12th and 13th May, 1867.—­News that the Arabs had been fighting with Nsama came, but this made us rather anxious to get northward along Liemba, and we made for Mokambola’s village near the edge of the precipice which overhangs the Lake.  Many Shuare Raphia palms grow in the river which flows past it.

As we began our descent we saw the Lofu coming from the west and entering Liemba.  A projection of Liemba comes to meet it, and then it is said to go away to the north or north-west as far as my informants knew.  Some pointed due north, others north-west, so probably its true course amounts to N.N.W.  We came to a village about 2’ W. of the confluence, whose headman was affable and generous.  The village has a meadow some four miles wide on the land side, in which buffaloes disport themselves, but they are very wild, and hide in the gigantic grasses.  Sorghum, ground-nuts, and voandzeia grow luxuriantly.  The Lofu is a quarter of a mile wide, but higher up three hundred yards.  The valley was always clouded over at night so I could not get an observation except early in the morning when the cold had dissipated the clouds.

We remained here because two were lame, and all tired by the descent of upwards of 2000 feet, and the headman sent for fish for us.  He dissuaded us strongly from attempting to go down the Liemba, as the son of Nsania (Kapoma) was killing all who came that way in revenge for what the Arabs had done to his father’s people, and he might take us for Arabs.  A Suaheli Arab came in the evening and partly confirmed the statements of the headman of Karambo; I resolved therefore to go back to Chitimba’s in the south, where the chief portion of the Arabs are assembled, and hear from them more certainly.

The last we heard of Liemba was that at a great way north-west, it is dammed up by rocks, and where it surmounts these there is a great waterfall.  It does not, it is said, diminish in size so far, but by bearings protracted it is two miles wide.

18th May, 1867.—­Return to Mokambola’s village, and leave for Chitimba’s.  Baraka stopped behind at the village, and James ran away to him, leaving his bundle, containing three chronometers, in the path:  I sent back for them, and James came up in the evening; he had no complaint, and no excuse to make.  The two think it will be easy to return to their own country by begging, though they could not point it out to me when we were much nearer to where it is supposed to be.

19th May, 1867.—­Where we were brought to a standstill was miserably cold (55 deg.), so we had prayers and went on S. and S.W. to the village of Chisaka.