40 SHIRAMBE DEMBE. Chap. I. 



before it, but continues only for a short time, and is succeeded 

 by a dead calm. Game becomes more abundant ; near our 

 wooding-places we see herds of zebras, both Burchell's and 

 the mountain variety, pallahs (A?itehpe melampus), waterbuck, 

 and wild hogs, with the spoor of buffaloes and elephants. 



Shiramba Dembe, on the right bank, is deserted; a few 

 old iron guns show where a rebel stockade once stood ; near 

 the river above this, stands a magnificent Baobab hollowed 

 out into a good-sized hut, with bark inside as well as without. 

 The old oaks in Sherwood Forest, when hollow, have the 

 inside dead or rotten ; but the Baobab, though stripped of 

 its bark outside, and hollowed to a cavity inside, has the 

 power of exuding new bark from its substance to both the 

 outer and inner surfaces ; so, a hut made like that in the oak 

 called the " Forest Queen," in Sherwood, would soon all be 

 lined with bark. 



The portions of the river called Shigogo and Shipanga 

 are bordered by a low level expanse of marshy country, with 

 occasional clumps of palm-trees and a few thorny acacias. 

 The river itself spreads out to a width of from three to four 

 miles, with many islands, among which it is difficult to navi- 

 gate, except when the river is in flood. In front, a range 

 of high hills from the north-east crosses and compresses 

 it into a deep narrow channel, called the Lupata Gorge. 

 The Portuguese thought the steamer would not stem the 

 current here; but as it was not more than about three 

 knots, and as there was a strong breeze in our favour, steam 

 and sails got her through with ease. Heavy-laden canoes 

 take two days to go up this pass. A current sweeps 

 round the little rocky promontories Chifura and Kangomba, 

 forming whirlpools and eddies dangerous for the clumsy 

 craft, which are dragged past with long ropes. 



