THE VICTORIA FALLS. 203 



peer down into a large rent which has been made from bank to bank of the 

 broad Zambesi, and there we see the stream of a thousand yards in breadth 

 suddenly compressed into a channel of fifteen or twenty. Imagine the Thames 

 flanked with low tree-covered hills from the tunnel to Grravesend, its bed of hard 

 basaltic rock instead of London mud, and a rent or fissure made in the bed, 

 from one end of the tunnel to the other, down through the keystones of the 

 arch, to a depth of 100 feet, the lips of the fissure being from 60 to 80 feet 

 apart. Suppose farther, the narrow rent prolonged from the tunnel to 

 Gravesend along the left bank, and the Thames leaping bodily into this gulf, 

 compressed into 15 or 20 yards at the bottom, forced to change its direction 

 from the right to the left bank, then turning a corner and boiling and roaring 

 through the hills, and you may conceive something similar to this part of 

 the Zambesi. 



" In former days the three principal falls were used as places where 

 certain chiefs worshipped the Barirno (gods or departed spirits). As even at 

 low water there are from 400 to 600 yards of water pouring over, the constancy 

 and loudness of the sound may have produced feelings of awe, as if the never- 

 ceasing flood came forth from the footstool of the Eternal. It was mysterious 

 to them, for one of their canoe songs says, 



' The Leeambye — nobody knows 

 Whence it comes or whither it goes.' 



" Perhaps the bow in the cloud reminded them of Him who alone is 

 unchangeable and above all changing things. But, not aware of His true 

 character, they had no admiration of the beautiful and good in their bosoms. 

 Secure in their own island fortresses, they often inveigled wandering or fugi- 

 tive tribes on to others which are uninhabited, and left them there to perish. 

 The river is so broad, that, when being ferried across, you often cannot see 

 whether you are going to the main land or not. To remove temptation out 

 of the way of our friends, we drew the borrowed canoes last night into our 

 midst on the island where we slept, and some of the men made their beds 

 in them. 



" Before concluding this account of the falls, it may be added that the 

 rent is reported to be much deeper further down, perhaps 200 or 300 feet ; 

 and at one part the slope downward allows of persons descending in a sitting 

 posture. Some Makololo, once chasing fugitives, saw them unable to restrain 

 their flight, and dashed to pieces at the bottom. They say the river appeared 

 as a white cord at the bottom of an abyss, which made them giddy and fain 

 to leave. Yet I could not detect any evidence of wear at the spot which was 

 examined, though it was low water, and from seven to ten feet of yellow dis- 

 colouration on the rock showed the probable amount of rise. I have been led 

 to the supposition by the phenomena noticed by both Captain Tuckey and 



