Page:A voyage to Abyssinia (Salt).djvu/71

, though it seems to be rapidly decreasing, for in 1593, the Governor of Mosambique, George Menzes, collected for himself and the Viceroy of India 100,000 crusades, and I do not believe that one-third of this amount is now, altogether annually produced. The country around Manica is extremely fertile, and yields abundance of provisions and cattle. It is very mountainous, and supposed to lie at a great elevation above the sea, the weather at times being unusually cold for the latitude in which it is situated. Frequent storms of thunder and lightning occur, which are attributed by the Portuguese, to the immense quantities of metallic substances with which the country abounds. The trade is here carried on by barter, and the goods most valued are Surat cloths, beads, coarse silks, and iron; and the returns, besides gold, consist of ivory, ghee, and a small quantity of copper. From Senà it is about sixty leagues further up the river to Tête, but the navigation is much more dangerous and tedious, than that from Quilimanci to Senà. About half way up is situated the pass of Lupata, formed by two impending mountains of black rock, which seem to threaten instant destruction to the passenger, the river in this spot being so narrow that a child may throw a stone from one side to the other. In the mid-stream a large rock just rises above the water, called Capucho, on which many boats are lost, owing to the rapidity of the current. The northern bank and country from Senà to Tête, remains to the natives; while the Portuguese assume the jurisdiction of the southern country, though they confess that a little to the eastward of Lupata lies a kingdom called Jambara, abounding in provisions, and yielding a great quantity of ivory, which is governed by a powerful sovereign who despises their authority. Beyond, towards the west, extend the districts of Mussangani and Tipui, which are, in like manner, equally independent. Close to Tipui are situated the village and fort of Tête, where a dépot is kept for merchandize, and this is considered by the traders as the best regulated settlement on the river. Here the Governor of Senà