372 DENSE POPULATION. Chap. XIX. 



to would form a magnificent harbour, the only really good one 

 we saw to the west. 



The land immediately adjacent to the lake is low and 

 fertile, though in some places marshy and tenanted by large 

 flocks of ducks, geese, herons, crowned 'cranes, and other birds. 

 In the southern part we have sometimes ten or a dozen miles 

 of rich plains, bordered by what seem high ranges of well- 

 wooded hills, running nearly parallel with the lake. North- 

 wards the mountains become loftier and present some magni- 

 ficent views, range towering beyond range, until the dim, 

 lofty outlines projected against the sky bound the prospect. 

 Still further north the plain becomes more narrow, 

 until, near where we turned, it disappears altogether, and 

 the mountains rise abruptly out of the lake, forming the 

 north-east boundary of what was described to us as an exten- 

 sive table-land, well suited for pasturage and agriculture, and 

 now only partially occupied by a tribe of Zulus, who came 

 from the south some years ago. These people own large 

 herds of cattle, and are constantly increasing in numbers by 

 annexing other tribes. 



Never before in Africa have we seen anything like the dense 

 population on the shores of Lake Nyassa. In the southern 

 part, there was an almost unbroken chain of villages. On 

 the beach of wellnigh every little sandy bay, dark crowds 

 were standing, gazing at the novel sight of a boat under sail ; 

 and wherever we landed we were surrounded in a few seconds 

 by hundreds of men, women, and children, who hastened to 

 have a stare at the " chironibo " (wild animals). To see the 

 animals feed was the greatest attraction ; never did the Zoo- 

 logical Society's lions or monkeys draw more sightseers, 

 than we did. Indeed, we equalled the hippopotamus on his first 

 arrival among the civilized on the banks of the Thames. The 

 wondering multitude crowded round us at meal-times and 



