LIEMBA SCENERY. 541 



region between the parallels 11° and 8° south, and meridians 

 28°-33° long, east, are known. The altitude of this upland is 

 from four thousand to six thousand feet above the level of the 

 sea. It is generally covered with forest, well watered by 

 uumerous rivulets, and comparatively cold. The soil is very 

 rich, and yields abundantly wherever cultivated. This is the 

 watershed between the Loangwa, a tributary of the Zambesi, 

 and several rivers which flow towards the north. Of the latter, 

 the most remarkable is the Chambeze, for it assists in the forma- 

 tion of three lakes, and changes its name three times in the five 

 or six hundred miles of its course. 



" On leaving Lobemba we entered Ulungu, and, as we pro- 

 ceeded northwards, perceived by the barometers and the courses 

 of numerous rivulets, that a decided slope lay in that direction. 

 A friendly old Ulungu chief, named Kasonso, on hearing that 

 I wished to visit Lake Liemba, which lies in his country, gave 

 his son with a large escort to guide me thither ; and on the 2d 

 April last we reached the brim of the deep cup-like cavity in 

 which the lake reposes. The descent is two thousand feet, and 

 still the surface of the water is upwards of two thousand five 

 hundred feet above the level of the sea. The sides of the hol- 

 low are very steep, and sometimes the rocks run the whole two 

 thousand feet sheer down to the water. Nowhere is there three 

 miles of level land from the foot of the cliffs to the shore, but 

 top, sides, and bottom are covered with well-grown wood and 

 grass, except where the bare rocks protrude. The scenery is 

 extremely beautiful. The ' Aeasy,' a stream of fifteen yards 

 broad and thigh-deep, came down alongside our precipitous 

 path, and formed cascades by leaping three hundred feet at a 

 time. These, with the bright red of the clay schists among the 

 greenwood-trees, made the dullest of my attendants pause and 

 remark with wonder. Antelopes, buffaloes, and elephants 

 abound on the steep slopes ; and hippopotami, crocodiles, and 

 fish swarm in the water. Gnus are here unknown, and these 

 animals may live to old age if not beguiled into pitfalls. The 

 elephants sometimes eat the crops of the natives, and flap their 

 big ears just outside the village stockades. One got out of our 

 way on to a comparatively level spot, and then stood and roared 

 at us. Elsewhere they make clear off at sight of man. 



