beads and shells were discovered. The boldest
thief, fearing punishment, absconded, and never
returned.
The next day, after Frank had transported
the goods and moved his party to a new camp
we descended two miles of dangerous rapids
and whirlpools, and on the 20th I led the way
in my boat and proceeded a distance of four
miles, forming camp behind some small islets,
near which the river expanded to a width of
about eight hundred yards. By three in the
afternoon the land party had also arrived. On
the 21 st we dropped down, without difficulty,
a distance of two miles, and camped for the first
time in Babwende territory.
Nsangu,' a village of the Basesse, was opposite,
crowning with its palms and fields a hilly
terrace, projected from the mountain range, at
whose richly wooded slopes or cliffy front, based
with a long line of great boulders, we each day
looked from the right bank of the river. The
villagers sent a deputation to us with palm-wine
and a small gift of cassava tubers. Upon asking
them if there'were any more cataracts, they
replied that there was only one, and they exaggerated
it so much that the very report struck
terror and dismay into our people. They described
it as falling from a height greater than
the position on which their village was situated,
which drew exclamations of despair from my
rApril 21, 1877-1 “ ONLY ONE MORE CATARACT.” 91
L B a s e s s S . J
followers. I, on the other hand, rather rejoiced
at this, as I believed it might be “ Tuckey’s
Cataract,” which seemed to be eternally receding
as we advanced. While the Bateke above
had constantly held out flattering prospects of
“ only one more” cataract, I had believed that
one to be Tuekey’s Cataract, because map-makers
have laid down a great navigable reach of river
between Tuckey’s upper cataract and the Yellala
F a lls— hence our object in clinging to the river,
despite all obstacles, until that ever-receding
cataract was reached.
The distance we had laboured through from
the 16th March to the 21st April inclusive, a
period of thirty-seven days, was only 34 mies.
Since the Basesse fishermen, “ who ought to
know” we said, declared there was only This
tremendous cataract, with a fall of several hundred
feet, bolow us, we resolved to persevere
until we had passed it.
During the 22nd and 23rd we descended from
opposite Nsangu, a distance of five miles, to
below Rocky Island Falls, and during the three
following days we were engaged in the descent
of a six-mile stretch, which enabled us to approach
the “ terrific” falls described by the
Basesse at Nsangu. Arriving at camp with my
canoe party, I instantly took my boats crew
and explored the ground. The “ Falls” are
called Inkisi, or the “ Charm” ; they have no