BRITISH ASSOCIATION IN SOUTH AFRICA 157 



should be wholly employed, the spectacle at full flood would not be very 

 seriously affected. The opinions of the residents as to the best time for 

 a visit are divided. Some preferred August and September when the 

 water is low and the air comparatively clear of mist; others recom- 

 mended January and February for seeing the huge masses of water 

 which then cover nearly the whole width of the lip but which can only 

 be seen in glimpses as the spray shifts about. 



VIII. 



On the return to Bulawayo, the east and west coast parties sepa- 

 rated, the latter going direct to Cape Town and thence home. The 

 rail journey to Beira on the east coast was broken at Salisbury and 

 Umtali. Both of these towns are situated in or near gold-bearing dis- 

 tricts. The region is interesting too to ethnologists on account of the 

 ancient ruins to be found at Zimbabwe and elsewhere, but it was sad to 

 learn that all the later evidence so far obtained has destroyed any 

 connection between Bhodesia and the land of Ophir. The party, now 

 reduced to two hundred, was entertained at Salisbury and Umtali by 

 the residents to lunch ; and similar hospitality was shown by the gov- 

 ernor, the Portuguese officials and the Mozambique Company at Beira. 

 Our debt of gratitude to these three towns is the greater for the trouble 

 and expense to which the small number of residents had put them- 

 selves, although our stay in each had to be limited to only a few hours ; 

 there was no chance to make even the small return in our power by 

 giving lectures or by learning, except in conversation, of the develop- 

 ment of the districts round these recent settlements. 



A few concluding words on Bhodesia must suffice. The details of 

 its administration and development by the British South Africa Char- 

 tered Company are to be found in the published reports and circulars 

 of the company. As to its possibilities, I can only give here, with all 

 reserve, my own opinion formed on what I saw in the rapid journey 

 or learnt in several conversations with various officials and others. In 

 its general characteristics, the country does not appear to differ greatly 

 from the Transvaal. But it seems to have rather better advantages. 

 Its soil is perhaps more fertile, its rains more certain and droughts less 

 frequent. The mineral wealth is considerable; there are excellent coal 

 seams, a rich copper mine and, if the present prospects are fulfilled, 

 valuable gold fields. A magnificent river flows through the country, 

 adapted at the Falls to furnish power for all purposes in the driest sea- 

 son and possibly available in the future for irrigation if necessary. An 

 unbounded enthusiasm and belief in its future amongst those who are 

 administering its affairs there are not amongst the smallest of the 

 assets of Bhodesia. 



The ' Durham Castle ' left Beira on September 17. A brief call of 



