DISTRICT OF ZUNGOMERO. 



93 



habits of civilisation. Though vestiges of large and 

 stable habitations have been discovered in the barbarous 

 Eastern Horn, in these days, between the parallels of 

 Harar and the ruined Portuguese towns near the Zambezi 

 Kivers, inner Africa ignores a town of masonry. In 

 our theoretical maps, the circlets used by cartographers 

 to denote cities serve only to mislead; their names 

 prove them to be Saltanats — lordships, districts or 

 provinces. 



Resuming our course on the next dav through 

 hollows and rice-swamps, where almost every ass fell or 

 cast its load, we came after a long tramp to the nearest 

 outposts of the Zungomero district ; here were several 

 caravans with pitched tents, piles of ivory and crowds 

 of porters. The gang of thirty-six Wanyamwezi, who 

 had preceded us, having located themselves at a distant 

 hamlet, we resumed our march, and presently were met 

 by a number of our men headed by their guard, the 

 two " sons of Ramji." Ensued a general sword and 

 spear play, each man with howls and cheers brandished 

 his blade or vibrated his missile, rushing about in all 

 directions, and dealing death amongst ideal foes with 

 such action as may often be observed in poultry-yards 

 when the hens indulge in a little merry pugnacity. 

 The march had occupied us four weeks, about double the 

 usual time, and the porters had naturally began to sus- 

 pect accidents from the Wazaramo. 



Zungomero, the head of the great river-valley, is a 

 plain of black earth and sand, prodigiously fertile. It 

 is enclosed on all sides except the eastern, or the line of 

 drainage; northwards rise the peaks of Dut'humi; west- 

 wards lie the little Wigo hills and the other spurs of Usa- 

 gara, uncultivated and uninhabited, though the country 

 is populous up to their feet ; and southwards are detached 



