country on men's
heads to be reshipped on a small stream that flows into the Kwakwa, or
Quillimane river, which is entirely distinct from the Zambesi. Only on
rare occasions and during the highest floods can canoes pass from the
Zambesi to the Quillimane river through the narrow natural canal _Mutu_.
The natives of Maruru, or the country around Mazaro, the word Mazaro
meaning the "mouth of the creek" Mutu, have a bad name among the
Portuguese; they are said to be expert thieves, and the merchants
sometimes suffer from their adroitness while the goods are in transit
from one river to the other. In general they are trained canoe-men, and
man many of the canoes that ply thence to Senna and Tette; their pay is
small, and, not trusting the traders, they must always have it before
they start. Africans being prone to assign plausible reasons for their
conduct, like white men in more enlightened lands, it is possible they
may be good-humouredly giving their reason for insisting on being
invariably paid in advance in the words of their favourite canoe-song,
"Uachingere, Uachingere Kale," "You cheated me of old;" or, "Thou art
slippery slippery truly."

The Landeens or Zulus are lords of the right bank of the Zambesi; and the
Portuguese, by paying this fighting tribe a pretty heavy annual tribute,
practically admit this. Regularly every year come the Zulus in force to
Senna and Shupanga for the accustomed tribute. The few wealthy merchants
of Senna groan under the burden, for it falls chiefly on them. They
submit to pay annually 200 pieces of cloth, of sixteen yards each,
besides beads and brass wire, knowing that refusal involves war, which
might end in the loss of all they possess. The Zulus appear to keep as
sharp a look out on the Senna and Shupanga people as ever landlord did on
tenant; the more they cultivate, the more tribute they have to pay. On
asking some of them why they did not endeavour to raise certain highly
profitable products, we were answered, "What's the use of our cultivating
any more than we do? the Landeens would only come down on us for more
tribute."

In the forests of Shupanga the Mokundu-kundu tree abounds; its bright
yellow wood makes good boat-masts, and yields a strong bitter medicine
for fever; the Gunda-tree attains to an immense size; its timber is hard,
rather cross-grained, with masses of silica deposited in its substance;
the large canoes, capable of carrying three or four tons, are ma