320 ■ WELCOME FROM SHINTE. Chap. XXIV 



nephew of Shinte ; and next day we met Chebende himself, 

 returning from his father's funeral, looking thin and haggard, 

 probably from the effect of the orgies in which he had been 

 engaged. Pitsane and Mohorisi, having concocted the project 

 of a Makololo village on the banks of the Leeba as an approach 

 to the white man's market, spoke to Chebende on the subject, 

 but he cautiously avoided expressing an opinion. Their idea 

 of forming an establishment somewhere near the confluence 

 of the Leeba and Zambesi commended itself to my judgment 

 as a point geographically suitable for civilization and com- 

 merce. The right bank of the Leeba there is never flooded ; 

 and from that point there is communication by means oi 

 canoes to the country of the Kanyika, and also to Cazembe. 

 There is no obstruction down to the Barotse valley ; and there 

 is probably canoe navigation down the Kafue or Bashuku- 

 lompo river, which flows through the fertile and well-peopled 

 district of the Bamasasa. 



As it was now mid-winter, it may be mentioned that the 

 temperature of the water in the morning was 47°, and that of 

 the air 50°, which, being loaded with moisture, was very cold 

 to the feelings. Yet the sun was very hot by day, the 

 temperature in the shade ranging from 88° to 90°, and in the 

 evenings from 76° to 78°. 



Before reaching the town of Shinte we passed through 

 many large villages of the Balobale, who had fled from their 

 chief, Kangenke. The Mambari from Bihe come constantly to 

 him for trade ; and as he sells his people, great numbers of 

 them escajDe to Shinte and Katema, who refuse to give them 

 up. We reached our friend Shinte, and received a hearty 

 welcome from the old man, accompanied with abundance of 

 provisions. As I had been desirous of introducing some of the 

 fruit-trees of Angola, we had brought a pot containing cuttings 

 of orange, cashew, custard-apple (anona), and fig-trees, with 

 coffee, aracas (Araga pomifera), and papaws (Carica papaya). 

 Fearing that, if we took them further south, they might be 

 killed by the cold, we planted them out in an enclosure of one 

 of Shinte's principal men, and, at his request, promised to give 

 Shinte a share when grown. My men had collected quantities 

 of seeds in Angola, and now distributed them amongst their 

 friends. Some even carried onions, garlic, and bird's-eye 



