Chap. I. DESCRIPTION OF SENNA. 35 



tliey stepped aside to let us pass, and saluted us politely, the 

 men bowing and scraping, and the women, even with heavy 

 loads on their heads, curtseying — a curtsey from bare legs 

 is startling ! 



Senna is built on a low plain, on the right bank of 

 the Zambesi, with some pretty detached hills in the back- 

 ground; it is surrounded by a stockade of living trees to 

 protect its inhabitants from their troublesome and rebellious 

 neighbours. It contains a few large houses, some ruins of 

 others, and a weatherbeaten cross, where once stood a church ; 

 a mound shows the site of an ancient monastery, and 

 a mud fort by the river is so dilapidated, that cows were 

 grazing peacefully over its prostrate walls. This grieves not 

 the villagers, for its black garrison was wont to keep within 

 doors when the foe came near, leaving the merchants to 

 settle the strife as best they could ; and they therefore consider 

 that the decay of the fort has not caused them to be any more 

 helpless than they were before. 



The few Senna merchants, having little or no trade in the 

 village, send parties of trusted slaves into the interior to hunt 

 for, and purchase ivory. It is a dull place, and very conducive 

 to sleep. One is sure to take fever in Senna on the second 

 day, if by chance one escapes it on the first day of a sojourn 

 there ; but no place is entirely bad. Senna has one re- 

 deeming feature : it is the native village of the large-hearted 

 and hospitable Senhor H. A. Ferrao. The benevolence of 

 this gentleman is unbounded. The poor black stranger 

 passing through the town goes to him almost as a matter of 

 course for food, and is never sent away hungry. In times 

 of famine the starving natives are fed by his generosity; 

 hundreds of his own people he never sees except on these 

 occasions; and the only benefit derived from being their 



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