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 the foe, but, the instant he relaxed from the pursuit, or rested on his arms, they returned with redoubled vigour to the attack, and made him pay dearly for his ravages. This prudent system of defence, saved their country from being overwhelmed; and the Portuguese in repeated expeditions to get at the mines, which formed the main object of their pursuit, were invariably foiled.

The most daring of these attempts was undertaken at the immediate command of Sebastian the First, in 1570, by Francis Baretto, who for this express purpose was made Governor-General of Mosambique. In the first instance he fitted out from Sofala a formidable armament, with the design of penetrating into the country of Chicanga, and getting possession of the mines of Manica, in order to reach which, it was necessary for him to pass through the dominions, and close to the capital, of the Quitéve, or chief ruler of the intervening districts, whose power extended in a line across from Sofala, to the angle made by the turn of the river Zambezi.

This country is commonly called Monomotapa, in the accounts of which, a perplexing obscurity has been introduced, by different authors having confounded the names of the districts with the titles of the sovereigns, indiscriminately styling them 'Quitéve,' 'Monomotapa,' 'Benemotapa,' 'Benemotasha,' 'Chikanga,' 'Manika,'