TRADE.— PRICES. 681 



ernment of Mozambique made that article contraband after the 

 commencement of the war. Goods, when traded with in the tribes 

 around the Portuguese, produce a profit of only about 10 per cent., 

 the articles traded in being ivory and gold-dust. A little oil and 

 wheat are exported, but nothing else. Trade with the tribes be- 

 yond the exclusive ones is much better. Thirty brass rings cost 

 10s. at Senna, £1 at Tete, and £2 beyond the tribes in the vicin- 

 ity of Tete ; these are a good price for a penful of gold-dust of the 

 value of £2. The plantations of coffee, which, previous to the 

 commencement of the slave-trade, yielded one material for ex- 

 portation, are now deserted, and it is difficult to find a single tree. 

 The indigo {Indigofera arge?itea, the common wild indigo of Af- 

 rica) is found growing every where, and large quantities of the sen- 

 na-plant* grow in the village of Tete and other parts, but neither 

 indigo nor senna is collected. Calumba-root, which is found in 

 abundance in some parts farther down the river, is bought by the 

 Americans, it is said, to use as a dye-stuff. A kind of sarsaparil- 

 la, or a plant which is believed by the Portuguese to be such, is 

 found from Londa to Senna, but has never been exported. 



The price of provisions is low, but very much higher than pre- 

 vious to the commencement of the war. Two yards of calico are 

 demanded for six fowls ; this is considered very dear, because, be- 

 fore the war, the same quantity of calico was worth 24 fowls. Grain 

 is sold in little bags made from the leaves of the palmyra, like 

 those in which we receive sugar. They are called panjas, and each 

 panja weighs between 30 and 40 lbs. The panja of wheat at Tete 

 is worth a dollar, or 5s. ; but the native grain may be obtained 

 among the islands below Lupata at the rate of three panjas for two 

 yards of calico. The highest articles of consumption are tea and 

 coffee, the tea being often as high as 15s. a pound. Food is 

 cheaper down the river below Lupata, and, previous to the war, 

 the islands which stud the Zambesi were all inhabited, and, the 

 soil being exceedingly fertile, grain and fowls could be got to any 

 amount. The inhabitants disappeared before their enemies the 

 Landeens, but are beginning to return since the peace. They 

 have no cattle, the only place where we found no tsetse being 

 the district of Tete itself; and the cattle in the possession of 



* These appear to belong to Cassia aculi/olia, or true senna of commerce, found 

 in various parts of Africa and India. — Dr. Hooker. 



