ii.] GEOGRAPHY. 67 



east ; all the feeders of the Kasai and that river itself on the 

 east ; and probably also the Embara or river of Libebe on the 

 south." 



We have before seen with what difficulty he got to Linyanti, 

 and the immense river and marsh system which he found there ; 

 looking hence north — and an enormous tract of country be- 

 tween Linyanti and the equator is unexplored — he says, "View- 

 ing the basin from this (Linyanti) northward, we behold an 

 immense flat, intersected by rivers in almost every direction, 

 and these are not the South- African mud, sand, or stone rivers 

 either, but deep never-failing streams, fit to form invaluable 

 bulwarks against enemies who can neither swim nor manage 

 canoes. They have also numerous departing and re-entering 

 branches, with lagoons and marshes adjacent, so that it is 

 scarcely possible to travel along their banks without the as- 

 sistance of canoes V 



These valley-rivers have generally two beds, one of low 

 water, and another of inundation. Some of the great southern 

 rivers have their origin in the great flooded plains of the central 

 country. 



We can here only record the names of the chief rivers re- 

 ferred to by Dr Livingstone, confining all attempt at descrip- 

 tion to one — the Zambesi. Beginning in the west, these rivers 

 are, the Coanza, the Congo, the Kasai, the Lotembwa, the 

 Chobe, the Kafue, the Longwa, and the Shire. 



T R This may be called a river-system. The main 



Zambesi and stream is a noble river flowing — no one knows 

 its tributa- wnence — through central South Africa. One of 



RIES. rt 



the canoe-songs common among the natives on 

 the river is — 



"The Leeambye, — nobody knows 

 Whence it comes or whither it goes." 



In the far interior it is called the Leeambye. This name and that 

 of Zambesi, or Zambesa, mean " The River." An examination 



1 Letter dated Linyanti. 



13 



