Chap. XXIX. DISTRICT OF CHICOVA. 393 



We marched along the river to a point opposite the hill 

 Pinkwe (lat. 15° 39' 11" S., long 31° 48' E.). The late 

 abundant rains had again flooded the Zambesi, and great quan- 

 tities of wreck appeared upon the stream. It is probable that 

 the frequent freshets caused by the rains on the eastern side 

 of the ridge have prevented the Portuguese from recognising 

 the one peculiar flood of inundation observed in the interior. 

 The Nile, not receiving these subsidiary waters, has its inunda- 

 tion clearly defined throughout its whole course. If the Zam- 

 besi were diverted in its mid course southwards into the Cape 

 Colony, its flood would be identical with that of the Nile ; 

 for it would be uninfluenced by any streams in the Kalahari. 



This flood having filled the river, we found the numerous 

 rivulets which flow into it filled also, and we lost so much 

 time in the search for fords that I resolved to leave the river 

 altogether and strike away to the S.E. We did so when 

 opposite the hill Pinkwe, and came into a hard Mopane 

 country. In a hole of one of the mopane-trees I noticed that 

 a squirrel (Sciurus cepapi) had covered ifc; store of seed under 

 a heap of fresh leaves. It is not against the cold of winter 

 that they thus lay up food, but as a provision against the hot 

 season, when the trees have generally no seed. A great many 

 fossil trees occur in this part of the country, some of them 

 broken off horizontally and standing upright, others lying 

 prone and shattered into a number of pieces. These trees lie 

 upon soft grey sandstone containing banks of shingle, which 

 forms the underlying rock of the country all the way from 

 Zumbo to near Lupata. 



As we were now in the district of Chicova, I examined the 

 geological structure of the country with interest, because it 

 has been stated that silver-mines once existed here. The 

 general rock is the grey soft sandstone I have mentioned, but 

 at the rivulet Bangue occurs a dyke of basalt six yards wide, 

 running north and south, and beyond this several others, some 

 of which run more to the eastward. The sandstone is then 

 found to have been disturbed, and at the rivulet called Nake 

 we found it tilted up and exhibiting a section which was 

 coarse sandstone above, sandstone-flag, shale, and lastly a 

 thin seam of coal. I was much pleased in discovering this 

 small specimen of such a precious mineral as coal. I saw no 



