134 THE BONDS OF AFRICA 



receiving contributary streams of no great im- 

 portance en route, the Ruo, which unites with 

 the Shire at Chiromo, constituting the most 

 important of these. 



That year the rains had been very late, and 

 this, combined with the fact that the water in 

 the tank of Nyasa had been exceptionally low, 

 brought about entire disorganization of the 

 river service. The Shire Highlands railway was 

 constructed from Chiromo to Blantyre to facili- 

 tate transport, and at a later date the railway 

 was extended from Chiromo to Port Herald, 

 thirty miles nearer the coast, on the Shire River, 

 as the water above Port Herald became so low 

 that the steamers could not at certain times of 

 the year reach Chiromo. 



But things seem to have gone from bad to 

 worse, and at the time of writing, the large river 

 steamers were unable to proceed above Villa 

 Bocage. Only the smallest boat of the B.C. A. 

 Co.'s flotilla could proceed to N'Temia, and 

 N'Temia must be something like nine miles from 

 Villa Bocage. Between Port Herald and N'Temia 

 or Villa Bocage communication is now maintained 

 by small house-boats, and even with craft of 

 this description drawing only a few inches of 

 water it is a matter of great difficulty to reach 

 Villa Bocage, the real head of perennially navi- 

 gable water. It is here that the influence of the 

 Zambesi is felt; indeed, for some miles above 

 N'Temia the back-waters of the Zambesi are 

 travelled on with but a very small contribution 

 from the Shire. Nyasaland is therefore in need 

 of better means of communication with the 

 coast. The present crude and costly method of 

 combining land with railway, lake and river 

 transport, and the expense and time involved 



