Chap. XVI. WILD, HILLY COUNTRY. 321 



these very villages. A few mornings since, Moloka appeared 

 in great grief and fear : his servant Eanyeu had disappeared 

 the day before, and he was sure that the Batoka had caught 

 and killed him. A few minutes after, this Eanyeu arrived, 

 with two men who had found him wandering after sunset, 

 had given him supper and lodging, and, carrying his load 

 for him, had brought him on to us. 



On the morning of the 12th October we passed through a 

 wild, hilly country, with fine wooded scenery on both sides, 

 but thinly inhabited. The largest trees were usually thorny 

 acacias, of great size and beautiful forms. As we sailed 

 by several villages without touching, the people became 

 alarmed, and ran along the banks, spears in hand. We 

 employed one to go forward and tell Mpande of our coming. 

 This allayed their fears, and we went ashore, and took break- 

 fast near the large island with two villages on it, opposite 

 the mouth of the Zuugwe, where we had left the Zambesi on 

 our way up. Mpande was sorry that he had no canoes of his 

 own to sell, but he would lend us two. He gave us cooked 

 pumpkins and a water-melon. His servant had lateral cur- 

 vature of the spine. We have often seen cases of humpback, 

 but this was the only case of this kind of curvature we had 

 met with. Mpande accompanied us himself in his own vessel, 

 till we had an opportunity of purchasing a fine large canoe 

 elsewhere. We paid what was considered a large price for it : 

 twelve strings of blue cut glass neck-beads, an equal number 

 of large blue ones of the size of marbles, and two yards of 

 grey calico. Had the beads been coarser, they would have 

 been more valued, because such were in fashion. Before 

 concluding the bargain the owner said " his bowels yearned 

 for his canoe, and we must give a little more to stop their 

 yearning." This was irresistible. The trading party of 

 Sequasha, which we now met, had purchased ten large 



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