Chap. XXIX. 
CAFFEE WAE. 
589 
and then went on^ and in about a week lie was able to engage in 
the hunt again. 
At Zumbo we had entered upon old gxey sandstone^ with sliingle 
in itj dipping generally towards the souths and forming the bed of 
the river. The Zambesi is very broad here, but contains many 
inhabited islands. We slept opposite one on the 16th, called Shi- 
banga. The nights are warm, the temperature never falling below 
80°; it was 91° even at sunset. One cannot cool the water by a 
wet towel round the vessel, and we feel no pleasure in drinlmig 
warm water, though the heat makes us imbibe large quantities. 
We often noticed lumps of a froth-like substance on the bushes as 
large as cricket-balls, which we could not explain. 
On the morniug of the 17th, we were pleased to see a person 
coming from the island of Sliibanga, with jacket and hat on. He 
was quite black, but had come from the Portuguese settlement 
at Tete or Nyungwe; and now for the first time we understood 
that the Portuguese settlement was on the other bank of the 
river, and that they had been fighting with the natives for the 
last two years. We had thus got into the midst of a Caffre war, 
without any particular wish to be on either side. He advised 
us to cross the river at once, as Mpende lived on this side. We 
had been warned by the guides of Mbmmma against him, for 
they said that if we could get past Mpende we might reach the 
white men, but that he was determined that no white man 
should pass him. Wishing to foUow this man’s advice, we pro¬ 
posed to borrow his canoes; but being afraid to offend the 
lords of the river, he declined. The consequence was, we were 
obliged to remain on the enemy’s side. The next island belonged 
to a man named Zungo, a fine frank fellow, who brought us at 
once a present of corn, bound in a peculiar way in grass. He 
freely accepted our apology for having no present to give in return, 
as he knew that there were no goods m the interior, and besides 
sent forward a recommendation to his brother-in-law Pangola. 
The country adjacent to the river is covered with dense bush, 
thorny and tangled, making one stoop or wait till the men broke 
or held the branches on one side. There is much rank grass, but 
it is not so high or rank as that of Angola. The maize, however, 
which is grown here is equal in size to that winch the Americans 
sell for seed at the Cape. There is usually a holm adjacent to 
