long hairs, which they will doubtless keep as a
memento of the first white lady who ever came
amongst them.
The fear of the Makalanga of horses is most
curious ; even our own men would not touch them,
and the villagers were quite awestruck when we
mounted. They generally followed us in crowds for
a little distance from the village, and screamed with
delight when we trotted, scampering and capering by
our sides.
We parsed by the
tomb of a chief on the
afternoon after leaving
Mafusaire’s ; it consisted
of a mound with a circular
construction of
stones on the top of it,
over which is a thatched
roof standing on posts *
on the top of the stones,
stood a pot, in which
'V i j | § | . ^ -/ /
c h i e f ’s t o m b
beer is periodically put, for the delectation of the
deceased.
We were now in the immediate neighbourhood
of Mount Wedza, the highest point in Mashonaland,
with an elevation of over 6,000 feet above sea level.
It is for the most part a dark forest-clad ridge, and it
is from here that the natives of Gambidji’s country
get the iron ore which they smelt in : their furnaces
and convert into tools and weapons. The villages in
this, district are entirely given up to the smelting
business, and outside the kraals usually ar® erected
two or more furnaces. They are still in the Stone Age
here, using for anvils and hammers pieces of hard
diorite. One of these villages where we halted for
a while was, to our astonishment, called Smet. Not
believing our ears, we asked again and again, and got
the same reply. The. only solution to this strange
nomenclature seems to be, that they either got the
name from some Dutch trader or from some enterprising
Makalanga who had been down to work in the
Kimberley mines. For long these natives have been
in the habit of doing this, tramping all the way from
the Zambesi to the diamond-fields, and not returning
thence until they have acquired enough wealth to buy
a wife or two and settle themselves in life.
A man from Smet, who was going to Mtigeza s
kraal, volunteered to act as our guide. He carried
with him three large iron hoes which he had made*
and for which he expected to get a goat at the kraal.
Gambidji’s country is very extensive, extending
nominally from the Sabi to a ridge which we crossed
before reaching ’Mtigeza’s, and most of the iron-
smelting villages recognise his sovereignty.
Two chiefs of the name of ’Mtigeza live around
Mount Wedza, both claiming to be the descendants of
the old ’Mtigeza stock. Our ’Mtigeza wa,s a queer little
old man, almost in his dotage, bu-t considered very
powerful by his neighbours, and this was evidenced
by the villages being more in the open, and not
seeking protection from rocky heights. His fortress
is a curious one, situated on an extensive plateau.