unable to pay, he was fiercely attacked by the
natives of Mowa.
An exploration of the river as far as the
Zinga Falls— which is two miles below Mowa
made by Manwa Sera, comforted us, for he
reported that the river between Mowa and Zinga
was not so difficult as many parts we had successfully
passed, and that with a little caution
no great danger was to be apprehended. On
the 2nd June I proceeded with him as far as
Massassa Falls, along the summit of the lofty
precipices. At Massassa terminates the comparatively
narrow-walled channel, through which
the river tumbles uneasily from the Mowa Falls
and the lower basin down (by the Massassa Falls)
into the Bolo-bolo— “ quiet-quiet”— basin. On
account of the great width of the Mowa basin,
1800 yards, the river rolls from above through
its 500-yards-wide cleft in the ledge, streams
along in a furious billowy course for a mile, and
at Massesse seems to slack its current. Here the
river, heaving upward, discharges a portion of
its volume backward along its flanks, which,
sweeping along the base of the Mowa cliffs,
flows upstream until it enters the Mowa Cove.
Then, after darting into the tongue-like cove
like a tidal flow, it quickly subsides, and
retreating along the base of the Mowa ledge,
after a circuit of two miles, meets with the great
falls and billowy rapids, where there is a wild
rjune 2, 1877.1 AN EXPLORATION DOWN RIVER. 1 3 7
[ Mowa. J
contention between the two opposing currents,
from Massesse the river resumes its rapid flow
downwards, ruffled at projections into waves,
but generally with an apparently calm face,
though circling and gurgling ominously, until, approaching
Massassa Point, one mile below Massesse,
it drives against outstanding boulders, rises
into curling waves on either side which meet in
mid-river 200 yards below: crest strikes crest,
wave meets wave, and mutually overlap and
wrestle, then subside, then heave aloft again in
deep-brown surge and sounding tops. A half-
mile length of wild waters rolls thus to Bolo-bolo
basin, where they are finally gathered into a
tranquil pool—hence the name.
While standing upon the summit of the high
cliff-walls which encircle the crater-like pool, the
frantic Massassa appears tame. Even wilder
Zinga, one and a half miles below, and Ingulufi
below that, are reduced to mere whitey flakes
of water. If we step down, however, close to
them, they become terrible enough to those
purposing to try ..their terrors in a canoe.
Half-way to the Zinga Falls from. Massassa,
in the middle of the concave cliffs, falls the
Edwin Arnold River, in a long cascade-like
descent from the height of the table-land, with
a sheer drop of 300 feet. While it rolls calmly
above, this river has a width of 50 yards, and
an average depth of 3 feet.