384 DISTRICT OF GOLUNGO ALTO. Chap. XIX. 



which in coming towards Ambaca we had seen thirty or forty 

 miles to our south, were now shut from our view by others nearer 

 at hand, and the grey ranges of Cahenda and Kiwe, which, while 

 we were in Ambaca, stood clearly defined eight or ten miles off to 

 the north, were now close upon our right. As we looked back 

 towards the open pastoral country of Ambaca, the broad green 

 gently undulating plains seemed in a hollow surrounded on all 

 sides by rugged mountains, and as we went westward we were 

 entering upon quite a wild-looking mountainous district called 

 Golungo Alto. 



We met numbers of Mambari on their way back to Bike. 

 Some of them had belonged to the parties which had penetrated 

 as far as Linyanti, and foolishly showed their displeasure at the 

 prospect of the Makololo preferring to go to the coast markets 

 themselves, to intrusting them with their ivory. The Mambari 

 repeated the tale of the mode in which the white men are said 

 to trade. " The ivory is left on the shore in the evening, and 

 next morning the seller finds a quantity of goods placed there 

 in its stead by the white men who live in the sea." "Now," 

 added they to my men, " how can you Makololo trade with 

 these '• Mermen ' ? Can you enter into the sea, and tell them to 

 come ashore?" It was remarkable to hear this idea repeated 

 so near the sea as we now were. My men replied that they 

 only wanted to see for themselves ; and as they were now getting 

 some light on the nature of the trade carried on by the Mambari. 

 they were highly amused on perceiving the reasons why the 

 Mambari would rather have met them on the Zambesi, than so 

 near the sea-coast. 



There is something so exhilarating to one of Highland blood in 

 being near or on high mountains, that I forgot my fever as we 

 wended our way among the lofty tree-covered masses of mica 

 schist, which form the highlands around the romantic residence 

 of the Chefe of Golungo Alto. (Lat. 9° 8' 30" S., long. 15° 

 2' E.) The whole district is extremely beautiful. The hills are 

 all bedecked with trees of various hues of foliage, and among 

 them towers the graceful pakn, which yields the oil of commerce 

 for making our soaps, and the intoxicating toddy. Some clusters 

 of hills look like the waves of the sea driven into a narrow 

 open bay, and have assumed the same form as if, when all 



