PLAGUE OF MOSQUITOES. 25 



it. Twisting and turning about through a marshy tract 

 for some time, we found ourselves in the Shire, under 

 the north end of Morumballa. 



I have reason to beUeve that our first day's pull 

 was chiefly through a wrong channel, as the natives 

 told us that there was plenty of water for one of the 

 Portuguese boats, which was much larger than any of 

 ours, but that we should have to take down our 

 masts, as in some places the trees which overhung the 

 river were too low to pass under. Now we never 

 saw any such trees as they described, and the first 

 part of the river was broad and deep, as was also the 

 stream which finally brought us from the lakelet into 

 the Shire. It was easy to mistake the proper channel 

 in many places, owing to the curious way in which 

 the river divided itself through the marshes. This 

 river is not marked by Livingstone, and from its gene- 

 ral appearance I am inclined to believe that it has 

 formed itself of late, during the flooding of the Zam- 

 besi. Having succeeded in passing by it, we were saved 

 much time and trouble ; but before entering the 

 true Shire, we had to cut our way through more than 

 a hundred yards of rushes and weeds, a labour which 

 occupied nearly three hours. 



As we continued our run up the river through the 

 Shire Valley, which is simply an immense marsh, 

 thickly covered with long rushes and reeds (a splendid 

 place for fever), the mosquitoes were almost intoler- 

 able. My hands were swollen and my features dis- 

 torted by their venomous bites. At night, sleep was, 

 generally speaking, out of the question, and the only 

 way I managed to get a smoke in peace after the 



