he said that he wished we
might sleep well. Scarce had he gone, when a wild sad cry arose from
the river, followed by the shrieking of women. A crocodile had
carried off his principal wife, as she was bathing. The Makololo
snatched up their arms, and rushed to the bank, but it was too late,
she was gone. The wailing of the women continued all night, and next
morning we met others coming to the village to join in the general
mourning. Their grief was evidently heartfelt, as we saw the tears
coursing down their cheeks. In reporting this misfortune to his
neighbours, Muana-Moesi said, "that white men came to his village;
washed themselves at the place where his wife drew water and bathed;
rubbed themselves with a white medicine (soap); and his wife, having
gone to bathe afterwards, was taken by a crocodile; he did not know
whether in consequence of the medicine used or not." This we could
not find fault with. On our return we were viewed with awe, and all
the men fled at our approach; the women remained; and this elicited
the remark from our men, "The women have the advantage of men, in not
needing to dread the spear." The practice of bathing, which our
first contact with Chinsunse's people led us to believe was unknown
to the natives, we afterwards found to be common in other parts of
the Manganja country.
We discovered Lake Nyassa a little before noon of the 16th September,
1859. Its southern end is in 14 degrees 25 minutes S. Lat., and 35
degrees 30 minutes E. Long. At this point the valley is about twelve
miles wide.
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