Grand reception of the traveller. Casenibe and his wife. Long
stay in the town. Goes to explore Moero. Despatch to Lord
Clarendon, with notes on recent travels. Illness at the end of
1867. Further exploration of Lake Moero. Flooded plains. The
River Luao. Visits Kabwawata. Joy of Arabs at Mohamad bin
Saleh's freedom. Again ill with fever. Stories of underground
dwellings.
_24th November, 1867._--We were called to be presented to Casembe in a
grand reception.
The present Casembe has a heavy uninteresting countenance, without
beard or whiskers, and somewhat of the Chinese type, and his eyes have
an outward squint. He smiled but once during the day, and that was
pleasant enough, though the cropped ears and lopped hands, with human
skulls at the gate, made me indisposed to look on anything with
favour. His principal wife came with her attendants, after he had
departed, to look at the Englishman (Moenge-résé). She was a fine,
tall, good-featured lady, with two spears in her hand; the principal
men who had come around made way for her, and called on me to salute:
I did so; but she, being forty yards off, I involuntarily beckoned her
to come nearer: this upset the gravity of all her attendants; all
burst into a laugh, and ran off.
Casembe's smile was elicited by the dwarf making some uncouth antics
before him. His executioner also came forward to look: he had a broad
Lunda sword on his arm, and a curious scizzor-like instrument at his
neck for cropping ears. On saying to him that his was nasty work, he
smiled, and so did many who were not sure of their ears a moment: many
men of respectability show that at some former time they have been
thus punished. Casembe sent us another large basket of fire-dried fish
in addition to that sent us at Chungu, two baskets of flour, one of
dried cassava, and a pot of pombe or beer. Mohamad, who was accustomed
to much more liberal Casembes, thinks this one very stingy, having
neither generosity nor good sense; but as we cannot consume all he
gives, we do not complain.
_27th November, 1867._--Casembe's chief wife passes frequently to her
plantation, carried by six, or more commonly by twelve men in a sort
of palanquin: she has European features, but light-brown complexion. A
number of men run before her, brandishing swords and battle-axes, and
one beats a hollow instrument, giving warning to passengers to clear
the way: she has two enormous pipes ready filled for smoking. She is
very attentive to her agriculture; cassava is the chief product; sweet
potatoes, maize, sorghum, pennisetum, millet, ground-nuts, cotton. The
people seem more savage than any I have yet seen: they strike each
other barbarously from mere wantonness, but they are civil enough to
me.
Mohamad bin Saleh proposes to go to Ujiji next month. He waited when
he heard of our coming, in order that we might go together: he has a
very low opinion of the present chief. The area which has served for
building the chief town at different times is about ten miles in
diameter.
Mofwé is a shallow piece of water about two miles broad, four or less
long, full of sedgy islands, the abodes of waterfowl, but some are
solid enough to be cultivated. The bottom is mud, though sandy at the
east shore: it has no communication with the Luapula. _(28th
November, 1867._) The Lundé, Chungu, and Mandapala are said to join
and flow into Moero. Fish are in great abundance (perch). On the west
side there is a grove of palm-oil palms, and beyond west rises a long
range of mountains of the Rua country 15 or 20 miles off.
_1st December, 1867._--An old man named Pérémbé is the owner of the
land on which Casembe has built. They always keep up the traditional
ownership. Munongo is a brother of Pérémbé, and he owns the country
east of the Kalongosi: if any one wished to cultivate land he would
apply to these aboriginal chiefs for it.
I asked a man from Casembe to guide me to south end of Moero, but he
advised me not to go as it was so marshy. The Lundé forms a marsh on
one side, and the Luapula lets water percolate through sand and mud,
and so does the Robukwé, which makes the path often knee deep. He said
he would send men to conduct me to Moero, a little further down, and
added that we had got very little to eat from him, and he wanted to
give more. Moero's south end is about 9° 30' S.
Old Pérémbé is a sensible man: Mohamad thinks him 150 years old. He is
always on the side of liberality and fairness; he says that the first
Casembe was attracted to Mofwé by the abundance of fish in it. He has
the idea of all men being derived from a single pair.
_7th December, 1867._--It is very cloudy here; no observations can be
made, as it clouds over every afternoon and night. _(8th and 11th
December, 1867._) Cleared off last night, but intermittent fever
prevented my going out.
_13th December, 1867._--Set-in rains. A number of fine young girls who
live in Casembe's compound came and shook hands in their way, which is
to cross the right over to your left, and clasp them; then give a few
claps with both hands, and repeat the crossed clasp: they want to
tell their children that they have seen me.
_15th December, 1867._--To-day I announced to Casembe our intention of
going away. Two traders got the same return present from him that I
did, namely, one goat and some fish, meal and cassava. I am always ill
when not working; I spend my time writing letters, to be ready when we
come to Ujiji. _(18th December, 1867._) We have been here a month, and
I cannot get more than two lunars: I got altitudes of the meridian of
stars north and south soon after we came, but not lunars. Casembe sent
a big basket of fire-dried fish, two pots of beer, and a basket of
cassava, and says we may go when we choose.
_19th December, 1867._--On going to say good-bye to Casembe, he tried
to be gracious, said that we had eaten but little of his food; yet he
allowed us to go. He sent for a man to escort us; and on the _22nd
December, 1867._ we went to Lundé River, crossed it, and went on to
sleep at the Chungu, close by the place where Casembe's court stood
when Dr. Lacerda came, for the town was moved further west as soon as
the Doctor died. There are many palm-oil palms about, but no tradition
exists of their introduction.
_23rd December, 1867._--We crossed the Chungu. Rain from above, and
cold and wet to the waist below, as I do not lift my shirt, because
the white skin makes all stare. I saw black monkeys at this spot. The
Chungu is joined by the Kaleusi and the Mandapala before it enters
Moero. Casembe said that the Lundé ran into Mofwé; others denied this,
and said that it formed a marsh with numbers of pools in long grass;
but it may ooze into Mofwé thus. Casembe sent three men to guide me to
Moero.
_24th December, 1867._--Drizzly rain, and we are in a miserable spot
by the Kabusi, in a bed of brakens four feet high. The guides won't
stir in this weather. I gave beads to buy what could be got for
Christmas.
_25th December, 1867._--Drizzly showers every now and then; soil,
black mud.
About ten men came as guides and as a convoy of honour to Mohamad.
_27th December, 1867._--In two hours we crossed Mandapala, now waist
deep. This part was well stocked with people five years ago, but
Casembe's severity in cropping ears and other mutilations, selling the
children for slight offences, &c., made them all flee to neighbouring
tribes; and now, if he sent all over the country, he could not collect
a thousand men.
[Livingstone refers (on the 15th Dec.) to some writings he was engaged
upon, and we find one of them here in his journal which takes the form
of a despatch to Lord Clarendon, with a note attached to the effect
that it was not copied or sent, as he had no paper for the purpose. It
affords an epitomised description of his late travels, and the stay at
Casembe, and is inserted here in the place of many notes written
daily, but which only repeat the same events and observations in a
less readable form. It is especially valuable at this stage of his
journal, because it treats on the whole geography of the district
between Lakes Nyassa and Moero, with a broad handling which is
impossible in the mere jottings of a diary.]
Town Of Casembe, _10th December, 1867._.
Lat. 9° 37' 13" South; long. 28° East.
The Right Honourable the Earl of Clarendon.
My Lord,--The first opportunity I had of sending a letter to the
coast occurred in February last, when I was at a village called
Molemba (lat. 10° 14' S.; long. 31° 46' E.), in the country
named Lobemba. Lobisa, Lobemba, Ulungu and Itawa-Lunda are the
names by which the districts of an elevated region between the
parallels 11° and 8° south, and meridians 28°-33° long. east,
are known. The altitude of this upland is from 4000 to 6000 feet
above the level of the sea. It is generally covered with forest,
well watered by numerous rivulets, and comparatively cold. The
soil is very rich, and yields abundantly wherever cultivated.
This is the watershed between the Loangwa, a tributary of the
Zambesi, and several rivers which flow towards the north. Of the
latter, the most remarkable is the Chambezé, for it assists in
the formation of three lakes, and changes its name three times
in the five or six hundred miles of its course.
On leaving Lobemba we entered Ulungu, and, as we proceeded
northwards, perceived by the barometers and the courses of
numerous rivulets, that a decided slope lay in that direction. A
friendly old Ulungu chief, named Kasonso, on hearing that I
wished to visit Lake Liemba, which lies in his country, gave his
son with a large escort to guide me thither; and on the 2nd
April last we reached the brim of the deep cup-like cavity in
which the Lake reposes. The descent is 2000 feet, and still the
surface of the water is upwards of 2500 feet above the level of
the sea. The sides of the hollow are very steep, and sometimes
the rocks run the whole 2000 feet sheer down to the water.
Nowhere is there three miles of level land from the foot of the
cliffs to the shore, but top, sides, and bottom are covered with
well-grown wood and grass, except where the bare rocks protrude.
The scenery is extremely beautiful. The "Aeasy," a stream of 15
yards broad and thigh deep, came down alongside our precipitous
path, and formed cascades by leaping 300 feet at a time. These,
with the bright red of the clay schists among the
greenwood-trees, made the dullest of my attendants pause and
remark with wonder. Antelopes, buffaloes, and elephants abound
on the steep slopes; and hippopotami, crocodiles, and fish
swarm in the water. Gnus are here unknown, and these animals may
live to old age if not beguiled into pitfalls. The elephants
sometimes eat the crops of the natives, and flap their big ears
just outside the village stockades. One got out of our way on to
a comparatively level spot, and then stood and roared at us.
Elsewhere they make clear off at sight of man.
The first village we came to on the banks of the Lake had a
grove of palm-oil and other trees around it. This palm tree was
not the dwarf species seen on Lake Nyassa. A cluster of the
fruit passed the door of my hut which required two men to carry
it. The fruit seemed quite as large as those on the West Coast.
Most of the natives live on two islands, where they cultivate
the soil, rear goats, and catch fish. The Lake is not large,
from 15 to 20 miles broad, and from 30 to 40 long. It is the
receptacle of four considerable streams, and sends out an arm
two miles broad to the N.N.W., it is said to Tanganyika, and it
may be a branch of that Lake. One of the streams, the Lonzua,
drives a smooth body of water into the Lake fifty yards broad
and ten fathoms deep, bearing on its surface duckweed and grassy
islands. I could see the mouths of other streams, but got near
enough to measure the Lofu only; and at a ford fifty miles from
the confluence it was 100 yards wide and waist deep in the dry
season.
We remained six weeks on the shores of the Lake, trying to pick
up some flesh and strength. A party of Arabs came into Ulungu
after us in search of ivory, and hearing that an Englishman had
preceded them, naturally inquired where I was. But our friends,
the Bäulungu, suspecting that mischief was meant, stoutly denied
that they had ever seen anything of the sort; and then became
very urgent that I should go on to one of the inhabited islands
for safety. I regret that I suspected them of intending to make
me a prisoner there, which they could easily have done by
removing the canoes; but when the villagers who deceived the
Arabs told me afterwards with an air of triumph how nicely they
had managed, I saw that they had only been anxious for my
safety. On three occasions the same friendly disposition was
shown; and when we went round the west side of the Lake in order
to examine the arm or branch above referred to, the headman at
the confluence of the Lofu protested so strongly against my
going--the Arabs had been fighting, and I might be mistaken for
an Arab, and killed--that I felt half-inclined to believe him.
Two Arab slaves entered the village the same afternoon in search
of ivory, and confirmed all he had said. We now altered our
course, intending to go south about the district disturbed by
the Arabs. When we had gone 60 miles we heard that the
head-quarters of the Arabs were 22 miles further. They had found
ivory very cheap, and pushed on to the west, till attacked by a
chief named, Nsama, whom they beat in his own stockade. They
were now at a loss which way to turn. On reaching Chitimba's
village (lat. 8° 57' 55" S.; long. 30° 20' E.), I found them
about 600 in all; and, on presenting a letter I had from the
Sultan of Zanzibar, was immediately supplied with provisions,
beads, and cloth. They approved of my plan of passing to the
south of Nsama's country, but advised waiting till the effects
of punishment, which the Bäulungu had resolved to inflict on
Nsama for breach of public law, were known. It had always been
understood that whoever brought goods into the country was to be
protected; and two hours after my arrival at Chitimba's, the son
of Kasonso, our guide, marched in with his contingent. It was
anticipated that Nsama might flee; if to the north, he would
leave me a free passage through his country; if to the south, I
might be saved from walking into his hands. But it turned out
that Nsama was anxious for peace. He had sent two men with
elephants' tusks to begin a negotiation; but treachery was
suspected, and they were shot down. Another effort was made with
ten goats, and repulsed. This was much to the regret of the head
Arabs. It was fortunate for me that the Arab goods were not all
sold, for Lake Moero lay in Nsama's country, and without peace
no ivory could be bought, nor could I reach the Lake. The
peace-making between the people and Arabs was, however, a
tedious process, occupying three and a half months--drinking
each other's blood. This, as I saw it west of this in 1854, is
not more horrible than the thirtieth dilution of deadly
night-shade or strychnine is in homoeopathy. I thought that had
I been an Arab I could easily swallow that, but not the next
means of cementing the peace--marrying a black wife. Nsama's
daughter was the bride, and she turned out very pretty. She came
riding pickaback on a man's shoulders: this is the most
dignified conveyance that chiefs and their families can command.
She had ten maids with her, each carrying a basket of
provisions, and all having the same beautiful features as
herself. She was taken by the principal Arab, but soon showed
that she preferred her father to her husband, for seeing
preparations made to send off to purchase ivory, she suspected
that her father was to be attacked, and made her escape. I then,
visited Nsama, and, as he objected to many people coming near
him, took only three of my eight attendants. His people were
very much afraid of fire-arms, and felt all my clothing to see
if I had any concealed on my person. Nsama is an old man, with
head and face like those sculptured on the Assyrian monuments.
He has been a great conqueror in his time, and with bows and
arrows was invincible. He is said to have destroyed many native
traders from Tanganyika, but twenty Arab guns made him flee from
his own stockade, and caused a great sensation in the country.
He was much taken with my hair and woollen clothing; but his
people, heedless of his scolding, so pressed upon us that we
could not converse, and, after promising to send for me to talk
during the night, our interview ended. He promised guides to
Moero, and sent us more provisions than we could carry; but
showed so much distrust, that after all we went without his
assistance.
Nsama's people are particularly handsome. Many of the men have
as beautiful heads as one could find in an assembly of
Europeans. All have very fine forms, with small hands and feet.
None of the West-coast ugliness, from which most of our ideas of
the Negroes are derived, is here to be seen. No prognathous jaws
nor lark-heels offended the sight. My observations deepened the
impression first obtained from the remarks of Winwood Reade,
that the typical Negro is seen in the ancient Egyptian, and not
in the ungainly forms; which grow up in the unhealthy swamps of
the West Coast. Indeed it is probable that this upland forest
region is the true home of the Negro. The women excited the
admiration of the Arabs. They have fine, small, well-formed
features: their great defect is one of fashion, which does not
extend to the next tribe; they file their teeth to points, the
hussies, and that makes their smile like that of the crocodile.
Nsama's country is called Itawa, and his principal town is in
lat. 8° 55' S., and long. 29° 21' E. From the large population
he had under him, Itawa is in many parts well cleared of trees
for cultivation, and it is lower than Ulungu, being generally
about 3000 feet above the sea. Long lines of tree-covered hills
raised some 600 or 700 feet above these valleys of denudation,
prevent the scenery from being monotonous. Large game is
abundant. Elephants, buffaloes, and zebras grazed in large
numbers on the long sloping, banks of a river called Chiséra, a
mile and a half broad. In going north we crossed this river, or
rather marsh, which is full of papyrus plants and reeds. Our
ford was an elephant's path; and the roots of the papyrus,
though a carpet to these animals, were sharp and sore to feet
usually protected by shoes, and often made us shrink and
flounder into holes chest deep. The Chiséra forms a larger marsh
west of this, and it gives off its water to the Kalongosi, a
feeder of Lake Moero.
The Arabs sent out men in all directions to purchase ivory; but
their victory over Nsama had created a panic among the tribes
which no verbal assurances could allay. If Nsama had been routed
by twenty Arab guns no one could stand before them but Casembe;
and Casembe had issued strict orders to his people not to allow
the Arabs who fought Nsama to enter his country. They did not
attempt to force their way, but after sending friendly messages
and presents to different chiefs, when these were not cordially
received, turned off in some other direction, and at last,
despairing of more ivory, turned homewards. From first to last
they were extremely kind to me, and showed all due respect to
the Sultan's letter. I am glad that I was witness to their mode
of trading in ivory and slaves. It formed a complete contrast to
the atrocious dealings of the Kilwa traders, who are supposed to
be, but are not, the subjects of the same Sultan. If one wished
to depict the slave-trade in its most attractive, or rather
least objectionable, form, he would accompany these gentlemen
subjects of the Sultan of Zanzibar. If he would describe the
land traffic in its most disgusting phases he would follow the
Kilwa traders along the road to Nyassa, or the Portuguese
half-castes from Tette to the River Shiré.
Keeping to the north of Nsama altogether, and moving westwards,
our small party reached the north end of Moero on the 8th
November last. There the Lake is a goodly piece of water twelve
or more miles broad, and flanked on the east and west by ranges
of lofty tree-covered mountains. The range on the west is the
highest, and is part of the country called Rua-Moero; it gives
off a river at its north-west end called Lualaba, and receives
the River Kalongosi (pronounced by the Arabs Karungwesi) on the
east near its middle, and the rivers Luapula and Rovukwé at its
southern extremity. The point of most interest in Lake Moero is
that it forms one of a chain of lakes, connected by a river some
500 miles in length. First of all the Chambezé rises in the
country of Mambwé, N.E. of Molemba. It then flows south-west and
west till it reaches lat. 11° S., and long. 29° E., where it
forms Lake Bemba or Bangweolo, emerging thence it assumes the
new name Luapula, and comes down here to fall into Moero. On
going out of this Lake it is known by the name Lualaba, as it
flows N.W. in Rua to form another Lake with many islands called
Urengé or Ulengé. Beyond this, information is not positive as to
whether it enters Tanganyika or another Lake beyond that. When I
crossed the Chambezé, the similarity of names led me to imagine
that this was a branch of the Zambesi. The natives said, "No.
This goes south-west, and forms a very large water there." But I
had become prepossessed with the idea that Lake Liemba was that
Bemba of which I had heard in 1863, and we had been so starved
in the south that I gladly set my face north. The river-like
prolongation of Liemba might go to Moero, and where I could not
follow the arm of Liemba. Then I worked my way to this Lake.
Since coming to Casembe's the testimony of natives and Arabs has
been so united and consistent, that I am but ten days from Lake
Bemba, or Bangweolo, that I cannot doubt its accuracy. I am so
tired of exploration without a word from home or anywhere else
for two years, that I must go to Ujiji on Tanganyika for letters
before doing anything else. The banks and country adjacent to
Lake Bangweolo are reported to be now very muddy and very
unhealthy. I have no medicine. The inhabitants suffer greatly
from swelled thyroid gland or Derbyshire neck and
elephantiasis, and this is the rainy season and very unsafe for
me.
When at the lower end of Moero we were so near Casembe that it
was thought well to ascertain the length of the Lake, and see
Casembe too. We came up between the double range that flanks the
east of the Lake; but mountains and plains are so covered with
well-grown forest that we could seldom see it. We reached
Casembe's town on the 28th November. It stands near the north
end of the Lakelet Mofwé; this is from one to three miles broad,
and some six or seven long: it is full of sedgy islands, and
abounds in fish. The country is quite level, but fifteen or
twenty miles west of Mofwé we see a long range of the mountains
of Rua. Between this range and Mofwé the Luapula flows past into
Moero, the Lake called Moero okata = the great Moero, being
about fifty miles long. The town of Casembe covers a mile square
of cassava plantations, the huts being dotted over that space.
Some have square enclosures of reeds, but no attempt has been
made at arrangement: it might be called a rural village rather
than a town. No estimate could be formed by counting the huts,
they were so irregularly planted, and hidden by cassava; but my
impression from other collections of huts was that the
population was under a thousand souls. The court or compound of
Casembe--some would call it a palace--is a square enclosure of
300 yards by 200 yards. It is surrounded by a hedge of high
reeds. Inside, where Casembe honoured me with a grand reception,
stands a gigantic hut for Casembe, and a score of small huts for
domestics. The Queen's hut stands behind that of the chief, with
a number of small huts also. Most of the enclosed space is
covered with a plantation of cassava, _Curcus purgaris_, and
cotton. Casembe sat before his hut on a equate seat placed on
lion and leopard skins. He was clothed in a coarse blue and
white Manchester print edged with red baize, and arranged in
large folds so as to look like a crinoline put on wrong side
foremost. His arms, legs and head were covered with sleeves,
leggings and cap made of various coloured beads in neat
patterns: a crown of yellow feathers surmounted his cap. Each of
his headmen came forward, shaded by a huge, ill-made umbrella,
and followed by his dependants, made obeisance to Casembe, and
sat down on his right and left: various bands of musicians did
the same. When called upon I rose and bowed, and an old
counsellor, with his ears cropped, gave the chief as full an
account as he had been able to gather during our stay of the
English in general, and my antecedents in particular. My having
passed through Lunda to the west of Casembe, and visited chiefs
of whom he scarcely knew anything, excited most attention. He
then assured me that I was welcome to his country, to go where I
liked, and do what I chose. We then went (two boys carrying his
train behind him) to an inner apartment, where the articles of
my present were exhibited in detail. He had examined them
privately before, and we knew that he was satisfied. They
consisted of eight yards of orange-coloured serge, a large
striped tablecloth; another large cloth made at Manchester in
imitation of West Coast native manufacture, which never fails to
excite the admiration of Arabs and natives, and a large richly
gilded comb for the back hair, such as ladies wore fifty years
ago: this was given to me by a friend at Liverpool, and as
Casembe and Nsama's people cultivate the hair into large knobs
behind, I was sure that this article would tickle the fancy.
Casembe expressed himself pleased, and again bade me welcome.
I had another interview, and tried to dissuade him from selling
his people as slaves. He listened awhile, then broke off into a
tirade on the greatness of his country, his power and dominion,
which Mohamad bin Saleh, who has been here for ten years,
turned into ridicule, and made the audience laugh by telling how
other Lunda chiefs had given me oxen and sheep, while Casembe
had only a poor little goat and some fish to bestow. He insisted
also that there were but two sovereigns in the world, the Sultan
of Zanzibar and Victoria. When we went on a third occasion to
bid Casembe farewell, he was much less distant, and gave me the
impression that I could soon become friends with him; but he has
an ungainly look, and an outward squint in each eye. A number of
human skulls adorned the entrance to his courtyard; and great
numbers of his principal men having their ears cropped, and some
with their hands lopped off, showed his barbarous way of making
his ministers attentive and honest. I could not avoid indulging
a prejudice against him.
The Portuguese visited Casembe long ago; but as each new Casembe
builds a new town, it is not easy to fix on the exact spot to
which strangers came. The last seven Casembes have had their
towns within seven miles of the present one. Dr. Lacerda,
Governor of Tette, on the Zambesi, was the only visitor of
scientific attainments, and he died at the rivulet called
Chungu, three or four miles from this. The spot is called
Nshinda, or Inchinda, which the Portuguese wrote Lucenda or
Ucenda. The latitude given is nearly fifty miles wrong, but the
natives say that he lived only ten days after his arrival, and
if, as is probable, his mind was clouded with fever when he last
observed, those who have experienced what that is will readily
excuse any mistake he may have made. His object was to
accomplish a much-desired project of the Portuguese to have an
overland communication between their eastern and western
possessions. This was never made by any of the Portuguese
nation; but two black traders succeeded partially with a part of
the distance, crossing once from Cassangé, in Angola, to Tette
on the Zambesi, and returning with a letter from the Governor
of Mosambique. It is remarkable that this journey, which was
less by a thousand miles than from sea to sea and back again,
should have for ever quenched all white Portuguese aspirations
for an overland route.
The different Casembes visited by the Portuguese seem to have
varied much in character and otherwise. Pereira, the first
visitor, said (I quote from memory) that Casembe had 20,000
trained soldiers, watered his streets daily, and sacrificed
twenty human victims every day. I could hear nothing of human
sacrifices now, and it is questionable if the present Casembe
could bring a thousand stragglers into the field. When he
usurped power five years ago, his country was densely peopled;
but he was so severe in his punishments--cropping the ears,
lopping off the hands, and other mutilations, selling the
children for very slight offences, that his subjects gradually
dispersed themselves in the neighbouring countries beyond his
power. This is the common mode by which tyranny is cured in
parts like these, where fugitives are never returned. The
present Casembe is very poor. When he had people who killed
elephants he was too stingy to share the profits of the sale of
the ivory with his subordinates. The elephant hunters have
either left him or neglect hunting, so he has now no tusks to
sell to the Arab traders who come from Tanganyika. Major
Monteiro, the third Portuguese who visited Casembe, appears to
have been badly treated by this man's predecessor, and no other
of his nation has ventured so far since. They do not lose much
by remaining away, for a little ivory and slaves are all that
Casembe ever can have to sell. About a month to the west of this
the people of Katanga smelt copper-ore (malachite) into large
bars shaped like the capital letter I. They may be met with of
from 50 lbs. to 100 lbs., weight all over the country, and the
inhabitants draw the copper into wire for armlets and leglets.
Gold is also found at Katanga, and specimens were lately sent
to the Sultan of Zanzibar.
As we come down from the watershed towards Tanganyika we enter an
area of the earth's surface still disturbed by internal igneous
action. A hot fountain in the country of Nsama is often used to
boil cassava and maize. Earthquakes are by no means rare. We
experienced the shock of one while at Chitimba's village, and
they extend as far as Casembe's. I felt as if afloat, and as huts
would not fall there was no sense of danger; some of them that
happened at night set the fowls a cackling. The most remarkable
effect of this one was that it changed the rates of the
chronometers; no rain fell after it. No one had access to the
chronometers but myself, and, as I never heard of this effect
before, I may mention that one which lost with great regularity
1.5 sec. daily, lost 15 sec.; another; whose rate since leaving
the coast was 15 sec., lost 40 sec.; and a third, which gained 6
sec. daily, stopped altogether. Some of Nsama's people ascribed
the earthquakes to the hot fountain, because it showed unusual
commotion on these occasions; another hot fountain exists near
Tanganyika than Nsama's, and we passed one on the shores of
Moero.
We could not understand why the natives called Moero much larger
than Tanganyika till we saw both. The greater Lake lies in a
comparatively narrow trough, with highland on each side, which
is always visible; but when we look at Moero, to the south of
the mountains of Rua on the west, we have nothing but an
apparently boundless sea horizon. The Luapula and Rovukwé form a
marsh at the southern extremity, and Casembe dissuaded me from
entering it, but sent a man to guide me to different points of
Moero further down. From the heights at which the southern
portions were seen, it must be from forty to sixty miles broad.
From the south end of the mountains of Rua (9° 4' south lat.) it
is thirty-three miles broad. No native ever attempts to cross
it even there. Its fisheries are of great value to the
inhabitants, and the produce is carried to great distances.
Among the vegetable products of this region, that which
interested me most was a sort of potato. It does not belong to
the solanaceous, but to the papilionaceous or pea family, and
its flowers have a delightful fragrance. It is easily propagated
by small cuttings of the root or stalk. The tuber is oblong,
like our kidney potato, and when boiled tastes exactly like our
common potato. When unripe it has a slight degree of bitterness,
and it is believed to be wholesome; a piece of the root eaten
raw is a good remedy in nausea. It is met with on the uplands
alone, and seems incapable of bearing much heat, though I kept
some of the roots without earth in a box, which was carried in
the sun almost daily for six months, without destroying their
vegetative power.
It is remarkable that in all the central regions of Africa
visited, the cotton is that known as the Pernambuco variety. It
has a long strong staple, seeds clustered together, and adherent
to each other. The bushes eight or ten feet high have woody
stems, and the people make strong striped black and white shawls
of the cotton.
It was pleasant to meet the palm-oil palm (_Elais Guineaensis_)
at Casembe's, which is over 3000 feet above the level of the
sea. The oil is sold cheap, but no tradition exists of its
introduction into the country.
I send no sketch of the country, because I have not yet passed
over a sufficient surface to give a connected view of the whole
watershed of this region, and I regret that I cannot recommend
any of the published maps I have seen as giving even a tolerable
idea of the country. One bold constructor of maps has tacked on
200 miles to the north-west end of Lake Nyassa, a feat which no
traveller has ever ventured to imitate. Another has placed a
river in the same quarter running 3000 or 4000 feet up hill,
and named it the "NEW ZAMBESI," because I suppose the old
Zambesi runs down hill. I have walked over both these mental
abortions, and did not know that I was walking on water till I
saw them in the maps.
[The despatch breaks off at this point. The year concludes with health
impaired. As time goes on we shall see how ominous the conviction was
which made him dread the swamps of Bangweolo.]
_28-31st December, 1867._--We came on to the rivulet Chirongo, and
then to the Kabukwa, where I was taken ill. Heavy rains kept the
convoy back. I have had nothing but coarsely-ground sorghum meal for
some time back, and am weak; I used to be the first in the line of
march, and am now the last; Mohamad presented a meal of finely-ground
porridge and a fowl, and I immediately felt the difference, though I
was not grumbling at my coarse dishes. It is well that I did not go to
Bangweolo Lake, for it is now very unhealthy to the natives, and I
fear that without medicine continual wettings by fording rivulets
might have knocked me up altogether. As I have mentioned, the people
suffer greatly from swelled thyroid gland or Derbyshire neck and
Elephantiasis scroti.
_1st January, 1868._--Almighty Father, forgive the sins of the past
year for Thy Son's sake. Help me to be more profitable during this
year. If I am to die this year prepare me for it.
* * * * *
I bought five hoes at two or three yards of calico each: they are
13-1/2 inches by 6-1/2 inches; many are made in Casembe's country, and
this is the last place we can find them: when we come into Buiré we
can purchase a good goat for one; one of my goats died and the other
dried up. I long for others, for milk is the most strengthening food
I can get.
My guide to Moero came to-day, and I visited the Lake several times,
so as to get a good idea of its size. The first fifteen miles in the
north are from twelve or more to thirty-three miles broad. The great
mass of the Rua Mountains confines it. Thus in a clear day a lower
range is seen continued from the high point of the first mass away to
the west south-west, this ends, and sea horizon is alone visible away
to the south and west; from the height we viewed it at, the width must
be over forty, perhaps sixty miles. A large island, called Kirwa,[59]
is situated between the Mandapala and Kabukwa Rivers, but nearest to
the other shore. The natives never attempt to cross any part of the
Lake south of this Kirwa. Land could not be seen with a good glass on
the clearest day we had. I can understand why the natives pronounced
Moero to be larger than Tanganyika: in the last named they see the
land always on both sides; it is like a vast trough flanked with
highlands, but at Moero nothing but sea horizon can be seen when one
looks south-west of the Rua Mountains.
At the Kalongosi meadow one of Mohamad's men shot a buffalo, and he
gave me a leg of the good beefy flesh. Our course was slow, caused
partly by rains, and partly by waiting for the convoy. The people at
Kalongosi were afraid to ferry us or any of his people in the convoy
out of Casembe's country; but at last we gave a good fee, and their
scruples yielded: they were influenced also by seeing other villagers
ready to undertake the job; the latter nearly fought over us on seeing
that their neighbours got all the fare.
We then came along the Lake, and close to its shores. The moisture
caused a profusion of gingers, ferns, and tropical forest: buffaloes,
zebras and elephants are numerous, and the villagers at Chukosi's,
where we slept, warned us against lions and leopards.
_12th January, 1868._--Sunday at Karembwé's village. The mountains
east of him are called Makunga. We went yesterday to the shore, and by
protraction Rua point was distant thirty-three miles. Karembwé sent
for us, to have an audience; he is a large man with a gruff voice, but
liked by his people and by strangers. I gave him a cloth, and he gave
me a goat. The enthusiasm with which I held on to visit Moero had
communicated itself to Tipo Tipo and Syde bin Alle, for they followed
me up to this place to see the Lake, and remained five days while we
were at Casembe's. Other Arabs, or rather Suahelis, must have seen it,
but never mentioned it as anything worth looking at; and it was only
when all hope of ivory was gone that these two headmen found time to
come. There is a large population here.
_13th January, 1868._--Heavy rains. Karembé mentioned a natural
curiosity as likely to interest me: a little rivulet, Chipamba, goes
some distance underground, but is uninteresting.
Next day we crossed the Vuna, a strong torrent, which, has a hot
fountain close by the ford, in which maize and cassava may be boiled.
A large one in Nsama's country is used in the same way, maize and
cassava being tied to a string and thrown in to be cooked: some
natives believe that earthquakes are connected with its violent
ebullitions. We crossed the Katétté, another strong torrent, before
reaching the north end of Moero, where we slept in some travellers'
huts.
Leaving the Lake, and going north, we soon got on to a plain flooded
by the Luao. We had to wade through very adhesive black mud, generally
ankle deep, and having many holes in it much deeper: we had four
hours of this, and then came to the ford of the Luao itself. We waded
up a branch of it waist deep for at least a quarter of a mile, then
crossed a narrow part by means of a rude bridge of branches and trees,
of about forty yards width. The Luao, in spreading over the plains,
confers benefits on the inhabitants, though I could not help
concluding it imparts disease too, for the black mud in places smells
horribly. Great numbers of Siluridae, chiefly _Clarias Capensis_,
often three feet in length, spread over the flooded portions of the
country, eating the young of other fishes, and insects, lizards, and
worms, killed by the waters. The people make weirs for them, and as
the waters retire kill large numbers, which they use as a relish to
their farinaceous food.
_16th January, 1868._--After sleeping near the Luao we went on towards
the village, in which Mohamad's son lives. It is on the Kakoma Eiver,
and is called Kabwabwata, the village of Mubao. In many of the
villages the people shut their stockades as soon as we appear, and
stand bows and arrows in hand till we have passed: the reason seems to
be that the slaves when out of sight of their masters carry things
with a high hand, demanding food and other things as if they had power
and authority. One slave stole two tobacco pipes yesterday in passing
through a village; the villagers complained to me when I came up, and
I waited till Mohamad came and told him; we then went forward, the men
keeping close to me till we got the slave and the pipes. They stole
cassava as we went along, but this could scarcely be prevented. They
laid hold of a plant an inch-and-a-half thick, and tore it out of the
soft soil with its five or six roots as large as our largest carrots,
stowed the roots away in their loads, and went on eating them; but the
stalk thrown among those still growing shows the theft. The raw roots
are agreeable and nutritious. No great harm is done by this, for the
gardens are so large, but it inspires distrust in the inhabitants, and
makes it dangerous for Arabs to travel not fully manned and armed.
On reaching the village Kabwabwata a great demonstration was made by
Mohamad's Arab dependants and Wanyamwesi: the women had their faces
all smeared with pipeclay, and lullilooed with all their might. When
we came among the huts, they cast handfuls of soil on their heads,
while the men fired off their guns as fast as they could load them.
Those connected with Mohamad ran and kissed his hands, and fired, till
the sound of shouting, lullilooing, clapping of hands, and shooting
was deafening: Mohamad was quite overcome by this demonstration, and
it was long before he could still them.
On the way to this village from the south we observed an extensive
breadth of land, under ground-nuts which are made into oil: a large
jar of this is sold for a hoe. The ground-nuts were now in flower, and
green maize ready to be eaten. People all busy planting,
transplanting, or weeding; they plant cassava on mounds prepared for
it, on which they have sown beans, sorghum, maize, pumpkins: these
ripen, and leave the cassava a free soil. The sorghum or dura is sown
thickly, and when about a foot high--if the owner has been able to
prepare the soil elsewhere--it is transplanted, a portion of the
leaves being cut off to prevent too great evaporation and the death of
the plant.
_17th January, 1868._--The Wanyamwesi and people of Garaganza say that
we have thirteen days' march from this to the Tanganyika Lake. It is
often muddy, and many rivulets are to be crossed.
Mohamad is naturally anxious to stay a little while with his son, for
it is a wet season, and the mud is disagreeable to travel over: it is
said to be worse near Ujiji: he cooks small delicacies for me with the
little he has, and tries to make me comfortable. Vinegar is made from
bananas, and oil from ground-nuts. I am anxious to be off, but
chiefly to get news.
I find that many Unyamwesi people are waiting here, on account of the
great quantity of rainwater in front: it would be difficult, they say,
to get canoes on Tanganyika, as the waves are now large.
_24th January, 1868._--Two of Mohamad Bogharib's people came from
Casembe's to trade here, and a body of Syde bin Habib's people also
from Garaganza, near Kazé, they report the flooded lands on this side
of Lake Tanganyika as waist and chest deep. Bin Habib, being at
Katanga, will not stir till the rains are over, and I fear we are
storm-stayed till then too. The feeders of the Marungu are not
fordable just now, and no canoes are to be had.
_26th and 27th January, 1868._--I am ill with fever, as I always am
when stationary.
_28th January, 1868._--Better, and thankful to Him of the Greatest
Name. We must remain; it is a dry spot, and favourable for
ground-nuts. _Hooping-cough_ here.
_30th January, 1868._--The earth cooled by the rain last night sets
all to transplanting dura or sorghum; they cut the leaves till only
about eighteen inches of them are left, but it grows all the better
for the change of place.
Mohamad believes that Tanganyika flows through Rusizi to Lohindé.
(Chuambo.)
Seyd Seyd is said to have been the first Arab Sultan who traded, and
Seyed Majid follows the example of his father, and has many Arab
traders in his employment. He lately sent eight buffaloes to Mtéza,
king of Uganda, son of Sunna, by way of increasing his trade, but if
is not likely that he will give up the lucrative trade in ivory and
slaves.
Susi bought a hoe with a little gunpowder, then a cylinder of dura,
three feet long by two feet in diameter, for the hoe: it is at least
one hundredweight.
Stone underground houses are reported in Rua, but whether natural or
artificial Mohamad could not say. If a present is made to the Rua
chiefs they never obstruct passengers.
Chikosi, at whose village we passed a night, near Kalongosi, and
Chiputa are both dead.
The Mofwé fills during the greater rains, and spreads over a large
district; elephants then wander in its marshes, and are killed easily
by people in canoes: this happens every year, and Mohamad Bogharib
waits now for this ivory.
_7th to 21st February, 1868._--On inquiring of men who lave seen the
underground houses in Rua, I find that they are very extensive,
ranging along mountain sides for twenty miles, and in one part a
rivulet flows inside. In some cases the doorways are level with the
country adjacent: in others, ladders are used to climb up to them;
inside they are said to be very large, and not the work of men, but of
God. The people have plenty of fowls, and they too obtain shelter in
these Troglodyte habitations.
_23rd February, 1868._--I was visited by an important chief called
Chapé, who said that he wanted to make friends with the English. He,
Chisapi, Sama, Muabo, Karembwé, are of one tribe or family, the Oanza:
he did not beg anything, and promised to send me a goat.
FOOTNOTES:
[59] Kirwa and its various corruptions, such as Shirwa, Chirua, and
Kiroa, perpetually recur in Africa, and would almost seem to stand for
"the island."--ED.