Chap. XXVII. EEACH MOLAMBA. 553 



and with the shrill wail of the women, " O Mae ! " (O 

 mother ! ) The inhabitants answered our inquiries about 

 the paths from the heights, but none came near us. The 

 path we descended by at last was very cleverly chosen, it 

 ran along the sjrars rising from different points of the side of 

 the great valley, and was comparatively level for thirty miles. 

 The distance from the top of the plateau to the valley below 

 was about fifty miles ; and when we met people coming from 

 the plains to collect wild fruit in the forests, they took it as 

 great news that we had actually seen live Mazitu. The dis- 

 trict into which we descended was still called Bango, and a 

 fine stream, named Furisa, flowed through it into the Lake. 

 Here the people had large fields of maize in ear, which had 

 been raised in holes in the dry season by the aid of the water, 

 that percolates from the Furisa through the sand. 



On the 8th October we arrived at Molamba, on the 

 banks of the Lake, and had a delicious bath. We were 

 desirous of seeing Nkomo, the headman, again, because a 

 guide whom he had given us had not been paid. Occasion- 

 ally we have been ill served, and sometimes deserted by the 

 men we have employed. Indeed, if one were inclined to 

 make a wail about the miseries of travelling, an important 

 item would be the difficulties about guides ; they don't much 

 relish the task of serving vagrants ; nor should we. In this 

 case, however, we had been the delinquents. The man, after 

 going fifteen miles, suddenly stopped on the march, and said 

 that he was going to leave us. He was told to come on to 

 the next village, and that we should rest there and pay him 

 his wages. We never saw him again. On telling this to 

 Nkomo, we ascertained that in taking this particular guide 

 we had been unconsciously aiding an elopement of two of 

 the headman's wives. While marching along with us, the 

 guide had been telegraphing to the ladies behind, and ap- 



