Chap. XXXI. 
GOLD-WASHING. 
637 
tlie Portuguese are a mere remnant of wliat tliey formerly- 
owned. 
Wlien visiting the hot fountain, I examined what were formerly 
the gold-washings in the rivulet Mokoroze, which is nearly on the 
16th parallel of latitude. The banks are covered with large gToves 
of fine mango-trees, among wliich the Portuguese Hved while super¬ 
intending the washing for the precious metal. The process of 
washing is very laborious and tedious. A quantity of sand is put 
into a wooden bowl with water; a half rotatory motion is given to 
the dish, which causes the coarser particles of sand to collect on 
one side of the bottom. These are carefully removed with the 
hand, and the process of rotation renewed until the whole of the 
sand is taken away, and the gold alone remains. It is found in 
very minute scales, and, unless I had been assured to the contrary, 
I should have taken it to be mica, for, knowing the gold to be of 
greater specific gravity than the sand, I imagined that a stream of 
water would remove the latter and leave the former; but here 
the practice is, to remove the whole of the sand by the hand. 
This process was, no doubt, a profitable one to the Portuguese, and 
it is probable that, with the improved plan by means of mercmy, 
the sands would be lucrative. I had an opportunity of examining 
the gold-dust from different parts to the east and north-east of 
Tete. There are six well-known washing-places. These are 
called Mashinga, Shindundo, Missala, Kapata, Mano, and Jawa. 
Prom the description of the rock I received, I suppose gold is 
found both in clay-shale and quartz. At the range Muslnnga to 
the N.N.W. the rock is said to be so soft, that the women pound 
it into powder in wooden mortars previous to washing. 
Bound towards the westward, the old Portuguese indicate a 
station which was near to Zumbo on the river Panyame, and called 
Dambarari, near which much gold was found. Further west, lay 
the now unknown kingdom of Abutua, which was formerly famous 
for the metal; and then, coming round towards the east, we have 
the gold-washings of the Mashona, or Bazizulu, and further east, that 
of Mamca, where gold is found much more abundantly than in any 
other part, and which has been supposed by some to be the Opliir 
of King Solomon. I saw the gold from tins quarter as large as 
grains of wheat; that found in the rivers which run into the 
coalfield, being in very minute scales. If we place one leg of the 
