Porto da Lenka. 
93 
round numbers). The river opposite the projec¬ 
tion narrows to a gate barely a mile and a half 
broad, whilst the valley stretches some five miles, 
and the blue hills inhabited by the Musulungus are 
clearly visible; the flood rises four or five feet, 
and drinking water must be brought from up 
stream. The site of the settlement is on the right 
or northern bank behind the projection, a slip of 
morass backed by swamps and thick growths, 
chiefly bombax, palm and acacia, lignum vitae, the 
mammee-apple and the cork-tree, palmyra, pan- 
danus, and groves of papyrus. Low and deeply 
flooded during the rains, the place would be fatal 
without the sea-breeze; as it is, the air is exceed¬ 
ingly unwholesome. There is no quay, the canoe 
must act gondola; the wharf is a mere platform 
with steps, and in places the filthy drains are not 
dry even at this season. The length of the station 
is about one mile, and of no depth except what is 
taken up by the neat and expensive gardens. 
Eastward or up stream it thins out, and the foun¬ 
dations give considerable trouble ; the inhabitants 
are condemned to do beavers work, to protect 
the bank with strong piles, and to heap up earth 
for a base, whilst, despite all their toil, the water 
often finds its way in. The sixteen houses look 
well; they are substantial bungalows, built country 
fashion, with timber and matting; they have large 
and shady verandahs, and a series of inner rooms. 
