" In M. du
Chaillu's map the Upper Nkomo is a dotted line; according to all
authorities, upon the higher and the lower river his direction is
too far to the north-east. The good Tippet declares that he once
canoed three miles up the Mbokwe, and then marched eastward for
five days, covering a hundred miles--which is impossible. He
found a line of detached hills, and an elevation where the dews
were exceedingly cold; looking towards the utterly unknown
Orient, he could see nothing but a thick forest unbroken by
streams. He heard from the country people traditions of a Great
Lake, which may be that placed by Tuckey in north latitude 2deg.-3deg..
The best seasons for travel are said to be March and November,
before and after the rains, which swell the water twelve feet.
About Anenge-nenge we could easily see the sub-ranges of the
great Eastern Ghats, some twenty miles to the north-east. Here
the shallows and the banks projecting from different points made
the channel dangerous. Entering the Mbokwe branch we were
compelled to use sweeps, or the schooner would have been dashed
against the sides; as we learned by the trees, the tides raise
the surface two to three feet high.
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