Chapter Four 
MOZAMBIQUE TERRITORY (II) — 
Y next expedition, in 1926, was again to the Mozambique 
territory of Portuguese East Africa, but on this occasion 
I was accompanied by my brother, who had become a little tired 
of life in England. | 
Our objective was Caia on the lower Zambezi, headquarters of 
the big British concern, the Sena Sugar Estates, and as we had 
arranged to catch a ship back to England which left Beira only 
six weeks after our arrival, we had to get busy. The Zambezi delta 
is flat and intensely hot; swamps are numerous and mosquitoes 
abound, so it is not surprising that blackwater and malaria fever 
were prevalent. One of the most depressing sights during our 
short stay was the almost daily funeral of some unfortunate half- 
caste or black who had succumbed to fever. In this foul climate 
we ourselves began to feel that if we did not stick to our original 
plans and get out after six weeks, we might take our turn in the 
daily procession. 
Caia lies on the right bank of the river, and looking northwards 
one sees the hills of Nyasaland. The country around Caia is sub- 
ject to amazing floods caused by the Zambezi overflowing its 
banks. Near the river one sees piles of rubbish stuck in the tree- 
tops, indicating the height of the last flood. Surprisingly enough, 
the mighty river almost entirely disappears near its mouth in the 
dry season. In its wide bed are a number of rivulets and pools, 
but the bulk of the running water seeps away underground. In 
this state the river-bed attracts large flocks of ibises, hammerkops, 
herons, marabous and sandpipers. During the annual flood, numer- 
ous depressions far from the river are filled with water and with 
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