BETWEEN THE ZAMBEZI AND THE PUNGWE 



engaged as guides from one of the chiefs of the island, 

 piloted our boat and made the ascent of the Pungw£- 

 Mufo. All along this river numerous villages have 

 been built j the majority of the inhabitants of which 

 arrived only a few years ago, as emigrants from the 

 Busi. Good sailors and great fishermen, they are 

 likewise excellent husbandmen, raising as many as 

 four or five crops of maize per annum, according to 

 the extent to which the waters abate. 



The Pungwe-Mufo brings us to the Mediguedigue, 

 which we cross ; and as the floods are still considerable, 

 we cast anchor near to the Urema, on the border of 

 a swamp where I recently killed a crocodile. 



Some new water-fowl have arrived, and I obtain 

 two kinds of ducks, some herons, and the three species 

 of egrets known here. The largest has black legs 

 and feet, the latter marked with green ; it is of the 

 size of a big heron, and carries on its back from thirty 

 to forty-three sprays of the much-appreciated plumes. 

 A second and smaller species is distinguished by its 

 yellow beak and legs and the presence of a tuft of 

 plumes on the throat : it has only from eighteen to 

 thirty sprays on its back, but these are finer. The 

 smallest is the cruciform egret, recognisable by its 

 black feet, yellow legs, and black beak. On its head 

 are two long plumes, from the throat hangs a tuft, 

 while on the back one may gather from fifteen to 

 twenty sprays of beautiful plumes bent back in the 

 form of a cross. All these birds are protected, and it 



(151) 



