418 
SOUTHERN AFRICA. 
remained some time, and describes the natives 
as kind and docile ; but the most important fact 
brought to light by him whilst there, was the 
existence of a Portuguese slave-merchant's 
stockade, at Eatongo, a Batoka village on the 
Eastern bank of the Leeambye river. That 
these traders in human flesh should have pene- 
trated so far to the South, is a sign that they 
do not find a sufficient supply for their market 
on the upper districts of the Western coast. 
From this point, he and his party proceeded 
up the river, towards the Barotse, in thirty-eight 
canoes, 33 feet long and 20 inches wide. " With 
six paddlers we passed," to use his own words, 
" through 44 miles of latitude, by one day's 
pull of 10| hours : if we add the longitude to 
this, it must have been upwards of 50 miles 
actual distance. The river is indeed a magni- 
ficent one : it, is often more than a mile broad, 
and adorned with numerous islands of from 
three to five miles in length : these and the 
banks too, are covered with forest, and most of 
the trees on the brink of the water send down 
roots from their branches like the banian. The 
islands at a little distance seem rounded masses 
of sylvan vegetation, of various hues, reclining 
on the bosom of a glorious stream. The beauty 
of the scene is greatly increased by the date 
palm, and lofty palmyra, towering above the 
