338 



THE RUFIGI RIVER. 



the north a river in E. long. 72° and S. lat. 7°; 

 a city in E. long. 71° and S. lat. 7°, therefore lying 

 up stream and one degree to the west, and lastly 

 the Ehapta Promontory, in E. long. 73" 30' 20" 

 and S. lat. 8° 20' 5''. I believe them, for reasons 

 given in vol. I. chap, v., to be the Rufiji river. 

 Old Kilwa, and Cape Delgado. Local tradition 

 preserves no trace of an emporium lying up the 

 stream, nor would so exposed a locality have been 

 chosen by the older traders, who invariably pre- 

 ferred the shelter of islands. Dr Livingstone 

 (near Lake Bangweolo, South Central Africa, 

 July, 1868) proposes the Rovuma— so he writes 

 the word E^ufuma— as the probable position of 

 Ptolemy's river Ehapta. This has the same disad- 

 vantage as the Eufiji — it places an important 

 point or points at an unimportant site. 



We had no sweeps to make head against the 

 river, even for a few miles, and all dissuaded us 

 from attempting exploration at this season. Ac- 

 cording to the Banyan Jetlia, who declared that 

 he had lived 20 years hereabouts, the stream takes 

 its name from the Eufiji village, a little way up 

 its course. He moreover asserted that some 15 

 days ago a Banyan had been plundered when 

 travelling to the interior, that the Washenzi 

 (savages) were dangerous, and nowise under the 



