404 PURSUED BY NATIVES. 



black when ripe, and is good food, as the seeds are small. 

 Many trees are known by tradition, and one receives 

 carious bits of information in asking about different fruits 

 that are met with. A tree named " shekabakadzi" is su- 

 perior to all others for making fire by friction. As its 

 name implies, women may even readily make fire by it 

 when benighted. 



We were tolerably successful in avoiding the villages, 

 and slept one night on the flanks of the hill Zimika, where 

 a great number of deep pot-boles afforded an abundant 

 supply of good rain-water. Here, for the first time, we 

 saw hills with bare, smooth, rocky tops, and we crossed 

 over broad dikes of gneiss and syenitic porphyry: the 

 directions in which they lay were N. and S. As we were 

 now near to Tete, we were congratulating ourselves on 

 having avoided those who would only have plagued us; 

 but next morning some men saw us, and ran off to inform 

 the neighboring villages of our passing. A party imme- 

 diately pursued us, and, as they knew we were within call 

 of Katoldsa, (Monomotapa,) they threatened to send infor- 

 mation to that chief of our offence in passing through the 

 country without leave. We were obliged to give them two 

 small tusks ; for, had they told Katolosa of our supposed 

 offence, we should in all probability have lost the whole, 

 We then went through a very rough, stony country with- 

 out any path. Being pretty well tired out in the evening 

 oi the 2d of March, I remained at about eight miles' distance 

 from Tete, Tette, or JSyungwe. My men asked me to go 

 on : I felt too fatigued to proceed, but sent forward to the 

 commandant the letters of recommendation with which I 

 had been favored in Angola by the bishop and others, and 

 lay down to rest. Our food having been exhausted, my 

 men had been subsisting for some time on roots and honoy. 

 About two o'clock in the morning of the 3d we were 

 aroused by two officers and a company of soldiers, w T ho had 

 been sent with the materials for a civilized breakfast and a 

 " masheela" to bring me to Tete. (Commandant's house ; 



