g32 CAFFRE WAR. 



and then went on, and in about a week he was able to engage in 

 the hunt again. 



At Zumbo we had entered upon old gray sandstone, with shingle 

 in it, dipping generally toward the south, and forming the bed of 

 the river. The Zambesi is very broad here, but contains many 

 inhabited islands. We slept opposite one on the 16th called Shi- 

 banga. The nights are warm, the temperature never falling below 

 80° ; it was 91° even at sunset. One can not cool the water by 

 a wet towel round the vessel, and we feel no pleasure in drinking 

 warm water, though the heat makes us imbibe large quantities. 

 We often noticed lumps of a froth-like substance on the bushes 

 as large as cricket-balls, which we could not explain. 



On the morning of the 17th we were pleased to see a person 

 coming from the island of Shibanga with jacket and hat on. He 

 was quite black, but had come from the Portuguese settlement at 

 Tete or Nyungwe ; and now, for the first time, we understood that 

 the Portuguese settlement was on the other bank of the river, and 

 that' they had been fighting with the natives for the last two 

 years. We had thus got into the midst of a CafTre war, without 

 any particular wish to be on either side. He advised us to cross 

 the river at once, as Mpende lived on this side. We had been 

 warned by the guides of Mburuma against him, for they said that 

 if we could get past Mpende we might reach the white men, but 

 that he was determined that no white man should pass him. 

 Wishing to follow this man's advice, we proposed to borrow his 

 canoes ; but, being afraid to offend the lords of the river, he de- 

 clined. The consequence was, we were obliged to remain on the 

 enemy's side. The next island belonged to a man named Zungo, 

 a fine, frank fellow, who brought us at once a present of corn, 

 bound in a peculiar way in grass. He freely accepted our apolo- 

 gy for having no present to give in return, as he knew that there 

 were no goods in the interior, and, besides, sent forward a recom- 

 mendation to his brother-in-law Pangola. The country adjacent 

 to the river is covered with dense bush, thorny and tangled, mak- 

 ing one stoop or wait till the men broke or held the branches on 

 one side. There is much rank grass, but it is not so high or rank 

 as that of Angola. The maize, however, which is grown here is 

 equal in size to that which the Americans sell for seed at the 

 Cape. There is usually a holm adjacent to the river, studded 



