482 THROUGH AFRICA FROM THE CAPE TO CAIRO. 



Dingi Dingi, ))riiiging down the drainag-c of the east and northeast 

 .sk)pos of (iorono'oza's hills and the drainao-e of the vast swanipv Goron- 

 goza plain; consecjuently. even in the dry season the Urenia has a con- 

 siderable body of water. Its main feeders ar(^ a wide sandy river from 

 the east and a smaller stream called the Manza, also from the east, and 

 the Umkuluniadzi. AN hich hrinj^s the main volume of water from Goron- 

 goza's hills on the west. Between the Dingi Dingi and the Urema 

 there is a triang-ular patch of forest, with a network of de(^p water 

 troughs; these, even in Mr. Mahony's time (Mr. Mahony has been in 

 this country for about nine years), were lagoons with much water, and 

 the natives went from village to village in canoes. Now, with the 

 exception of a few deep water holes, they are dry, the canoes may still 

 l)e seen rotting on the dry bed, and the crocodiles, the few that have sur- 

 vived, lead a precarious existence in the moist gi-ass that grows along 

 some of the deeper channels. This, coupled with the fact that the 

 swamps a few miles to the north are visibl}^ diminishing, proves that 

 even in this district, remote as it is from the center of disturbance, 

 there is a constant and rapid process of upheaval. 



The ([uantity of game in all this country is incredible. Crossing the 

 great plain just as the waters were falling and the new grass grooving 

 up, we saw over 40,000 head of game, maiidy blue wildebeest, from 

 one point, and during our stay of tive months, besides many tine heads 

 of })ufial() and various species of antelope, we shot 17 lions and 

 captured alive .5 cubs, 8 of which are now disporting themselves in 

 Reg(Mit's Park. Another curious point aVjout this country is that the 

 Urema, which was till lately navigable for about 50 miles in small 

 boats, is now totally blocked )\v a vbgetable growth similar to the 

 famous Nile "'sudd," l)ut without the papyrus, which, I believe I am 

 correct in saying, is practically contined to the Nile system, though 

 there are a few papyrus swamps round Kivu. 



We began our real forward movement when we left the Zambezi in 

 October, 1898; thence we traveled by the Shire River to Chiromo, the 

 port of British Central Africa, situated at the junction of the Ruo and 

 Shire. Thence by steamer on the Shire to Katunga, whence the road 

 leads overland via Blantyre to Matope, as about 120 miles of rapids 

 render the river unnavigable. From Matope to Karonga, at the north 

 end of N^'asa, there is an uninterrupted waterway of about 500 miles. 

 Thus far, it is mereh" a question of taking a first-class ticket with one 

 of the rival transport companies, of which the African Flotilla Com- 

 pany, despite the heavy handicap of being late in the field, is rapidly 

 forging to the front. 



From Chiromo, where I had to wait for some loads that had gone to 

 Delagoa Bay ))}' mistake, I crossed the Ruo and spent some time in 

 exploring the mountain mass of Chiperoni, while Sharp hurried on to 

 Karonga to arrange transport to Tanganyika. 



