THE RIVER AND ISLANDS. 701 



of altitude so much as the western. It extends a considerable 

 way into the Maganja country in the north, and then bends round 

 toward the river again, and ends in the lofty mountain Morumbala, 

 opposite Senna. On the other or southern side it is straighter, 

 but is said to end in Gorongozo, a mountain west of the same 

 point. The person who called this Lupata " the spine of the world" 

 evidently did not mean to say that it was a translation of the word, 

 for it means a defile or gorge having perpendicular walls. This 

 range does not deserve the name of either Cordillera or Spine, 

 unless we are willing to believe that the world has a very small 

 and very crooked "back-bone." 



We passed through the gorge in two hours, and found it rather 

 tortuous, and between 200 and 300 yards wide. The river is 

 said to be here always excessively deep ; it seemed to me that a 

 steamer could pass through it at full speed. At the eastern en- 

 trance of Lupata stand two conical hills ; they are composed of 

 porphyry, having large square crystals therein. These hills are 

 called Moenda en Goma, which means a footprint of a wild beast. 

 Another conical hill on the opposite bank is named Kasisi (priest), 

 from having a bald top. We sailed on quickly with the current 

 of the river, and found that it spread out to more than two miles 

 in breadth; it is, however, full of islands, which are generally cov- 

 ered with reeds, and which, previous to the war, were inhabited, 

 and yielded vast quantities of grain. We usually landed to cook 

 breakfast, and then went on quickly. The breadth of water 

 between the islands was now quite sufficient for a sailing vessel 

 to tack, and work her sails in ; the prevailing winds would 

 blow her up the stream ; but I regretted that I had not come 

 when the river was at its lowest rather than at its highest. The 

 testimony, however, of Captain Parker and Lieutenant Hoskins, 

 hereafter to be noticed, may be considered conclusive as to the 

 capabilities of this river for commercial purposes. The Portu- 

 guese state that there is high water during five months of the 

 year, and when it is low there is always a channel of deep 

 water. But this is very winding ; and as the river wears away 

 some of the islands and forms others, the course of the channel 

 is often altered. I suppose that an accurate chart of it made in 

 one year would not be very reliable the next ; but I believe, 

 from all that I can learn, that the river could be navigated 



