THE VAIXEY OF THE QUANGO. 335 



path, and, soon after entering upon it, we met a party of 

 half-caste traders from Bihe,who confirmed the information. 

 we had already got of this path leading straight to Cassange, 

 through which they had come on their way from Bihe to 

 Cabango. They kindly presented my men with some 

 tobacco, and marvelled greatly, when they found that I 

 had never been able to teach myself to smoke. On parting, 

 with them we came to a trader's grave. This was marked 

 by a huge cone of sticks placed in the form of the roof of a 

 hut, with a palisade around it. At an opening on the 

 western side an ugly idol was placed : several strings of 

 beads and bits of cloth were hung around. We learned 

 that he had been a half-caste, who had died on his way- 

 back from Matiamvo. 



As we were now alone, and sure of being on the way 

 to the abodes of civilisation, we went on briskly. 



On the 30th we came to a sudden descent from the high 

 land, indented by deep, narrow valleys, over which we had 

 lately been travelling. It is generally so steep, that it 

 can only be descended at particular points, and even there 

 I was obliged to dismount, though so weak that I had to 

 be led by my companions to prevent my toppling over hx 

 walking down. It was annoying to feel myself so helpless, 

 for I never liked to see a man, either sick or well, giving in 

 effeminately. Below us lay the valley of the Quango. If 

 you sit on the spot where Mary Queen of Scots viewed, 

 the battle of Langside, and look down on the vale of 

 Clyde, you may see in miniature the glorious sight which 

 a much greater and richer valley presented to our view~ 

 It is about a hundred miles broad, clothed with dark 

 forest, except where the light-green grass covers meadow- 

 lands on the Quango, which here, and there glances out irt 

 the sun as it wends its way to the north. The opposite 

 side of this great valley appears like a range of lofty 

 mountains, and the descent into it about a mile, which,, 

 measured perpendicularly, may be from a thousand to 

 twelve hundred feet. Emerging from the gloomy forests 

 of I/mda, this magnificent prospect made us all feel as if a 

 weight had been lifted off our eyelids. A cloud was 

 passing across the middle of the valley, from which rolling- 

 thunder pealed, while above all was glorious sunlight ? 

 and when we went down to the part where we saw it 

 passing, we found that a very heavy thunder-shower had 

 fallen under the path of the cloud : and the bottom of 



