470 THE AJAWA AND MANGANJA. Chap. XXIII. 



On passing Malango, near the uppermost Cataract, not 

 a soul was to be seen ; but, as we rested opposite a beautiful 

 tree-covered island, the merry voices of children at play 

 fell on our ears — the parents had fled thither for pro- 

 tection from the slave-hunting Ajawa, still urged on by 

 the occasional visits of the Portuguese agents from Tette. 

 The Ajawa, instead of passing below the Cataracts, now avoided 

 us, and crossed over to the east side near to the tree on which 

 we had hung the boat. Those of the Manganja, to whom we 

 could make ourselves known, readily came to us; but the 

 majority had lost all confidence in themselves, in each 

 other, and in every one else. The boat had been burned 

 about three months previously, and the Manganja were 

 very anxious that we should believe that this had been 

 the act of the Ajawa ; but on scanning the spot we saw 

 that it was more likely to have caught fire in the grass- 

 burning of the country. Had we intended to be so long in 

 returning to it, we should have hoisted it bottom upwards ; 

 for, as it was, it is probable that a^ quantity of dried leaves 

 lay inside, and a spark ignited the whole. All the trees 

 within fifty yards were scorched and killed, and the nails, 

 iron, and copper sheathing, all lay undisturbed beneath. 

 Had the Ajawa done the deed, they would have taken 

 away the copper and iron. 



Our hopes of rendering ourselves independent of the south 

 for provisions, by means of this boat, being thus disappointed, 

 we turned back with the intention of carrying another up to 

 the same spot ; and, in order to find level ground for this, 

 Ave passed across from the Shire at Malango to the upper part 

 of the stream Lesungwe. A fine, active, intelligent fellow, 

 called Pekila, guided us, and was remarkable as almost the 

 only one of the population left with any spirit in him. The 

 depressing effect which the slave-hunting scourge has upon 



