Mashonaland as a Field for Emigration. 237 



nf;knowle(l_uT'. tlic failin'o of tlio Mazoo o'old rpofs, 

 (loclai'o confidently tliat tliey ncxci- for a moment 

 placed those reefs on an equalit}' ^vitli the reefs of 

 Hartley Hill. Soon we shall be more perfectly in- 

 formed, for tlie mining experts proceed innne- 

 diately to this latter locality. Even if disappoint- 

 ment again awaits 11s, there is still Manica to fall 

 hack ujDon, of which territory, for reasons which I 

 cannot precisely define, I pei-sonall}- entertain great 

 hopes. Still, the non-discovery of alluvial deposits, 

 the historic certainty of the existence of those 

 deposits in the past, the quantity of old workings, 

 all reaching to a- particular depth and then aban- 

 doned, do suggest disagreeable doubts as to 

 whether the people of old days have not cleared the 

 country of its gold wealth. 



Nor can I as yet escape from the opinion 

 that, as a field for emigration, Mashonaland is 

 a disappointment. The climate, fine in Avinter, 

 but in very many parts quite unhealthy for 

 Europeans in summer ; the torrential rains 

 of January and February, during Avliich all 

 work has to be suspended and roads become 

 impassable ; the prevalent malarial fcA'er, the 

 various animal pestilences, and apparent general 

 absence of rich deep soil, such as distinguishes 

 the Transvaal, seem to offer invincible ob- 

 stacles to large settlements of Avhite peoj^le. 

 Naturally, if great and rich gold discoveries are 

 made, those settlements will come, and nature's 

 obstacles will be mitigated and conquered. But 

 in the absence of such discoveries I cannot yet 



