566 THE NAKE RIVER. 



and tin. In connexion with these basaltic dykes, it may- 

 be mentioned that when I reached Tete I was informed of 

 the existence of a small rapid in the river near Chicova ; 

 had I known this previously, I certainly would not have 

 left the river without examining it. It is called Kebra- 

 basa, and is described as a number of rocks, which jut out 

 across the stream. I have no doubt but that it is formed 

 by some of the basaltic dykes which we now saw, for they 

 generally ran towards that point. I was partly influenced 

 in leaving the river by a wish to avoid several chiefs in 

 that direction, who levy a heavy tribute on those who 

 pass up or down. Our path lay along the bed of the Nake 

 lor some distance, the banks being covered with impene- 

 trable thickets. The villages are not numerous, but we 

 went from one to the other and were treated kindly. 

 Here they call themeslves Bambiri, though the general 

 name of the whole nation is Banyai. One of our guides 

 was an inveterate talker, always stopping and asking for 

 pay, that he might go on with a merry heart. I thought 

 that he led us in the most difficult paths, in order to make 

 us feel his value, for, after passing through one thicket 

 after another, we always came into the bed of the Nake 

 again, and as that was full of coarse sand, and the water 

 only ankle-deep, and as hot as a footbath from the 

 powerful rays of the sun, we were all completely tired out. 

 He likewise gave us a bad character at every village we 

 passed, calling to them that they were to allow him to 

 lead us astray, as we were a bad set. Sekwebu knew 

 every word he said, and, as he became intolerable, I dis- 

 missed him, giving him six feet of calico I had bought 

 from native traders, and telling him that his tongue was 

 a nuisance. It is in general best, when a scolding is 

 necessary, to give it in combination with a present, and 

 then end it by good wishes. This fellow 'went off smiling, 

 and my men remarked, " His tongue is cured now." The 

 country around the Nake is hilly, and the valleys covered 

 with tangled jungle. The people who live in this district 

 nave reclaimed their gardens from the forest, and the soil 

 is extremely fertile. The Nake flows northerly, and 

 then to the east. It is 50 or 60 yards wide, but during 

 most of the year is dry, affording water only by digging 

 in the sand. We found in its bed masses of volcanic rock, 

 identical with those which I subsequently recognised as 

 such at Aden. 



