They Rolled It Over And Over Towards
The Land, And, Finding The Rope We Had Made Fast To It, As They Said,
An Encumbrance, It Was Unloosed.
All were shouting and talking as
loud as they could bawl, when suddenly our expected feast plumped
into a deep hole, as the Banyai intended it should do.
When sinking,
all the Makololo jumped in after it. One caught frantically at the
tail; another grasped a foot; a third seized the hip; "but, by
Sebituane, it would go down in spite of all that we could do."
Instead of a fat hippopotamus we had only a lean fowl for dinner, and
were glad enough to get even that. The hippopotamus, however,
floated during the night, and was found about a mile below. The
Banyai then assembled on the bank, and disputed our right to the
beast: "It might have been shot by somebody else." Our men took a
little of it and then left it, rather than come into collision with
them.
A fine waterbuck was shot in the Kakolole narrows, at Mount
Manyerere; it dropped beside the creek where it was feeding; an
enormous crocodile, that had been watching it at the moment, seized
and dragged it into the water, which was not very deep. The mortally
wounded animal made a desperate plunge, and hauling the crocodile
several yards tore itself out of the hideous jaws. To escape the
hunter, the waterbuck jumped into the river, and was swimming across,
when another crocodile gave chase, but a ball soon sent it to the
bottom. The waterbuck swam a little longer, the fine head dropped,
the body turned over, and one of the canoes dragged it ashore. Below
Kakolole, and still at the base of Manyerere mountain, several coal-
seams, not noticed on our ascent, were now seen to crop out on the
right bank of the Zambesi.
Chitora, of Chicova, treated us with his former hospitality. Our men
were all much pleased with his kindness, and certainly did not look
upon it as a proof of weakness. They meant to return his
friendliness when they came this way on a marauding expedition to eat
the sheep of the Banyai, for insulting them in the affair of the
hippopotamus; they would then send word to Chitora not to run away,
for they, being his friends, would do such a good-hearted man no
harm.
We entered Kebrabasa rapids, at the east end of Chicova, in the
canoes, and went down a number of miles, until the river narrowed
into a groove of fifty or sixty yards wide, of which we have already
spoken in describing the flood-bed and channel of low water. The
navigation then became difficult and dangerous. A fifteen feet fall
of the water in our absence had developed many cataracts. Two of our
canoes passed safely down a narrow channel, which, bifurcating, had
an ugly whirlpool at the rocky partition between the two branches,
the deep hole in the whirls at times opening and then shutting. The
Doctor's canoe came next, and seemed to be drifting broadside into
the open vortex, in spite of the utmost exertions of the paddlers.
The rest were expecting to have to pull to the rescue; the men
saying, "Look where these people are going! - look, look!" - when a
loud crash burst on our ears. Dr. Kirk's canoe was dashed on a
projection of the perpendicular rocks, by a sudden and mysterious
boiling up of the river, which occurs at irregular intervals. Dr.
Kirk was seen resisting the sucking-down action of the water, which
must have been fifteen fathoms deep, and raising himself by his arms
on to the ledge, while his steersman, holding on to the same rocks,
saved the canoe; but nearly all its contents were swept away down the
stream. Dr. Livingstone's canoe, meanwhile, which had distracted the
men's attention, was saved by the cavity in the whirlpool filling up
as the frightful eddy was reached. A few of the things in Dr. Kirk's
canoe were left; but all that was valuable, including a chronometer,
a barometer, and, to our great sorrow, his notes of the journey and
botanical drawings of the fruit-trees of the interior, perished.
We now left the river, and proceeded on foot, sorry that we had not
done so the day before. The men were thoroughly frightened, they had
never seen such perilous navigation. They would carry all the loads,
rather than risk Kebrabasa any longer; but the fatigue of a day's
march over the hot rocks and burning sand changed their tune before
night; and then they regretted having left the canoes; they thought
they should have dragged them past the dangerous places, and then
launched them again. One of the two donkeys died from exhaustion
near the Luia. Though the men eat zebras and quaggas, blood
relations of the donkey, they were shocked at the idea of eating the
ass; "it would be like eating man himself, because the donkey lives
with man, and is his bosom companion." We met two large trading
parties of Tette slaves on their way to Zumbo, leading, to be sold
for ivory, a number of Manganja women, with ropes round their necks,
and all made fast to one long rope.
Panzo, the headman of the village east of Kebrabasa, received us with
great kindness. After the usual salutation he went up the hill, and,
in a loud voice, called across the valley to the women of several
hamlets to cook supper for us. About eight in the evening he
returned, followed by a procession of women, bringing the food.
There were eight dishes of nsima, or porridge, six of different sorts
of very good wild vegetables, with dishes of beans and fowls; all
deliciously well cooked, and scrupulously clean. The wooden dishes
were nearly as white as the meal itself: food also was brought for
our men. Ripe mangoes, which usually indicate the vicinity of the
Portuguese, were found on the 21st November; and we reached Tette
early on the 23rd, having been absent a little over six months.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 75 of 134
Words from 75714 to 76735
of 136856
