CH A P T E R V.
On th e m a rch— C o n go rid o to R u b u t i - T h e hunting-grounds
o f K ita n g e h— Sh o o tin g zeDra— " ta c k ’ s ” first p r iz e n e r
v iew e d b y l io n s -G e o lo g y of M p w a p w a -D u d o m a - T h e
f lo o d - g a te s o f h e a v e n ” op en ed— D ism a l re flections e
S a lin a— A c o n sp ira c y d i s c o v e r e d -D e s e r t io n s - T h e path
lo s t— S ta rv a tio n and d e a th s -T r o u b l e im m in e n t -G r a in huts
p lun d e red— Situation d e p lo r a b le - S i c k n e s s in the camp
E dw a rd P o c o c k ta k en i l l - H i s death and funeral.
(Nov. 19, 1874—Jan. 17, 1875.)
THE line of march towards the interior, which
after due consideration, we adopted, runs para e
to the routes known to us b y the writings of
many travellers, but extends as far as thir y
miles north of the most northerly of them.
A t Rosako the route began to diverge rom
that which led to Msuwa and Simba-Mwenni,
and opened out on a stretch of beautiful par
land, green as an English lawn,
lovely vales, and rising into gentle ridges, Thin,
shallow threads of water in furrow-like beds or
in deep narrow ditches, which expose the sand-
stone strata on which the fat ochreous soil rests,
run in mazy curves round forest clumps, or
ihm u ,h W e tangles, and wind about among
[Nov. 23, 1874.1 ON THE MARCH. I I 3 [ Pongwe. J
the higher elevations, on their w a y towards the
Wami river.
On the 23rd, we halted at the base o f one
of the three cones o f Pongwe, at a village
situated at an altitude o f 900 feet above the
sea. The lesser Pongwe cone rises about 800
feet higher than the village, the greater probably
1200 feet. The pedometers marked
forty-six miles from Bagamoyo.
Congorido, a populous village, was reached
on the 24th. From my hut, the Pongwe hills
were in clear view. T he stockade was newly
built, and was a good defensive enclosure. The
drinking-water was brackish, but, after long
search, something more potable was discovered
! a short distance to the south-east.
Mfuteh, the next village, was another strong,
newly enclosed construction after the pattern o f
the architecture o f Unyamwezi. The baobab, at
this height, began to flourish, and in the depressions
o f the land the doum, borassus, and fan-
palm were v e ry numerous. The soil westward
o f Congorido, I observed, contains considerable
alkali, and it is probable that this substance is
favourable to the growth, o f palms. The villagers
are timid and suspicious. Lions are reported to
abound towards the north.
Westward o f Mfuteh, we travelled along the
right or southern bank o f the Wami for about
four miles. Its banks are fringed with umbra-
THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT. VOL. I. \