170 LEAVE THE ELEPHANT VALLEY. Chap. VI L 



heartburn. This is the only mode that the natives have of 

 cooking the mapira meal. They seldom, if ever, bake it into 

 cakes, like oatmeal ; for, though finely ground and beauti- 

 fully white, it will not cohere readily. Maize meal is formed 

 into dough more readily, but that too is inferior to wheaten 

 flour, or even oatmeal, for baking. It was rather difficult to 

 persuade the men to boil the porridge for us more patiently ; 

 and they became witty, and joked us for being like women, 

 when the weakness of fever compelled us to pay some attention 

 to the cooking, evidently thinking that it was beneath the 

 dignity of white men to stoop to such matters. They look 

 upon the meal and water porridge of the black tribes as the 

 English used to do upon the French frogs, and call the eaters 

 " mere water-porridge fellows," while the Makololo's meal and 

 milk porridge takes the character of English roast-beef. 



Sandia gave us two guides ; and on the 4th of June we 

 left the Elephant valley, takiug a westerly course ; and, after 

 crossing a few ridges, entered the Chingerere or Paguru- 

 guru valley, through which, in the rainy season, runs the 

 streamlet Pajodze. The mountains on our left, between 

 us and the Zambesi, our guides told us have the same 

 name as the valley, but that at the confluence of the 

 Pajodze is called Morumbwa. We struck the river at 

 less than half a mile to the north of the cataract Mo- 

 rumbwa. On climbing up the base of this mountain at 

 Pajodze, we found that we were distant only the diameter 

 of the mountain from the cataract. In measuring the cataract 

 we formerly stood on its southern flank ; now we were perched 

 on its northern flank, and at once recognised the onion- 

 shaped mountain, here called Zakavuma, whose smooth con- 

 vex surface overlooks the broken water. Its bearing by 

 compass was 180° from the spot to which we had climbed 



