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I made inquiries of some of the oldest inhabitants of the villages at which we were staying respecting the visit of Pereira and Lacerda to that town. An old gray-headed man replied that they had often heard of white men before, but never had seen one, and added that one had come to Cazembe when our informant was young, and returned again without entering this part of the country.

During his researches in that region, so pregnant in discoveries, Livingstone came to a lake lying north-east of Cazembe, which the natives call Liemba, from the country of that name which bordered it on the east and south.

Besides Lacerda, Cazembe was visited by Pereira, who gave a glowing account of that chief's power, which none of my inquiries have confirmed. The people of Matiamvo stated to me that Cazembe was a vassal of their chief: and, from all the native visitors whom I have seen, he appears to be exactly like Shinte and Katema, only a little more powerful.

So far as I could learn, there is neither copper nor silver. Malachite is worked by the people of Cazembe, but, as I did not see it, nor any other metal, I can say nothing about it. A few precious stones are met with, and some parts are quite covered with agates. The mineralogy of the district, however, has not been explored by any one competent to the task.

The real and true name of the Zambezi is Dombazi. When Lacerda and his Portuguese successors, coming to Cazembe, crossed the Chambezi, and heard its name, they very naturally set it down as "our own Zambezi," and, without further inquiry, sketched it as running in that direction.

I had to feel my way, and every step of the way, and was, generally, groping in the dark for who cared where the rivers ran? "We drank our fill and let the rest run by." The Portuguese who visited Cazembe asked for slaves and ivory, and heard of nothing else. I asked about the waters, questioned and cross-questioned, until I was almost afraid of being set down as afflicted with hydrocephalus.

They described the population there as located in small villages like the Balonda, and that no difficulty is experienced in traveling among them. They mentioned also that, at a distance of ten days beyond Cazembe, their path winds round the end of Lake Tanganyenka.

Before breaking up the assembly, Cazembe gave orders to let the white man go where he would through his country undisturbed and unmolested. He was the first Englishman he had seen, he said, and he liked him. Shortly after his introduction to the King, the Queen entered the large house, surrounded by a body-guard of Amazons with spears.

Leave Shinte Manioc Gardens Mode of preparing the poisonous kind Its general Use Presents of Food Punctiliousness of the Balonda Their Idols and Superstition Dress of the Balonda Villages beyond Lonaje Cazembe Our Guides and the Makololo Night Rains Inquiries for English cotton Goods Intemese's Fiction Visit from an old Man Theft Industry of our Guide Loss of Pontoon Plains covered with Water Affection of the Balonda for their Mothers A Night on an Island The Grass on the Plains Source of the Rivers Loan of the Roofs of Huts A Halt Fertility of the Country through which the Lokalueje flows Omnivorous Fish Natives' Mode of catching them The Village of a Half-brother of Katema, his Speech and Present Our Guide's Perversity Mozenkwa's pleasant Home and Family Clear Water of the flooded Rivers A Messenger from Katema Quendende's Village: his Kindness Crop of Wool Meet People from the Town of Matiamvo Fireside Talk Matiamvo's Character and Conduct Presentation at Katema's Court: his Present, good Sense, and Appearance Interview on the following Day Cattle A Feast and a Makololo Dance Arrest of a Fugitive Dignified old Courtier Katema's lax Government Cold Wind from the North Canaries and other singing Birds Spiders, their Nests and Webs Lake Dilolo Tradition Sagacity of Ants.

The Portuguese, in speaking of the River Chambezi, invariably spoke of it as "our own Zambezi," that is, the Zambezi which flows through the Portuguese possessions of the Mozambique. "In going to Cazembe from Nyassa," said they, "you will cross our own Zambezi." Such positive and reiterated information given not only orally, but in their books and maps was naturally confusing.