148 Land Magnetic Observations, 1914-20 



pioneer missionary of that region, on a hunting trip after roan-buck and hartebeest to 

 provide food for the men, but though fresh spoor was followed, the game was never 

 sighted. Strange to say, there is very little game in Angola, along the route followed. 

 None was seen, though on one occasion two lions chased the cook-boy up a tree when he 

 had lost the trail. The best hunting is on the plains, after the grass has been burnt off 

 by the natives and the fresh young green shoots appear. On June 16 we saw the first 

 of the copper kopjes. Katanga is very rich in copper, gold, and tin, and numerous 

 copper hills, easily distinguished by their barren appearance, were passed as we ap- 

 proached the railway. The 1914 Ruwe station was reoccupied on June 17, and the Lual- 

 aba River was crossed by canoe next day. It is about 100 yards wide and was the largest 

 river seen on the journey. A very winding native trail had been followed, until it joined 

 a good road built for motor-lorries within a few miles of Ruwe. The exploitation of this 

 region is now being seriously undertaken, and copper mines of surpassing richness are 

 being worked. 



Chilongo is on a plateau about 5,000 feet high, and consists of a few stores grouped 

 around the railway station. The journey to Kambove was made in a goods-train the 

 day after arrival, and a stay of one week was made for repeat observations and reduction 

 of the work. Kambove owes its importance to its copper mine; the town itself is not 

 very extensive, but contains a hotel and several well-equipped stores. 



The rail journey was continued to the Victoria Falls, stops being made at Elisabeth- 

 ville and Broken Hill for repeat observations and dispatch of records to the Office. 

 Elisabethville, with a white population of 1,000, is one of the largest towns of Central 

 Africa and is the capital of Katanga. There are several hotels, banks, stores, and a 

 cinema. It owes its prosperity to the Lubumbashi copper smelters near-by, at which all 

 the copper from the Katanga mines is smelted. 



For the remaining half of the trans-African trip, I decided to start from Kafue 

 instead of Broken Hill, after learning that canoes were procurable at the Kafue-Zambezi 

 junction. At Livingstone, however, I was advised that the rapids were dangerous at that 

 season and so I arranged for carriers to be sent from Broken Hill for a trip to Feira by 

 land. On July 23 the start was made for Feira, a British post in the southeast corner of 

 Northern Rhodesia, on the frontier of Portuguese East Africa, 180 miles distant. The 

 road follows down the Kafue River to its junction with the Zambezi. Kafue is a pleasant 

 little township with a hotel and several well-equipped stores, situated in the middle of a 

 farming region. The river is navigable for launches about 150 miles above the railway 

 bridge, but just below, it enters the mountains and runs through a succession of gorges 

 and rapids. A short distance from the town the cart road ends, and one continues by a 

 rough native path into the Kafue gorge. The mountain scenery is very fine and the most 

 picturesque of my trip across Africa. The first three camps were in the mountains, but 

 on the morning of July 26 a steep descent was made into the valley of the Kafue River 

 near Mbosa, where the mountains are left and the path crosses only occasional foot-hills. 

 The difference in level of the river above and below the gorge is about 2,000 feet. 



From Mbosa onward to Mburuma the path is cleared, and one finds small rest-camps 

 at frequent intervals, containing an open hut for use as a dining room for the white man, 

 and a few other huts for the carriers. A tent, however, is necessary. In the Zambezi 

 valley the flats are covered with low bush and a fine variety of thorn bushes. Villages 

 are numerous and supplies can be obtained. A cupful of salt was given for a chicken and 

 a teaspoonful for an egg, while each carrier received one-fourth pound of salt per day, 

 which he bartered for corn meal at the villages. English silver money can be used, but 

 unbleached calico is most appreciated as a medium of exchange. The spoor showed that 

 game is plentiful in this region and included buffalo, water buck, zebra, lion, hippo- 

 potamus, and various kinds of antelope. 



