THE LION COUNTRY 



my plans for hunting, and accompanied by my wife, 

 left Guengere for a three months' expedition to the 

 tendos, a veritable paradise for lions. 



A tendo is an immense plain inundated during the 

 rainy season, where, during the winter, when every- 

 thing is dried up by the sun, vegetation can grow in 

 proportion to the subsiding of the water. The grasses 

 of these plains are stunted and mixed with thistles. 

 All round these open stretches are woods, chiefly 

 composed of various mimosas, and certain palms 

 under which tall grass grows. These forests sharply 

 define the limits of the inundations, which are due 

 to the numerous streams and rivers falling into the 

 low-grounds. Wild animals, eager for green pas- 

 turage, naturally congregate in these plains, which 

 extend from the Zambezi to the Pungwe, following 

 the course of the Urema. Lions, which follow the 

 herds in their migrations, are likewise also naturally 

 very numerous in the district. 



The villages of Bue-Maria, Ganda, and Chikari 

 being on fire, I arrived at the hut of Chitengo's son 

 to sleep. The late Chitengo was an old captain of 

 Manuel Antonio Gouveia's, who, by turning robber, 

 amassed a large fortune, which chiefly consists of 

 some thirty women and about a hundred children. 

 The village is a large one, and is still in mourning for 

 the deceased chief, who is buried in his own hut, an 

 honour reserved for chiefs. Since the interment a 

 palisade has been erected round the hut. 



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