388 MPENDE'S FRIENDSHIP. Chap. XXIX. 



with whom \»a had conversed the day "before, acted as our 

 advocate, and persuaded Mpende to allow us a passage. When 

 we knew the favourable decision of the council I sent Sekwebu 

 to purchase a canoe for the use of one of my men who had 

 become very ill, upon which Mpende remarked, " That white 

 man is truly one of our friends. See, how he lets me know 

 his afflictions !" Sekwebu adroitly took advantage of this 

 turn in the conversation, and said, "Ah! if you only knew 

 him as well as we do, you would understand that he highly 

 values your friendship and that of Mburuma, and that he 

 trusts in you to direct him." lie replied, " Well, he ought to 

 cross to the other side of the river, for this bank is hilly and 

 rough, and the way to Tete is longer on this than on the 

 opposite bank." He did everything he could afterwards to 

 aid us on our course, and our departure was widely different 

 from our approach to his village. It gratified me to find the 

 English name respected so far from the coast, and most 

 thankful was 1 that no collision occurred to damage its 

 influence. 



24th. — Mpende sent two of his principal men to order the 

 people of a large island below to ferry us across. The river 

 is 1200 yards from bank to bank, and contains between 700 

 and 800 of deep water, flowing at the rate of 3 J miles per hour. 

 Though my men were well acquainted with the management 

 of canoes, we could not get over before dark ; we therefore 

 first landed on an island, and next morning reached the 

 opposite bank in safety. We observed as we came along the 

 Zambesi that it had fallen two feet, and that the water, though 

 still muddy, was not nearly so red as it had been higher up. 

 It was therefore not yet the period of the central Zambesi 

 inundation, and the present height of the water was due to 

 rains outside the eastern ridge. The people here seem abun- 

 dantly supplied with English cotton goods. The Babisa are 

 the medium of trade, for we were informed that the Bazunga, 

 who formerly visited these parts, had been kept away by the war 

 for the last two years. The region to the north of the ranges 

 of hills on our left is called Senga, from being the country of 

 the Basenga, who are said to be great workers in iron, and to 

 possess abundance of fine iron ore. Beyond Senga lies a range 

 of mountains called Mashinga, to which the Portuguese iD 



