48 THE RIVER ZAMBEZI AND ITS SCENERY 



lock-like influence exerted by the Victoria Falls in 

 the British Sphere, we are now aware, to the east- 

 ward of them, of a long system of unnavigable 

 river, interrupted every few miles by perilous rapids 

 and cataracts, until the final bar to inland naviga- 

 tion is reached at the Rapids of Cachomba or 

 Coroabassa, which impose, about thirty miles east 

 of the Anglo-Portuguese frontier, an insuperable 

 barrier to any but canoe navigation. Once past 

 Cachomba, the Zambezi widens out once more, 

 and meanders placidly past Tete, its wide, sUvery 

 waters broken by countless wooded and sandy 

 islets, which continue for many miles as the great 

 river rolls on to the distant sea. 



I have come to the conclusion that four or five 

 centuries ago, when the early Portuguese pioneers 

 first forced their way up, the river was nothing like 

 so wide as it is at present, and therefore must have 

 been much deeper. If the formation of the river 

 banks be carefully noted, it will be found that for 

 one mile of clay formation there are probably 

 twenty of light, porous, sandy soil, opposing no 

 resistance to erosion by the current, and, conse- 

 quently, always washing away. As this action 

 has, without question, been going on through the 

 ages, it must be perfectly evident that the river 

 has been widening all the time. This is one reason 

 for its consistent shallowness, as, clearly, only an 

 insignificant quantity of the eroded matter could 

 be carried in suspension, but must have filled up 

 those channels which we read in the old records 

 were once of sufficient depth to afford passage to 

 vessels of considerable size. As most people are 



