4 NEAVE, A Journey to North-east Rhodesia. 



even near the edge. The water itself was intensely still, 

 cold, and pellucid. It was full of fish, but I was unsuccessful 

 in catching them on a rod and unfortunately had no other 

 means at my disposal. The local natives look upon the 

 pool with great suspicion and will not even drink its 

 water. 



My time being now short I turned eastward and 

 having crossed my old route, took a more northerly 

 course. After a somewhat difficult journey owing to 

 shortage of food supplies for my carriers, through a fine 

 but mountainous country the Loangwa was crossed, and 

 Petauke reached at the end of November. After one or 

 two short expeditions, I left Petauke for Fort Jameson 

 early in January, 1906, and thence reached the coast, 

 travelling through British Central Africa, via Lake Nyassa 

 and Blantyre. 



Wherever I went I met with friendly, peaceable, and 

 for the most part prosperous natives. This is not a little 

 remarkable, and reflects great credit on the Administra- 

 tion, when one considers that less than ten years before 

 the country was entirely unad ministered and was overrun 

 with slave dealers and raiders, the weaker tribes being in 

 daily peril from the attacks of the stronger. The people 

 of the Loangwa valley in particular are a remarkably 

 industrious, tractable, and law-abiding race. They are 

 also great agriculturists. They mostly belong to the 

 Senga tribe, with some admixture of Chikunda and 

 Angoni stock. Westward, on the plateau, the people 

 belong to the Alala tribe, and westward again to the 

 Kafue, the Alamba are found. The two latter tribes 

 differ very much in their method of agriculture from the 

 peoples of the Loangwa valley. Their gardens are 

 renewed every year instead of every two or three, and they 

 further cut down and destroy five or six acres of bush 



