1867.] DESPATCH TO LOED CLARENDON. 255 



and Itawa-Lunda are the names by which the districts of 

 an elevated region between the parallels 11° and 8° south, 

 and meridians 28°-33° long, east, are known. The altitude 

 of this upland is from 4000 to 6000 feet above the level of 

 the sea. It is generally covered with forest, well watered 

 by numerous rivulets, and comparatively cold. The soil 

 is very rich, and yields abundantly wherever cultivated. 

 This is the watershed between the Loangwa, a tributary 

 of the Zambesi, and several rivers Arhich flow towards the 

 north. Of the latter, the most remarkable is the Chambeze, 

 for it assists in the formation of three lakes, and changes its 

 name three times in the five or six hundred miles of its 

 course. 



On leaving Lobemba we entered Ulungu, and, as we pro- 

 ceeded northwards, perceived by the barometers and the 

 courses of numerous rivulets, that a decided slope lay in 

 that direction. A friendly old Ulungu chief, named Kasonso, 

 on hearing that I wished to visit Lake Liemba, which lies 

 in his country, gave his son with a large escort to guide 

 me thither ; and on the 2nd April last we reached the brim 

 of the deep cup-like cavity in which the Lake reposes. 

 The descent is 2000 feet, and still the surface of the water 

 is upwards of 2500 feet above the level of the sea. The 

 sides of the hollow are very steep, and sometimes the rocks 

 run the whole 2000 feet sheer down to the water. Nowhere 

 is there three miles of level land from the foot of the cliffs 

 to the shore, but top, sides, and bottom are covered with 

 well-grown wood and grass, except where the bare rocks 

 protrude. The scenery is extremely beautiful. The 

 " Aeasy," a stream of 15 yards broad and thigh deep, came 

 down alongside our precipitous path, and formed cascades 

 by leaping* 300 feet at a time. These, with the bright 

 red of the clay schists among the greenwood-trees, made 

 the dullest of my attendants pause and remark with wonder. 

 Antelopes, buffaloes, and elephants abound on the steep 



