146 DOWN AGAIN TO KON GONE. Chap. VI. 



and it gave good steam. The imbedded roots of plants showed 

 it to be of old formation. It lies under a coarse grey sandstone, 

 which often has the ripple mark, and impressions of plants and 

 siliciiied wood on its surface. Gold also is found in many of 

 the streams on the south of Tette; but so long as slavery 

 maintains its sway, the coal and gold will be kept uhworked, 

 and safe for future generations. 



Learning that it would be difficult for our party to obtain 

 food beyond Kebrabasa before the new crop came in, and 

 knowing the difficulty of hunting for so many men in the 

 wet season, we decided on deferring our departure for the 

 interior until May, and in the mean time to run down once 

 more to the Kongone, in the hopes of receiving letters and de- 

 spatches from the man-of-war that was to call in March. We 

 left Tette on the 10th, and at Senna heard that our lost mail 

 had been picked up on the beach by natives, west of the 

 Milambe ; carried to Quillimane ; sent thence to Senna ; 

 and, passing us somewhere on the river, on to Tette. At 

 Shupanga the Governor informed us that it was a very large 

 mail ; no great comfort, seeing it was away up the river. 



Mosquitoes were excessively troublesome at the harbour, 

 and especially when a light breeze blew from the north over 

 the mangroves. We lived for several weeks in small huts, 

 built by our men. Those who did the hunting for the party 

 always got wet, and were attacked by fever, but generally 

 recovered in time to be out again before the meat was all 

 consumed. No ship appearing, we started off on the 15th of 

 March, and stopped to Avood on the Luabo, near an encamp- 

 ment of hippopotamus hunters ; our men heard again, through 

 them, of the canoe path from this place to Quillimane, but 

 they declined to point it out. The Governor of Quillimane 

 had already complained that the Portuguese of his district 



