During the time we remained at Motunta a splendid meteor was observed to lighten the whole heavens. The observer’s back was turned to it, but on looking round the streak4 of light was seen to remain on its path some seconds. This streak is usually explained to be only the continuance of the impression made by the shining body on the retina. This cannot be, as in this case the meteor was not actually seen and yet the streak was clearly perceived. The rays of planets and stars also require another explanation than that usually given.
Fruit-trees and gigantic wild fig-trees, and circles of stones on which corn safes were placed, with worn grindstones, point out where the villages once stood. The only reason now assigned for this fine country remaining desolate5 is the fear of fresh visitations by the Matebele. The country now slopes gradually to the west into the Makololo Valley. Two days’ march from the Batoka village nearest the highlands, we met with some hunters who were burning the dry grass, in order to attract the game by the fresh vegetation which speedily springs up afterwards. The grass, as already remarked, is excellent for cattle. One species, with leaves having finely serrated edges, and of a reddish-brown colour, we noticed our men eating: it tastes exactly like liquorice-root, and is named kezu-kezu. The tsetse, known to the Batoka by the name “ndoka,” does not exist here, though buffaloes7 and elephants abound8.
A small trap in the path, baited with a mouse, to catch spotted9 cats (F. Genetta), is usually the first indication that we are drawing near to a village; but when we get within the sounds of pounding corn, cockcrowing, or the merry shouts of children at play, we know that the huts are but a few yards off, though the trees conceal10 them from view. We reached, on the 4th of August, Moachemba, the first of the Batoka villages which now owe allegiance to Sekeletu, and could see distinctly with the naked eye, in the great valley spread out before us, the columns of vapour rising from the Victoria Falls, though upwards11 of 20 miles distant. We were informed that, the rains having failed this year, the corn crops had been lost, and great scarcity12 and much hunger prevailed from Sesheke to Linyanti. Some of the reports which the men had heard from the Batoka of the hills concerning their families, were here confirmed. Takelang’s wife had been killed by Mashotlane, the headman at the Falls, on a charge, as usual, of witchcraft14. Inchikola’s two wives, believing him to be dead, had married again; and Masakasa was intensely disgusted to hear that two years ago his friends, upon a report of his death, threw his shield over the Falls, slaughtered15 all his oxen, and held a species of wild Irish wake, in honour of his memory: he said he meant to disown them, and to say, when they come to salute16 him, “I am dead. I am not here. I belong to another world, and should stink17 if I came among you.”
All the sad news we had previously18 heard, of the disastrous19 results which followed the attempt of a party of missionaries20, under the Rev13. H. Helmore, to plant the gospel at Linyanti, were here fully21 confirmed. Several of the missionaries and their native attendants, from Kuruman, had succumbed22 to the fever, and the survivors23 had retired24 some weeks before our arrival. We remained the whole of the 7th beside the village of the old Batoka chief, Moshobotwane, the stoutest25 man we have seen in Africa. The cause of our delay here was a severe attack of fever in Charles Livingstone. He took a dose of our fever pills; was better on the 8th, and marched three hours; then on the 9th marched eight miles to the Great Falls, and spent the rest of the day in the fatiguing26 exercise of sight-seeing. We were in the very same valley as Linyanti, and this was the same fever which treated, or rather maltreated, with only a little Dover’s powder, proved so fatal to poor Helmore; the symptoms, too, were identical with those afterwards described by non-medical persons as those of poison.
We gave Moshobotwane a present, and a pretty plain exposition of what we thought of his bloody27 forays among his Batoka brethren. A scolding does most good to the recipient28, when put alongside some obliging act. He certainly did not take it ill, as was evident from what he gave us in return; which consisted of a liberal supply of meal, milk, and an ox. He has a large herd29 of cattle, and a tract6 of fine pasture-land on the beautiful stream Lekone. A home-feeling comes over one, even in the interior of Africa, at seeing once more cattle grazing peacefully in the meadows. The tsetse inhabits the trees which bound the pasture-land on the west; so, should the herdsman forget his duty, the cattle straying might be entirely31 lost. The women of this village were more numerous than the men, the result of the chief’s marauding. The Batoko wife of Sima came up from the Falls, to welcome her husband back, bringing a present of the best fruits of the country. Her husband was the only one of the party who had brought a wife from Tette, namely, the girl whom he obtained from Chisaka for his feats32 of dancing. According to our ideas, his first wife could hardly have been pleased at seeing the second and younger one; but she took her away home with her, while the husband remained with us. In going down to the Fall village we met several of the real Makololo. They are lighter33 in colour than the other tribes, being of a rich warm brown; and they speak in a slow deliberate manner, distinctly pronouncing every word. On reaching the village opposite Kalai, we had an interview with the Makololo headman, Mashotlane: he came to the shed in which we were seated, a little boy carrying his low three-legged stool before him: on this he sat down with becoming dignity, looked round him for a few seconds, then at us, and, saluting34 us with “Rumela” (good morning, or hail), he gave us some boiled hippopotamus35 meat, took a piece himself, and then handed the rest to his attendants, who soon ate it up. He defended his forays on the ground that, when he went to collect tribute, the Batoka attacked him, and killed some of his attendants. The excuses made for their little wars are often the very same as those made by Caesar in his “Commentaries.” Few admit, like old Moshobotwane, that they fought because they had the power, and a fair prospect36 of conquering. We found here Pitsane, who had accompanied the Doctor to St. Paul de Loanda. He had been sent by Sekeletu to purchase three horses from a trading party of Griquas from Kuruman, who charged nine large tusks37 apiece for very wretched animals.
In the evening, when all was still, one of our men, Takelang, fired his musket38, and cried out, “I am weeping for my wife: my court is desolate: I have no home;” and then uttered a loud wail39 of anguish40.
We proceeded next morning, 9th August, 1860, to see the Victoria Falls. Mosi-oa-tunya is the Makololo name and means smoke sounding; Seongo or Chongwe, meaning the Rainbow, or the place of the Rainbow, was the more ancient term they bore. We embarked41 in canoes, belonging to Tuba Mokoro, “smasher of canoes,” an ominous42 name; but he alone, it seems, knew the medicine which insures one against shipwreck43 in the rapids above the Falls. For some miles the river was smooth and tranquil44, and we glided45 pleasantly over water clear as crystal, and past lovely islands densely47 covered with a tropical vegetation. Noticeable among the many trees were the lofty Hyphaene and Borassus palms; the graceful48 wild date-palm, with its fruit in golden clusters, and the umbrageous49 mokononga, of cypress50 form, with its dark-green leaves and scarlet51 fruit. Many flowers peeped out near the water’s edge, some entirely new to us, and others, as the convolvulus, old acquaintances.
But our attention was quickly called from the charming islands to the dangerous rapids, down which Tuba might unintentionally shoot us. To confess the truth, the very ugly aspect of these roaring rapids could scarcely fail to cause some uneasiness in the minds of new-comers. It is only when the river is very low, as it was now, that any one durst venture to the island to which we were bound. If one went during the period of flood, and fortunately hit the island, he would be obliged to remain there till the water subsided52 again, if he lived so long. Both hippopotami and elephants have been known to be swept over the Falls, and of course smashed to pulp53.
Before entering the race of waters, we were requested not to speak, as our talking might diminish the virtue54 of the medicine; and no one with such boiling eddying55 rapids before his eyes, would think of disobeying the orders of a “canoe-smasher.” It soon became evident that there was sound sense in this request of Tuba’s, although the reason assigned was not unlike that of the canoe-man from Sesheke, who begged one of our party not to whistle, because whistling made the wind come. It was the duty of the man at the bow to look out ahead for the proper course, and when he saw a rock or snag, to call out to the steersman. Tuba doubtless thought that talking on board might divert the attention of his steersman, at a time when the neglect of an order, or a slight mistake, would be sure to spill us all into the chafing56 river. There were places where the utmost exertions57 of both men had to be put forth58 in order to force the canoe to the only safe part of the rapid, and to prevent it from sweeping59 down broadside on, where in a twinkling we should have found ourselves floundering among the plotuses and cormorants60, which were engaged in diving for their breakfast of small fish. At times it seemed as if nothing could save us from dashing in our headlong race against the rocks which, now that the river was low, jutted61 out of the water; but just at the very nick of time, Tuba passed the word to the steersman, and then with ready pole turned the canoe a little aside, and we glided swiftly past the threatened danger. Never was canoe more admirably managed: once only did the medicine seem to have lost something of its efficacy. We were driving swiftly down, a black rock over which the white foam62 flew, lay directly in our path, the pole was planted against it as readily as ever, but it slipped, just as Tuba put forth his strength to turn the bow off. We struck hard, and were half-full of water in a moment; Tuba recovered himself as speedily, shoved off the bow, and shot the canoe into a still shallow place, to bale out the water. Here we were given to understand that it was not the medicine which was at fault; that had lost none of its virtue; the accident was owing entirely to Tuba having started without his breakfast. Need it be said we never let Tuba go without that meal again?
We landed at the head of Garden Island, which is situated63 near the middle of the river and on the lip of the Falls. On reaching that lip, and peering over the giddy height, the wondrous64 and unique character of the magnificent cascade65 at once burst upon us.
It is rather a hopeless task to endeavour to convey an idea of it in words, since, as was remarked on the spot, an accomplished66 painter, even by a number of views, could but impart a faint impression of the glorious scene. The probable mode of its formation may perhaps help to the conception of its peculiar67 shape. Niagara has been formed by a wearing back of the rock over which the river falls; and during a long course of ages, it has gradually receded68, and left a broad, deep, and pretty straight trough in front. It goes on wearing back daily, and may yet discharge the lakes from which its river — the St. Lawrence — flows. But the Victoria Falls have been formed by a crack right across the river, in the hard, black, basaltic rock which there formed the bed of the Zambesi. The lips of the crack are still quite sharp, save about three feet of the edge over which the river rolls. The walls go sheer down from the lips without any projecting crag, or symptoms of stratification or dislocation. When the mighty69 rift70 occurred, no change of level took place in the two parts of the bed of the river thus rent asunder71, consequently, in coming down the river to Garden Island, the water suddenly disappears, and we see the opposite side of the cleft72, with grass and trees growing where once the river ran, on the same level as that part of its bed on which we sail. The first crack is, in length, a few yards more than the breadth of the Zambesi, which by measurement we found to be a little over 1860 yards, but this number we resolved to retain as indicating the year in which the Fall was for the first time carefully examined. The main stream here runs nearly north and south, and the cleft across it is nearly east and west. The depth of the rift was measured by lowering a line, to the end of which a few bullets and a foot of white cotton cloth were tied. One of us lay with his head over a projecting crag, and watched the descending73 calico, till, after his companions had paid out 310 feet, the weight rested on a sloping projection74, probably 50 feet from the water below, the actual bottom being still further down. The white cloth now appeared the size of a crown-piece. On measuring the width of this deep cleft by sextant, it was found at Garden Island, its narrowest part, to be eighty yards, and at its broadest somewhat more. Into this chasm75, of twice the depth of Niagara-fall, the river, a full mile wide, rolls with a deafening76 roar; and this is Mosi-oa-tunya, or the Victoria Falls.
Looking from Garden Island, down to the bottom of the abyss, nearly half a mile of water, which has fallen over that portion of the Falls to our right, or west of our point of view, is seen collected in a narrow channel twenty or thirty yards wide, and flowing at exactly right angles to its previous course, to our left; while the other half, or that which fell over the eastern portion of the Falls, is seen in the left of the narrow channel below, coming towards our right. Both waters unite midway, in a fearful boiling whirlpool, and find an outlet77 by a crack situated at right angles to the fissure78 of the Falls. This outlet is about 1170 yards from the western end of the chasm, and some 600 from its eastern end; the whirlpool is at its commencement. The Zambesi, now apparently79 not more than twenty or thirty yards wide, rushes and surges south, through the narrow escape-channel for 130 yards; then enters a second chasm somewhat deeper, and nearly parallel with the first. Abandoning the bottom of the eastern half of this second chasm to the growth of large trees, it turns sharply off to the west, and forms a promontory80, with the escape-channel at its point, of 1170 yards long, and 416 yards broad at the base. After reaching this base, the river runs abruptly81 round the head of another promontory, and flows away to the east, in a third chasm; then glides82 round a third promontory, much narrower than the rest, and away back to the west, in a fourth chasm; and we could see in the distance that it appeared to round still another promontory, and bend once more in another chasm towards the east. In this gigantic, zigzag83, yet narrow trough, the rocks are all so sharply cut and angular, that the idea at once arises that the hard basaltic trap must have been riven into its present shape by a force acting84 from beneath, and that this probably took place when the ancient inland seas were let off by similar fissures85 nearer the ocean.
The land beyond, or on the south of the Falls, retains, as already remarked, the same level as before the rent was made. It is as if the trough below Niagara were bent86 right and left, several times before it reached the railway bridge. The land in the supposed bends being of the same height as that above the Fall, would give standing88-places, or points of view, of the same nature as that from the railway-bridge, but the nearest would be only eighty yards, instead of two miles (the distance to the bridge) from the face of the cascade. The tops of the promontories89 are in general flat, smooth, and studded with trees. The first, with its base on the east, is at one place so narrow, that it would be dangerous to walk to its extremity90. On the second, however, we found a broad rhinoceros91 path and a hut; but, unless the builder were a hermit92, with a pet rhinoceros, we cannot conceive what beast or man ever went there for. On reaching the apex93 of this second eastern promontory we saw the great river, of a deep sea-green colour, now sorely compressed, gliding94 away, at least 400 feet below us.
Garden Island, when the river is low, commands the best view of the Great Fall chasm, as also of the promontory opposite, with its grove95 of large evergreen96 trees, and brilliant rainbows of three-quarters of a circle, two, three, and sometimes even four in number, resting on the face of the vast perpendicular97 rock, down which tiny streams are always running to be swept again back by the upward rushing vapour. But as, at Niagara, one has to go over to the Canadian shore to see the chief wonder — the Great Horse-shoe Fall — so here we have to cross over to Moselekatse’s side to the promontory of evergreens98, for the best view of the principal Falls of Mosi-oa-tunya. Beginning, therefore, at the base of this promontory, and facing the Cataract3, at the west end of the chasm, there is, first, a fall of thirty-six yards in breadth, and of course, as they all are, upwards of 310 feet in depth. Then Boaruka, a small island, intervenes, and next comes a great fall, with a breadth of 573 yards; a projecting rock separates this from a second grand fall of 325 yards broad; in all, upwards of 900 yards of perennial99 Falls. Further east stands Garden Island; then, as the river was at its lowest, came a good deal of the bare rock of its bed, with a score of narrow falls, which, at the time of flood, constitute one enormous cascade of nearly another half-mile. Near the east end of the chasm are two larger falls, but they are nothing at low water compared to those between the islands.
The whole body of water rolls clear over, quite unbroken; but, after a descent of ten or more feet, the entire mass suddenly becomes like a huge sheet of driven snow. Pieces of water leap off it in the form of comets with tails streaming behind, till the whole snowy sheet becomes myriads100 of rushing, leaping, aqueous comets. This peculiarity101 was not observed by Charles Livingstone at Niagara, and here it happens, possibly from the dryness of the atmosphere, or whatever the cause may be which makes every drop of Zambesi water appear to possess a sort of individuality. It runs off the ends of the paddles, and glides in beads103 along the smooth surface, like drops of quicksilver on a table. Here we see them in a conglomeration104, each with a train of pure white vapour, racing105 down till lost in clouds of spray. A stone dropped in became less and less to the eye, and at last disappeared in the dense46 mist below.
Charles Livingstone had seen Niagara, and gave Mosi-oa-tunya the palm, though now at the end of a drought, and the river at its very lowest. Many feel a disappointment on first seeing the great American Falls, but Mosi-oa-tunya is so strange, it must ever cause wonder. In the amount of water, Niagara probably excels, though not during the months when the Zambesi is in flood. The vast body of water, separating in the comet-like forms described, necessarily encloses in its descent a large volume of air, which, forced into the cleft, to an unknown depth, rebounds106, and rushes up loaded with vapour to form the three or even six columns, as if of steam, visible at the Batoka village Moachemba, twenty-one miles distant. On attaining107 a height of 200, or at most 300 feet from the level of the river above the cascade, this vapour becomes condensed into a perpetual shower of fine rain. Much of the spray, rising to the west of Garden Island, falls on the grove of evergreen trees opposite; and from their leaves, heavy drops are for ever falling, to form sundry108 little rills, which, in running down the steep face of rock, are blown off and turned back, or licked off their perpendicular bed, up into the column from which they have just descended109.
The morning sun gilds110 these columns of watery111 smoke with all the glowing colours of double or treble rainbows. The evening sun, from a hot yellow sky, imparts a sulphureous hue112, and gives one the impression that the yawning gulf113 might resemble the mouth of the bottomless pit. No bird sits and sings on the branches of the grove of perpetual showers, or ever builds its nest there. We saw hornbills and flocks of little black weavers114 flying across from the mainland to the islands, and from the islands to the points of the promontories and back again, but they uniformly shunned115 the region of perpetual rain, occupied by the evergreen grove. The sunshine, elsewhere in this land so overpowering, never penetrates116 the deep gloom of that shade. In the presence of the strange Mosi-oa-tunya, we can sympathize with those who, when the world was young, peopled earth, air, and river, with beings not of mortal form. Sacred to what deity117 would be this awful chasm and that dark grove, over which hovers118 an ever-abiding “pillar of cloud”?
The ancient Batoka chieftains used Kazeruka, now Garden Island, and Boaruka, the island further west, also on the lip of the Falls, as sacred spots for worshipping the Deity. It is no wonder that under the cloudy columns, and near the brilliant rainbows, with the ceaseless roar of the cataract, with the perpetual flow, as if pouring forth from the hand of the Almighty119, their souls should be filled with reverential awe120. It inspired wonder in the native mind throughout the interior. Among the first questions asked by Sebituane of Mr. Oswell and Dr. Livingstone, in 1851, was, “Have you any smoke soundings in your country,” and “what causes the smoke to rise for ever so high out of water?” In that year its fame was heard 200 miles off, and it was approached within two days; but it was seen by no European till 1855, when Dr. Livingstone visited it on his way to the East Coast. Being then accompanied as far as this Fall by Sekeletu and 200 followers121, his stay was necessarily short; and the two days there were employed in observations for fixing the geographical122 position of the place, and turning the showers, that at times sweep from the columns of vapour across the island, to account, in teaching the Makololo arboriculture, and making that garden from which the natives named the island; so that he did not visit the opposite sides of the cleft, nor see the wonderful course of the river beyond the Falls. The hippopotami had destroyed the trees which were then planted; and, though a strong stockaded hedge was made again, and living orange-trees, cashew-nuts, and coffee seeds put in afresh, we fear that the perseverance123 of the hippopotami will overcome the obstacle of the hedge. It would require a resident missionary124 to rear European fruit-trees. The period at which the peach and apricot come into blossom is about the end of the dry season, and artificial irrigation is necessary. The Batoka, the only arboriculturists in the country, rear native fruit-trees alone — the mosibe, the motsikiri, the boma, and others. When a tribe takes an interest in trees, it becomes more attached to the spot on which they are planted, and they prove one of the civilizing125 influences.
Where one Englishman goes, others are sure to follow. Mr. Baldwin, a gentleman from Natal126, succeeded in reaching the Falls guided by his pocket-compass alone. On meeting the second subject of Her Majesty127, who had ever beheld128 the greatest of African wonders, we found him a sort of prisoner at large. He had called on Mashotlane to ferry him over to the north side of the river, and, when nearly over, he took a bath, by jumping in and swimming ashore129. “If,” said Mashotlane, “he had been devoured130 by one of the crocodiles which abound there, the English would have blamed us for his death. He nearly inflicted131 a great injury upon us, therefore, we said, he must pay a fine.” As Mr. Baldwin had nothing with him wherewith to pay, they were taking care of him till he should receive beads from his wagon132, two days distant.
Mashotlane’s education had been received in the camp of Sebituane, where but little regard was paid to human life. He was not yet in his prime, and his fine open countenance133 presented to us no indication of the evil influences which unhappily, from infancy134, had been at work on his mind. The native eye was more penetrating135 than ours; for the expression of our men was, “He has drunk the blood of men — you may see it in his eyes.” He made no further difficulty about Mr. Baldwin; but the week after we left he inflicted a severe wound on the head of one of his wives with his rhinoceros-horn club. She, being of a good family, left him, and we subsequently met her and another of his wives proceeding136 up the country.
The ground is strewn with agates137 for a number of miles above the Falls; but the fires, which burn off the grass yearly, have injured most of those on the surface. Our men were delighted to hear that they do as well as flints for muskets138; and this with the new ideas of the value of gold (dalama) and malachite, that they had acquired at Tette, made them conceive that we were not altogether silly in picking up and looking at stones.
Marching up the river, we crossed the Lekone at its confluence139, about eight miles above the island Kalai, and went on to a village opposite the Island Chundu. Nambowe, the headman, is one of the Matebele or Zulus, who have had to flee from the anger of Moselekatse, to take refuge with the Makololo.
We spent Sunday, the 12th, at the village of Molele, a tall old Batoka, who was proud of having formerly140 been a great favourite with Sebituane. In coming hither we passed through patches of forest abounding141 in all sorts of game. The elephants’ tusks, placed over graves, are now allowed to decay, and the skulls142, which the former Batoka stuck on poles to ornament143 their villages, not being renewed, now crumble144 into dust. Here the famine, of which we had heard, became apparent, Molele’s people being employed in digging up the tsitla root out of the marshes145, and cutting out the soft core of the young palm-trees, for food.
The village, situated on the side of a wooded ridge87, commands an extensive view of a great expanse of meadow and marsh146 lying along the bank of the river. On these holmes herds30 of buffaloes and waterbucks daily graze in security, as they have in the reedy marshes a refuge into which they can run on the approach of danger. The pretty little tianyane or ourebi is abundant further on, and herds of blue weldebeests or brindled148 gnus (Katoblepas Gorgon) amused us by their fantastic capers149. They present a much more ferocious150 aspect than the lion himself, but are quite timid. We never could, by waving a red handkerchief, according to the prescription151, induce them to venture near to us. It may therefore be that the red colour excites their fury only when wounded or hotly pursued. Herds of lechee or lechwe now enliven the meadows; and they and their younger brother, the graceful poku, smaller, and of a rounder contour, race together towards the grassy152 fens153. We venture to call the poku after the late Major Vardon, a noble-hearted African traveller; but fully anticipate that some aspiring154 Nimrod will prefer that his own name should go down to posterity155 on the back of this buck147.
Midway between Tabacheu and the Great Falls the streams begin to flow westward156. On the other side they begin to flow east. Large round masses of granite157, somewhat like old castles, tower aloft about the Kalomo. The country is an elevated plateau, and our men knew and named the different plains as we passed them by.
On the 13th we met a party from Sekeletu, who was now at Sesheke. Our approach had been reported, and they had been sent to ask the Doctor what the price of a horse ought to be; and what he said, that they were to give and no more. In reply they were told that by their having given nine large tusks for one horse before the Doctor came, the Griquas would naturally imagine that the price was already settled. It was exceedingly amusing to witness the exact imitation they gave of the swagger of a certain white with whom they had been dealing158, and who had, as they had perceived, evidently wished to assume an air of indifference159. Holding up the head and scratching the beard it was hinted might indicate not indifference, but vermin. It is well that we do not always know what they say about us. The remarks are often not quite complimentary160, and resemble closely what certain white travellers say about the blacks.
We made our camp in the afternoon abreast161 of the large island called Mparira, opposite the mouth of the Chobe. Francolins, quails162, and guinea-fowls, as well as larger game, were abundant. The Makololo headman, Mokompa, brought us a liberal present; and in the usual way, which is considered politeness, regretted he had no milk, as his cows were all dry. We got some honey here from the very small stingless bee, called, by the Batoka, moandi, and by others, the kokomatsane. This honey is slightly acid, and has an aromatic163 flavour. The bees are easily known from their habit of buzzing about the eyes, and tickling164 the skin by sucking it as common flies do. The hive has a tube of wax like a quill165, for its entrance, and is usually in the hollows of trees.
Mokompa feared that the tribe was breaking up, and lamented166 the condition into which they had fallen in consequence of Sekeletu’s leprosy; he did not know what was to become of them. He sent two canoes to take us up to Sesheke; his best canoe had taken ivory up to the chief, to purchase goods of some native traders from Benguela. Above the Falls the paddlers always stand in the canoes, using long paddles, ten feet in length, and changing from side to side without losing the stroke.
Mochokotsa, a messenger from Sekeletu, met us on the 17th, with another request for the Doctor to take ivory and purchase a horse. He again declined to interfere167. None were to come up to Sekeletu but the Doctor; and all the men who had had smallpox168 at Tette, three years ago, were to go back to Moshobotwane, and he would sprinkle medicine over them, to drive away the infection, and prevent it spreading in the tribe. Mochokotsa was told to say to Sekeletu that the disease was known of old to white men, and we even knew the medicine to prevent it; and, were there any danger now, we should be the first to warn him of it. Why did not he go himself to have Moshobotwane sprinkle medicine to drive away his leprosy. We were not afraid of his disease, nor of the fever that had killed the teachers and many Makololo at Linyanti. As this attempt at quarantine was evidently the suggestion of native doctors to increase their own importance, we added that we had no food, and would hunt next day for game, and the day after; and, should we be still ordered purification by their medicine, we should then return to our own country.
The message was not all of our dictation, our companions interlarded it with their own indignant protests, and said some strong things in the Tette dialect about these “doctor things” keeping them back from seeing their father; when to their surprise Mochokotsa told them he knew every word they were saying, as he was of the tribe Bazizulu, and defied them to deceive him by any dialect, either of the Mashona on the east, or of the Mambari on the west. Mochokotsa then repeated our message twice, to be sure that he had it every word, and went back again. These chiefs’ messengers have most retentive169 memories; they carry messages of considerable length great distances, and deliver them almost word for word. Two or three usually go together, and when on the way the message is rehearsed every night, in order that the exact words may be kept to. One of the native objections to learning to write is, that these men answer the purpose of transmitting intelligence to a distance as well as a letter would; and, if a person wishes to communicate with any one in the town, the best way to do so is either to go to or send for him. And as for corresponding with friends very far off, that is all very well for white people, but the blacks have no friends to whom to write. The only effective argument for the learning to read is, that it is their duty to know the revelation from their Father in Heaven, as it stands in the Book.
Our messenger returned on the evening of the following day with “You speak truly,” says Sekeletu, “the disease is old, come on at once, do not sleep in the path; for I am greatly desirous (tlologelecoe) to see the Doctor.”
After Mochokotsa left us, we met some of Mokompa’s men bringing back the ivory, as horses were preferred to the West–Coast goods. They were the bearers of instructions to Mokompa, and as these instructions illustrate170 the government of people who have learned scarcely anything from Europeans, they are inserted, though otherwise of no importance. Mashotlane had not behaved so civilly to Mr. Baldwin as Sekeletu had ordered him to do to all Englishmen. He had been very uncivil to the messengers sent by Moselekatse with letters from Mr. Moffat, treated them as spies, and would not land to take the bag until they moved off. On our speaking to him about this, he justified171 his conduct on the plea that he was set at the Falls for the very purpose of watching these, their natural enemies; and how was he to know that they had been sent by Mr. Moffat? Our men thereupon reported at head-quarters that Mashotlane had cursed the Doctor. The instructions to Mokompa, from Sekeletu, were to “go and tell Mashotlane that he had offended greatly. He had not cursed Monare (Dr. Livingstone) but Sebituane, as Monare was now in the place of Sebituane, and he reverenced172 him as he had done his father. Any fine taken from Mr. Baldwin was to be returned at once, as he was not a Boer but an Englishman. Sekeletu was very angry, and Mokompa must not conceal the message.”
On finding afterwards that Mashotlane’s conduct had been most outrageous173 to the Batoka, Sekeletu sent for him to come to Sesheke, in order that he might have him more under his own eye; but Mashotlane, fearing that this meant the punishment of death, sent a polite answer, alleging174 that he was ill and unable to travel. Sekeletu tried again to remove Mashotlane from the Falls, but without success. In theory the chief is absolute and quite despotic; in practice his authority is limited, and he cannot, without occasionally putting refractory175 headmen to death, force his subordinates to do his will.
Except the small rapids by Mparira island, near the mouth of the Chobe, the rest of the way to Sesheke by water is smooth. Herds of cattle of two or three varieties graze on the islands in the river: the Batoka possessed176 a very small breed of beautiful shape, and remarkably177 tame, and many may still be seen; a larger kind, many of which have horns pendent, and loose at the roots; and a still larger sort, with horns of extraordinary dimensions — apparently a burden for the beast to carry. This breed was found in abundance at Lake Ngami. We stopped at noon at one of the cattle-posts of Mokompa, and had a refreshing178 drink of milk. Men of his standing have usually several herds placed at different spots, and the owner visits each in turn, while his head-quarters are at his village. His son, a boy of ten, had charge of the establishment during his father’s absence. According to Makololo ideas, the cattle-post is the proper school in which sons should be brought up. Here they receive the right sort of education — the knowledge of pasture and how to manage cattle.
Strong easterly winds blow daily from noon till midnight, and continue till the October or November rains set in. Whirlwinds, raising huge pillars of smoke from burning grass and weeds, are common in the forenoon. We were nearly caught in an immense one. It crossed about twenty yards in front of us, the wind apparently rushing into it from all points of the compass. Whirling round and round in great eddies179, it swept up hundreds of feet into the air a continuous dense dark cloud of the black pulverized180 soil, mixed with dried grass, off the plain. Herds of the new antelopes181, lechwe, and poku, with the kokong, or gnus, and zebras stood gazing at us as we passed. The mirage182 lifted them at times halfway183 to the clouds, and twisted them and the clumps184 of palms into strange unearthly forms. The extensive and rich level plains by the banks, along the sides of which we paddled, would support a vast population, and might be easily irrigated185 from the Zambesi. If watered, they would yield crops all the year round, and never suffer loss by drought. The hippopotamus is killed here with long lance-like spears. We saw two men, in a light canoe, stealing noiselessly down on one of these animals thought to be asleep; but it was on the alert, and they had quickly to retreat. Comparatively few of these animals now remain between Sesheke and the Falls, and they are uncommonly186 wary187, as it is certain death for one to be caught napping in the daytime.
On the 18th we entered Sesheke. The old town, now in ruins, stands on the left bank of the river. The people have built another on the same side, a quarter of a mile higher up, since their headman Moriantsiane was put to death for bewitching the chief with leprosy. Sekeletu was on the right bank, near a number of temporary huts. A man hailed us from the chiefs quarters, and requested us to rest under the old Kotla, or public meeting-place tree. A young Makololo, with the large thighs188 which Zulus and most of this tribe have, crossed over to receive orders from the chief, who had not shown himself to the people since he was affected189 with leprosy. On returning he ran for Mokele, the headman of the new town, who, after going over to Sekeletu, came back and conducted us to a small but good hut, and afterwards brought us a fine fat ox, as a present from the chief. “This is a time of hunger,” he said, “and we have no meat, but we expect some soon from the Barotse Valley.” We were entirely out of food when we reached Sesheke. Never was better meat than that of the ox Sekeletu sent, and infinitely190 above the flesh of all kinds of game is beef!
A constant stream of visitors rolled in on us the day after our arrival. Several of them, who had suffered affliction during the Doctor’s absence, seemed to be much affected on seeing him again. All were in low spirits. A severe drought had cut off the crops, and destroyed the pasture of Linyanti, and the people were scattered191 over the country in search of wild fruits, and the hospitality of those whose ground-nuts (Arachis hypogoea) had not failed. Sekeletu’s leprosy brought troops of evils in its train. Believing himself bewitched, he had suspected a number of his chief men, and had put some, with their families, to death; others had fled to distant tribes, and were living in exile. The chief had shut himself up, and allowed no one to come into his presence but his uncle Mamire. Ponwane, who had been as “head and eyes” to him, had just died; evidence, he thought, of the potent192 spells of those who hated all who loved the chief. The country was suffering grievously, and Sebituane’s grand empire was crumbling193 to pieces. A large body of young Barotse had revolted and fled to the north; killing194 a man by the way, in order to put a blood-feud between Masiko, the chief to whom they were going, and Sekeletu. The Batoka under Sinamane, and Muemba, were independent, and Mashotlane at the Falls was setting Sekeletu’s authority virtually at defiance195. Sebituane’s wise policy in treating the conquered tribes on equal terms with his own Makololo, as all children of the chief, and equally eligible196 to the highest honours, had been abandoned by his son, who married none but Makololo women, and appointed to office none but Makololo men. He had become unpopular among the black tribes, conquered by the spear but more effectually won by the subsequent wise and just government of his father.
Strange rumours197 were afloat respecting the unseen Sekeletu; his fingers were said to have grown like eagle’s claws, and his face so frightfully distorted that no one could recognize him. Some had begun to hint that he might not really be the son of the great Sebituane, the founder199 of the nation, strong in battle, and wise in the affairs of state. “In the days of the Great Lion” (Sebituane), said his only sister, Moriantsiane’s widow, whose husband Sekeletu had killed, “we had chiefs and little chiefs and elders to carry on the government, and the great chief, Sebituane, knew them all, and everything they did, and the whole country was wisely ruled; but now Sekeletu knows nothing of what his underlings do, and they care not for him, and the Makololo power is fast passing away.” 3
The native doctors had given the case of Sekeletu up. They could not cure him, and pronounced the disease incurable200. An old doctress from the Manyeti tribe had come to see what she could do for him, and on her skill he now hung his last hopes. She allowed no one to see him, except his mother and uncle, making entire seclusion201 from society an essential condition of the much longed-for cure. He sent, notwithstanding, for the Doctor; and on the following day we all three were permitted to see him. He was sitting in a covered wagon, which was enclosed by a high wall of close-set reeds; his face was only slightly disfigured by the thickening of the skin in parts, where the leprosy had passed over it; and the only peculiarity about his hands was the extreme length of his finger-nails, which, however, was nothing very much out of the way, as all the Makololo gentlemen wear them uncommonly long. He has the quiet, unassuming manners of his father, Sebituane, speaks distinctly, in a low pleasant voice, and appears to be a sensible man, except perhaps on the subject of his having been bewitched; and in this, when alluded202 to, he exhibits as firm a belief as if it were his monomania. “Moriantsiane, my aunt’s husband, tried the bewitching medicine first on his wife, and she is leprous, and so is her head-servant; then, seeing that it succeeded, he gave me a stronger dose in the cooked flesh of a goat, and I have had the disease ever since. They have lately killed Ponwane, and, as you see, are now killing me.” Ponwane had died of fever a short time previously. Sekeletu asked us for medicine and medical attendance, but we did not like to take the case out of the hands of the female physician already employed, it being bad policy to appear to undervalue any of the profession; and she, being anxious to go on with her remedies, said “she had not given him up yet, but would try for another month; if he was not cured by that time, then she would hand him over to the white doctors.” But we intended to leave the country before a month was up; so Mamire, with others, induced the old lady to suspend her treatment for a little. She remained, as the doctors stipulated203, in the chief’s establishment, and on full pay.
Sekeletu was told plainly that the disease was unknown in our country, and was thought exceedingly obstinate204 of cure; that we did not believe in his being bewitched, and we were willing to do all we could to help him. This was a case for disinterested205 benevolence206; no pay was expected, but considerable risk incurred207; yet we could not decline it, as we had the trading in horses. Having, however, none of the medicines usually employed in skin diseases with us, we tried the local application of lunar caustic208, and hydriodate of potash internally; and with such gratifying results, that Mamire wished the patient to be smeared209 all over with a solution of lunar caustic, which he believed to be of the same nature as the blistering210 fluid formerly applied211 to his own knee by Mr. Oswell. ITS power he considered irresistible212, and he would fain have had anything like it tried on Sekeletu.
It was a time of great scarcity and hunger, but Sekeletu treated us hospitably213, preparing tea for us at every visit we paid him. With the tea we had excellent American biscuit and preserved fruits, which had been brought to him all the way from Benguela. The fruits he most relished214 were those preserved in their own juices; plums, apples, pears, strawberries, and peaches, which we have seen only among Portuguese215 and Spaniards. It made us anxious to plant the fruit-tree seeds we had brought, and all were pleased with the idea of having these same fruits in their own country.
Mokele, the headman of Sesheke, and Sebituane’s sister, Manchunyane, were ordered to provide us with food, as Sekeletu’s wives, to whom this duty properly belonged, were at Linyanti. We found a black trader from the West Coast, and some Griqua traders from the South, both in search of ivory. Ivory is dear at Sesheke; but cheaper in the Batoka country, from Sinamane’s to the Kafue, than anywhere else. The trader from Benguela took orders for goods for his next year’s trip, and offered to bring tea, coffee, and sugar at cent. per cent. prices. As, in consequence of a hint formerly given, the Makololo had secured all the ivory in the Batoga country to the east, by purchasing it with hoes, the Benguela traders found it unprofitable to go thither216 for slaves. They assured us that without ivory the trade in slaves did not pay. In this way, and by the orders of Sekeletu, an extensive slave-mart was closed. These orders were never infringed217 except secretly. We discovered only two or three cases of their infraction218.
Sekeletu was well pleased with the various articles we brought for him, and inquired if a ship could not bring his sugar-mill and the other goods we had been obliged to leave behind at Tette. On hearing that there was a possibility of a powerful steamer ascending219 as far as Sinamane’s, but never above the Grand Victoria Falls, he asked, with charming simplicity220, if a cannon221 could not blow away the Falls, so as to allow the vessel222 to come up to Sesheke.
To save the tribe from breaking up, by the continual loss of real Makololo, it ought at once to remove to the healthy Batoka highlands, near the Kafue. Fully aware of this, Sekeletu remarked that all his people, save two, were convinced that, if they remained in the lowlands, a few years would suffice to cut off all the real Makololo; they came originally from the healthy South, near the confluence of the Likwa and Namagari, where fever is almost unknown, and its ravages223 had been as frightful198 among them here, as amongst Europeans on the Coast. Sebituane’s sister described its first appearance among the tribe, after their settling in the Barotse Valley on the Zambesi. Many of them were seized with a shivering sickness, as if from excessive cold; they had never seen the like before. They made great fires, and laid the shivering wretches224 down before them; but, pile on wood as they might, they could not raise heat enough to drive the cold out of the bodies of the sufferers, and they shivered on till they died. But, though all preferred the highlands, they were afraid to go there, lest the Matebele should come and rob them of their much-loved cattle. Sebituane, with all his veterans, could not withstand that enemy; and how could they be resisted, now that most of the brave warriors225 were dead? The young men would break, and run away the moment they saw the terrible Matebele, being as much afraid of them as the black conquered tribes are of the Makololo. “But if the Doctor and his wife,” said the chiefs and counsellors, “would come and live with us, we would remove to the highlands at once, as Moselekatse would not attack a place where the daughter of his friend, Moffat, was living.”
The Makololo are by far the most intelligent and enterprising of the tribes we have met. None but brave and daring men remained long with Sebituane, his stern discipline soon eradicated226 cowardice227 from his army. Death was the inevitable228 doom229 of the coward. If the chief saw a man running away from the fight, he rushed after him with amazing speed, and cut him down; or waited till he returned to the town, and then summoned the deserter into his presence. “You did not wish to die on the field, you wished to die at home, did you? you shall have your wish!” and he was instantly led off and executed. The present race of young men are inferior in most respects to their fathers. The old Makololo had many manly230 virtues231; they were truthful232, and never stole, excepting in what they considered the honourable233 way of lifting cattle in fair fight. But this can hardly be said of their sons; who, having been brought up among the subjected tribes, have acquired some of the vices234 peculiar to a menial and degraded race. A few of the old Makololo cautioned us not to leave any of our property exposed, as the blacks were great thieves; and some of our own men advised us to be on our guard, as the Makololo also would steal. A very few trifling235 articles were stolen by a young Makololo; and he, on being spoken to on the subject, showed great ingenuity236 in excusing himself, by a plausible237 and untruthful story. The Makololo of old were hard workers, and did not consider labour as beneath them; but their sons never work, regarding it as fit only for the Mashona and Makalaka servants. Sebituane, seeing that the rival tribes had the advantage over his, in knowing how to manage canoes, had his warriors taught to navigate238; and his own son, with his companions, paddled the chief’s canoe. All the dishes, baskets, stools, and canoes are made by the black tribes called Manyeti and Matlotlora. The houses are built by the women and servants. The Makololo women are vastly superior to any we have yet seen. They are of a light warm brown complexion239, have pleasant countenances240, and are remarkably quick of apprehension241. They dress neatly242, wearing a kilt and mantle243, and have many ornaments244. Sebituane’s sister, the head lady of Sesheke, wore eighteen solid brass245 rings, as thick as one’s finger, on each leg, and three of copper246 under each knee; nineteen brass rings on her left arm, and eight of brass and copper on her right, also a large ivory ring above each elbow. She had a pretty bead102 necklace, and a bead sash encircled her waist. The weight of the bright brass rings round her legs impeded247 her walking, and chafed248 her ankles; but, as it was the fashion, she did not mind the inconvenience, and guarded against the pain by putting soft rag round the lower rings.
Justice appears upon the whole to be pretty fairly administered among the Makololo. A headman took some beads and a blanket from one of his men who had been with us; the matter was brought before the chief, and he immediately ordered the goods to be restored, and decreed, moreover, that no headman should take the property of the men who had returned. In theory, all the goods brought back belonged to the chief; the men laid them at his feet, and made a formal offer of them all; he looked at the articles, and told the men to keep them. This is almost invariably the case. Tuba Mokoro, however, fearing lest Sekeletu might take a fancy to some of his best goods, exhibited only a few of his old and least valuable acquisitions. Masakasa had little to show; he had committed some breach250 of native law in one of the villages on the way, and paid a heavy fine rather than have the matter brought to the Doctor’s ears. Each carrier is entitled to a portion of the goods in his bundle, though purchased by the chief’s ivory, and they never hesitate to claim their rights; but no wages can be demanded from the chief, if he fails to respond to the first application.
Our men, accustomed to our ways, thought that the English system of paying a man for his labour was the only correct one, and some even said it would be better to live under a government where life and labour were more secure and valuable than here. While with us, they always conducted themselves with propriety251 during Divine service, and not only maintained decorum themselves, but insisted on other natives who might be present doing the same. When Moshobotwane, the Batoka chief, came on one occasion with a number of his men, they listened in silence to the reading of the Bible in the Makololo tongue; but, as soon as we all knelt down to pray, they commenced a vigorous clapping of hands, their mode of asking a favour. Our indignant Makololo soon silenced their noisy accompaniment, and looked with great contempt on this display of ignorance. Nearly all our men had learned to repeat the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed249 in their own language, and felt rather proud of being able to do so; and when they reached home, they liked to recite them to groups of admiring friends. Their ideas of right and wrong differ in no respect from our own, except in their professed252 inability to see how it can be improper253 for a man to have more than one wife. A year or two ago several of the wives of those who had been absent with us petitioned the chief for leave to marry again. They thought that it was of no use waiting any longer, their husbands must be dead; but Sekeletu refused permission; he himself had bet a number of oxen that the Doctor would return with their husbands, and he had promised the absent men that their wives should be kept for them. The impatient spouses254 had therefore to wait a little longer. Some of them, however, eloped with other men; the wife of Mantlanyane, for instance, ran off and left his little boy among strangers. Mantlanyane was very angry when he heard of it, not that he cared much about her deserting him, for he had two other wives at Tette, but he was indignant at her abandoning his boy.
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1
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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cataracts
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| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
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cataract
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| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
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streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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5
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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buffaloes
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| n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓 | |
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abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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witchcraft
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| n.魔法，巫术 | |
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15
slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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stink
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| vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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stoutest
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| 粗壮的( stout的最高级 )； 结实的； 坚固的； 坚定的 | |
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fatiguing
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| a.使人劳累的 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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recipient
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| a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器 | |
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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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saluting
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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hippopotamus
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| n.河马 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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tusks
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| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
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38
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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40
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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41
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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42
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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43
shipwreck
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| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
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44
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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45
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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46
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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47
densely
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| ad.密集地；浓厚地 | |
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48
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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49
umbrageous
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| adj.多荫的 | |
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50
cypress
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| n.柏树 | |
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51
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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52
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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53
pulp
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| n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆 | |
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54
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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55
eddying
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| 涡流，涡流的形成 | |
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56
chafing
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| n.皮肤发炎v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的现在分词 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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57
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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58
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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59
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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60
cormorants
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| 鸬鹚，贪婪的人( cormorant的名词复数 ) | |
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61
jutted
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| v.（使）突出( jut的过去式和过去分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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62
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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63
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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64
wondrous
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|
| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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65
cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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66
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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67
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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68
receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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69
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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70
rift
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| n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入 | |
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71
asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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72
cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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73
descending
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|
| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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74
projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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75
chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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76
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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77
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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78
fissure
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| n.裂缝；裂伤 | |
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79
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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80
promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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81
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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82
glides
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| n.滑行( glide的名词复数 )；滑音；音渡；过渡音v.滑动( glide的第三人称单数 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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83
zigzag
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|
| n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行 | |
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84
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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85
fissures
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| n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 ) | |
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86
bent
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|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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87
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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88
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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89
promontories
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| n.岬，隆起，海角( promontory的名词复数 ) | |
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90
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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91
rhinoceros
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| n.犀牛 | |
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92
hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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93
apex
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| n.顶点，最高点 | |
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94
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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95
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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96
evergreen
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|
| n.常青树；adj.四季常青的 | |
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97
perpendicular
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|
| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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98
evergreens
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| n.常青树，常绿植物，万年青( evergreen的名词复数 ) | |
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99
perennial
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|
| adj.终年的；长久的 | |
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100
myriads
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|
| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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101
peculiarity
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|
| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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102
bead
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| n.念珠；(pl.)珠子项链；水珠 | |
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103
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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104
conglomeration
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| n.团块，聚集，混合物 | |
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105
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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106
rebounds
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| 反弹球( rebound的名词复数 )； 回弹球； 抢断篮板球； 复兴 | |
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107
attaining
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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108
sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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109
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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110
gilds
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| 把…镀金( gild的第三人称单数 )； 给…上金色； 作多余的修饰（反而破坏原已完美的东西）； 画蛇添足 | |
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111
watery
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|
| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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112
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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113
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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114
weavers
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| 织工，编织者( weaver的名词复数 ) | |
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115
shunned
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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116
penetrates
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| v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 )；刺入；了解；渗透 | |
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117
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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118
hovers
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| 鸟( hover的第三人称单数 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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119
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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120
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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121
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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122
geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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123
perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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124
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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125
civilizing
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| v.使文明，使开化( civilize的现在分词 ) | |
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126
natal
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| adj.出生的，先天的 | |
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127
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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128
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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129
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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130
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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131
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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132
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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133
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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134
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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135
penetrating
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|
| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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136
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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137
agates
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| n.玛瑙( agate的名词复数 )；玛瑙制（或装有玛瑙的）工具； （小孩玩的）玛瑙纹玩具弹子；5。5磅铅字 | |
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138
muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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139
confluence
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| n.汇合，聚集 | |
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140
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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141
abounding
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| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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142
skulls
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| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
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143
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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144
crumble
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| vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁 | |
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145
marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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146
marsh
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| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
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147
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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148
brindled
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| adj.有斑纹的 | |
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149
capers
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| n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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150
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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151
prescription
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| n.处方，开药；指示，规定 | |
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152
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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153
fens
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| n.（尤指英格兰东部的）沼泽地带( fen的名词复数 ) | |
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154
aspiring
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| adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求 | |
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155
posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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156
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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157
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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158
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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159
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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160
complimentary
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| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
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161
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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162
quails
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| 鹌鹑( quail的名词复数 )； 鹌鹑肉 | |
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163
aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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164
tickling
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| 反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法 | |
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165
quill
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| n.羽毛管；v.给（织物或衣服）作皱褶 | |
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166
lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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167
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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168
smallpox
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| n.天花 | |
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169
retentive
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| v.保留的，有记忆的；adv.有记性地，记性强地；n.保持力 | |
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170
illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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171
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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172
reverenced
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| v.尊敬，崇敬( reverence的过去式和过去分词 )；敬礼 | |
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173
outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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174
alleging
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| 断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 ) | |
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175
refractory
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| adj.倔强的，难驾驭的 | |
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176
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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177
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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178
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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179
eddies
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| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
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180
pulverized
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| adj.[医]雾化的，粉末状的v.将…弄碎( pulverize的过去式和过去分词 )；将…弄成粉末或尘埃；摧毁；粉碎 | |
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181
antelopes
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| 羚羊( antelope的名词复数 )； 羚羊皮革 | |
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182
mirage
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| n.海市蜃楼，幻景 | |
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183
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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184
clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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185
irrigated
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| [医]冲洗的 | |
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186
uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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187
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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188
thighs
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| n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿 | |
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189
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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190
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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191
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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192
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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193
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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194
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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195
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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196
eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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197
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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198
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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199
Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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200
incurable
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| adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人 | |
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201
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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202
alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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203
stipulated
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| vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的 | |
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204
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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205
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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206
benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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207
incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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208
caustic
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| adj.刻薄的，腐蚀性的 | |
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209
smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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210
blistering
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| adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡 | |
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211
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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212
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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213
hospitably
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| 亲切地，招待周到地，善于款待地 | |
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214
relished
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| v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望 | |
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215
Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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216
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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217
infringed
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| v.违反（规章等）( infringe的过去式和过去分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等） | |
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218
infraction
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| n.违反；违法 | |
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219
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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220
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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221
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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222
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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223
ravages
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| 劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹 | |
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224
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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225
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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226
eradicated
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| 画着根的 | |
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227
cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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228
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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229
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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230
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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231
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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232
truthful
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| adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的 | |
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233
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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234
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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235
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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236
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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237
plausible
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| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
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238
navigate
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| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
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239
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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240
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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241
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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242
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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243
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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244
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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245
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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246
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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247
impeded
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| 阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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248
chafed
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| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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249
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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250
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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251
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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252
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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253
improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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254
spouses
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| n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 ) | |
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