Page:Seven Years in South Africa v2.djvu/149

 the hills above the Victoria Falls has very much the same character. Except in places where the rocky spurs abut directly on to the stream, the shores of both rivers are sandy, corresponding with those of the Zooga and most of the feeders of the highland basin of central South Africa; the rocks which I have described above the confluence of the stream, being chiefly the declivities of a sandy plateau. Down the Chobe, and throughout the district in that direction, we found the vegetation luxuriant and quite tropical in its character, but upstream, so far as I went, this feature seemed to be less marked. Upon entering the valley a stranger can hardly fail to be struck by the number of strange trees and bushes, nearly all of them producing fruit that may either be eaten or used for some domestic purpose. A notable exception to the general rule is afforded by the moshungulu, a tree of which the fruit, about two feet long and several inches thick, something like a sausage, is poisonous. The difference between the vegetation of the Zambesi valley with its adjacent plateau, and that of the more southern districts, is manifest from the single circumstance, that throughout the entire course of the river the natives can subsist all the year round on the produce of their own trees, as each month brings fruits or its edible seeds to maturity. Animal life is everywhere abundant; birds, fishes, snakes, insects, and especially butterflies, being too numerous to be reckoned. The human race itself may be said to be in a higher state of development.

Nearly opposite Impalera was a little creek overhung bya fine moshungulu. Understanding that this was the usual landing-place for natives coming across