ntains of the Maganja; they here
come close to the river, and terminate in Morumbala. Many of them are
conical, and the Shire is reported to flow among them, and to run on
the Senna side of Morumbala before joining the Zambesi. On seeing the
confluence afterward, close to a low range of hills beyond Morumbala, I
felt inclined to doubt the report, as the Shire must then flow parallel
with the Zambesi, from which Morumbala seems distant only twenty or
thirty miles. All around to the southeast the country is flat, and
covered with forest, but near Senna a number of little abrupt conical
hills diversify the scenery. To the west and north the country is also
flat forest, which gives it a sombre appearance; but just in the haze
of the horizon southwest by south, there rises a mountain range equal in
height to Morumbala, and called Nyamonga. In a clear day another range
beyond this may be seen, which is Gorongozo, once a station of the
Jesuits. Gorongozo is famed for its clear cold waters and healthiness,
and there are some inscriptions engraved on large square slabs on the
top of the mountain, which have probably been the work of the fathers.
As this lies in the direction of a district between Manica and Sofala,
which has been conjectured to be the Ophir of King Solomon, the idea
that first sprang up in my mind was, that these monuments might be more
ancient than the Portuguese; but, on questioning some persons who had
seen them, I found that they were in Roman characters, and did not
deserve a journey of six days to see them.

Manica lies three days northwest of Gorongozo, and is the best gold
country known in Eastern Africa. The only evidence the Portuguese have
of its being the ancient Ophir is, that at Sofala, its nearest port,
pieces of wrought gold have been dug up near the fort and in the
gardens. They also report the existence of hewn stones in the
neighborhood, but these can not have been abundant, for all the stones
of the fort of Sofala are said to have been brought from Portugal.
Natives whom I met in the country of Sekeletu, from Manica, or Manoa,
as they call it, state that there are several caves in the country,
and walls of hewn stones, which they believe to have been made by their
ancestors; and there is, according to the Portuguese, a small tribe
of Arabs there, who have become completely like the other natives. Two
rivers, the Motirikwe and Sabia, or Sabe, run through their country into
the sea. The Portugu