out from
England in three sections on the deck of the "Pearl" was hoisted out and
screwed together at the anchorage, and with her aid the exploration was
commenced. She was called the "Ma Robert," after Mrs. Livingstone, to
whom the natives, according to their custom, gave the name Ma (mother) of
her eldest son. The harbour is deep, but shut in by mangrove swamps; and
though the water a few miles up is fresh, it is only a tidal river; for,
after ascending some seventy miles, it was found to end in marshes
blocked up with reeds and succulent aquatic plants. As the Luawe had
been called "West Luabo," it was supposed to be a branch of the Zambesi,
the main stream of which is called "Luabo," or "East Luabo." The "Ma
Robert" and "Pearl" then went to what proved to be a real mouth of the
river we sought.

The Zambesi pours its waters into the ocean by four mouths, namely, the
Milambe, which is the most westerly, the Kongone, the Luabo, and the
Timbwe (or Muselo). When the river is in flood, a natural canal running
parallel with the coast, and winding very much among the swamps, forms a
secret way for conveying slaves from Quillimane to the bays Massangano
and Nameara, or to the Zambesi itself. The Kwakwa, or river of
Quillimane, some sixty miles distant from the mouth of the Zambesi, has
long been represented as the principal entrance to the Zambesi, in order,
as the Portuguese now maintain, that the English cruisers might be
induced to watch the false mouth, while slaves were quietly shipped from
the true one; and, strange to say, this error has lately been propagated
by a map issued by the colonial minister of Portugal.

After the examination of three branches by the able and energetic
surveyor, Francis Skead, R.N., the Kongone was found to be the best
entrance. The immense amount of sand brought down by the Zambesi has in
the course of ages formed a sort of promontory, against which the long
swell of the Indian Ocean, beating during the prevailing winds, has
formed bars, which, acting against the waters of the delta, may have led
to their exit sideways. The Kongone is one of those lateral branches,
and the safest; inasmuch as the bar has nearly two fathoms on it at low
water, and the rise at spring tides is from twelve to fourteen feet. The
bar is narrow, the passage nearly straight, and, were it buoyed and a
beacon placed on Pearl Island, would always be safe to a steamer. When
the wind is from the east or nort