Chap. XXIX. CAFFEE WAK. 589 



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 grey sandstone, with shingle 

 in it, dipping generally towards 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 Slii- 

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

 80° ; it was 91° even at sunset. One cannot 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 Caffre 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 Mm, 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 tins man's advice, we pro- 

 posed to borrow his canoes ; but being afraid to offend the 

 lords of the river, he declined. 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 hi grass. He 

 freely accepted our apology for having no present to give in return, 

 as he knew that there were no goods in the interior, and besides 

 sent forward a recommendation to his brother-in-law Pangola. 

 The country adjacent to the river is covered with dense bush, 

 thorny and tangled, making 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 



