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scenery, though it still seems nearly all covered with great masses of
umbrageous foliage, mostly of a dark green colour, for nearly all of
the individual trees possess dark glossy leaves like laurel. We passed
a gigantic specimen of the Kumbe, or gum-copal tree. Kumba means to
dig. Changkumbe, or things dug, is the name of the gum; the Arabs call
it "sandaruse." Did the people give the name Kumbe to the tree after
the value of the gum became known to them? The Malole, from the fine
grained wood of which all the bows are made, had shed its fruit on the
ground; it looks inviting to the eye--an oblong peach-looking thing,
with a number of seeds inside, but it is eaten by maggots only.

When we came to Ntande's village, we found it enclosed in a strong
stockade, from a fear of attack by Mabiha, who come across the river
and steal their women when going to draw water: this is for the Ibo
market. They offered to pull down their stockade and let us in if we
would remain over-night, but we declined. Before reaching Ntande we
passed the ruins of two villages; the owners were the attacking party
when we ascended the Rovuma in 1862. I have still the old sail, with
four bullet-holes through it, made by the shots which they fired after
we had given cloth and got assurances of friendship. The father and
son of this village were the two men seen by the second boat preparing
to shoot; the fire of her crew struck the father on the chin and the
son on the head. It may have been for the best that the English are
thus known as people who can hit hard when unjustly attacked, as we on
this occasion most certainly were: never was a murderous assault more
unjustly made or less provoked. They had left their villages and gone
up over the highlands away from the river to their ambush whilst their
women came to look at us.

_2nd May, 1866._--Mountains again approach us, and we pass one which
was noticed in our first ascent from its resemblance to a table
mountain. It is 600 or 800 feet high, and called Liparu: the plateau
now becomes mountainous, giving forth a perennial stream which comes
down from its western base and forms a lagoon on the meadow-land that
flanks the Rovuma. The trees which love these perpetual streams spread
their roots all over the surface of the boggy banks, and make a firm
surface, but at spots one may sink a yard deep. We had to fill up
these deep ditches with branches and leaves, unload the animals, and
lead them acr