Skerms is the name given to the screens that are put up every night for protection against wild beasts. In districts infested by buffaloes, elephants, or lions, travellers erect one or more of them according to their numbers; they are semi-circular in form, and are made of stakes six feet long driven firmly into the ground, after which branches are twisted in amongst them; along the outer side a line of fires is lighted, and the servants are made to sit up in turn and keep them from going out. In our case we had four skerms, one enclosing a couple of huts for the married folks, another for the four bachelors, a third for the half-castes, whose dignity would not allow them to lie down with Zulus and Makalakas, who consequently required a fourth for themselves.
The spot upon which we had fixed for our encampment was almost in the centre of the real Zambesi valley, between the river and a sandy wooded elevation of the ground, the slope of a high plateau and mountain-system that runs more or less parallel to the stream from the mouth of the Chobe. Along the river-side was a thicket of saro-palms, and between these and the rising ground lay the valley proper, overgrown with long grass, bushes, and trees, amidst which majestic fan-palms and huge baobabs rose predominant.
In spite of the suffering which I continued to endure from the state of my feet, I look upon the three days which I spent in the vicinity of the falls as the most satisfying and enjoyable part of my sojourn in South Africa. To my mind the Victoria Falls of the Zambesi are one of the most imposing phenomena of the world. At many cataracts, particularly at Niagara, our wonder is excited by the stupendous volume of the plunging water; at others, by the altitude of the perpendicular rocks over which the torrent is precipitated; but here our amazement is aroused by the number of cascades and jets into which the down-rushing stream is divided, as well as by the narrowness of the deep ravine into which the raging waters are compressed. The width of the current below the falls is but a thirteenth part of what it is above.
After flowing from west to east, the Zambesi here makes a sudden bend to the south, so that the side on which we were stationed had become the western shore. As the river below does not cover the full breadth of the valley, it is quite practicable for a spectator to take his stand almost anywhere at no great distance below the level of the shore above, and so to view the cataract with his face turned to the north. Unfortunately the constant dash of the spray renders the soil too slippery to allow any one to approach the actual branch of the abyss into which the waters are hurled, but many an effective point of view is to be found within a few hundred yards of the cataract.
Let the reader then imagine himself to have taken his position upon a spot facing a rugged dark brown rocky wall about 200 yards away, rising 400 feet above its base, which is out of sight. Over the top of this are dashing the waters of the Zambesi. About 100 yards from the western bank he sees several islands adorned with tropical vegetation in rich abundance; further on towards the eastern shore and close to the edge of the abyss his eye will light upon nearly thirty bare brown crags that divide the rushing stream into as many different channels. To the left again, between the bright green islands and the western shore, he will observe that the great wall of rock is considerably lower, allowing a ponderous volume of water to rush impetuously as it were into a corner, whence it is precipitated in a broad sheet into the gulf below; beyond this and the next cascade he will see another portion of the surface of the rock, and as he carries his eye along he will be struck with admiration at the jutting peaks that stand out in vivid contrast to the angry foam that seethes between them. The countless jets and streams assume all colours and all forms; some are bright and gleaming, some dark and sombre; some are wide and some are narrow; but as they plunge impetuously into the depth below they make up a spectacle that cannot fail to excite a sensation of mingled astonishment and delight.
Of the jets of water some are so thin that they are dispersed before they reach the lower flood, and bound up again in vapour; others are from ten to fifteen feet in breadth; these dash down with tremendous fury, their edges curled up and broken into angry foam and spray; the largest streams, especially those that pour along from the eastern shore, are caught by the jagged peaks and torn asunder, ending their career by rolling over and over in cascades. In the diversity of the forms the water takes, I believe that the beauty of the Victoria Falls is quite unparalleled.
Nor does the magnificence of the view end with the prospect of the giant waterfall itself. Let us raise our eyes towards the blue horizon; another glorious spectacle awaits us. Stretching far away in the distance are the numerous islands with which the river-bed is studded, the gorgeous verdure of their fan-palms and saro-palms standing out in striking contrast to the subdued azure of the hills behind. All around them, furnishing a deep blue bordering, lies the expanse of the mighty stream that moves so placidly and silently that at first it might seem to be without movement at all; but gradually as it proceeds it acquires a sensible increase in velocity, till checked by the rocky ridge that impedes its flow, it gathers up its force to take its mighty plunge into the deep abyss. Especially beautiful are the islands immediately at the edge of the falls; they are overgrown with palms, aloes, and creepers, and surrounded on three sides by the surging water. As Livingstone had bestowed the name of “Victoria” on the falls in honour of his sovereign, I ventured to call the adjacent hill-district by that of “the Albert Country,” and to designate the various islands after the royal princes and princesses of England.
Not less striking is the effect when we turn towards the chasm or rocky trough that receives the rolling flood. The rock on which we stand is rich with varied vegetation; gigantic sycamores and mimosas on the verge of the declivity, taller than the loftiest poplars, afford a welcome shade, their wondrous crowns of foliage springing from the topmost section of the stem and spreading wide their grateful canopy. Creepers as thick as one’s arm, sometimes straight, sometimes spiral, clamber up to the elevated tree-tops, and make a playground where the apes can sport and exhibit their antics to the spectators concealed from them below. Palm-bushes and ferns contribute to the charm of the scene; the soil is an elastic carpet of moss, adorned at intervals with tiny flowers, or, where the naked rock reveals itself near the brink, interspersed with dark green algæ, singly or in clumps, some small as a pea, some of the size of an egg, lying loosely on its surface.
Vol. II.