Muazi never milks the cows; he complained that,
but for the Mazitu having formerly captured some, he should now have
had very many. They wander over the country at large, and certainly
thrive.
After leaving Muazi's, we passed over a flat country sparsely covered
with the scraggy upland trees, but brightened with many fine flowers.
The grass was short, reaching no higher than the knee, and growing in
tufts with bare spaces between, though the trees were draped with
many various lichens, and showed a moist climate. A high and very
sharp wind blew over the flats; its piercing keenness was not caused
by low temperature, for the thermometer stood at 80 degrees.
We were now on the sources of the Loangwa of the Maravi, which enters
the Zambesi at Zumbo, and were struck by the great resemblance which
the boggy and sedgy streams here presented to the sources of the
Leeba, an affluent of the Zambesi formerly observed in Londa, and of
the Kasai, which some believe to be the principal branch of the Congo
or Zaire.
We had taken pains to ascertain from the travelled Babisa and Arabs
as much as possible about the country in front, which, from the
lessening time we had at our disposal, we feared we could scarcely
reach, and had heard a good deal of a small lake called Bemba.
