Their enmity is inveterate, and is confessed to have arisen from the shameful practices of the traders who have gone among them to purchase slaves. They fight chiefly with spears, darts, and poisoned arrows; but they also possess no inconsiderable number of musquets, which they procure in the northern districts from the Arabs, and very frequently, as the Governor assured me, from the Portuguese dealers themselves; who, in the eager pursuit of wealth, are thus content to barter their own security for the gold, slaves, and ivory, which they get in re turn. These obnoxious neighbours have latterly been quiet, but in their last incursion they advanced with such a force into the peninsula of Cabaçeiro, as actually to oblige the Portuguese to quit the field. In their progress they destroyed the plantations, burnt the slave-huts, and killed or carried off every person who fell into their hands. They penetrated even into the fort of Mesuril and threw down the image of St. John which was in the chapel, plundered the one adjoining the Governmenthouse, and converted the priest's dress, in which he celebrates mass, into a habit of ceremony for their chief. This occurred about three years ago, and most clearly evinces the very weak and precarious state of this settlement. The only force on an adequate scale which the Portuguese have to oppose these marauders, is derived from the alliance of certain tribes on the coast, who speak the same language as the Makooa, but who early fell under the jurisdiction of the Arabs. These were conquered by the Portuguese soon after the settlement of the colony, and were bound to render military service, besides the payment of a tribute in kind, which is now often commuted by the trifling present of a few limes. These tribes are ruled by chiefs, styled Sheiks, whose appointment depends on the Governor of Mosambique. Several of them are very powerful, and have extensive jurisdiction, but their support is not much to be relied upon, from their rarely acting in unison. The principal chiefs among these are the Sheiks of Quintangone, St. Cûl, and the Sovereign of Sereima. The latter was at this time a queen, and much attached to the Portuguese, being then on a visit at Mosambique: she commands a large district, and can bring fifteen hundred men into the field. The Sheik of Quintangone is still more powerful: his district lies north of Mosambique, and he is said to command four or five thousand men capable of bearing arms. His predecessor was for a long time at enmity with the Portuguese, and frequently committed great ravages in the peninsula of Cabaçeiro, which he entered by way of Saué Souâh. At length he fell into the hands of a Portuguese detachment, and was, by the order of the ruling governor, shot off from the mouth of a cannon, an example which was thought necessary to strike the neighbouring chieftains with awe. To the south of Mosambique lies the district of St. Cûl, which sup plies about three thousand fighting men. The Sheik of this district died about a month before I arrived at Mosambique, and a suc ressor had not been appointed, as the Governor did not feel himself sufficiently acquainted with the state of affairs to sanction the person who had assumed that situation without farther inquiry. Even the united force of these chiefs is scarcely adequate to resist the furious attacks of the Makooa. In addition to the bodily strength of the Makooa, may be added the deformity of their visage, which greatly augments the ferocity of their aspect. They are very fond of tattooing their skins, and they practise it so rudely, that they sometimes raise the marks an eighth of an inch above the surface. The fashion most in vogue is to make a stripe down the forehead along the nose to the chin, and another in a direct angle across from ear to ear, indented in a peculiar way, so as to give the face the appearance of its having been sewed together in four parts. They file their teeth to a point, in a manner that gives the whole set the appearance of a coarse saw, and this operation, to my surprise, does not injure either their whiteness or durability. They are like wise extremely fantastic in the mode of dressing their hair; some shave only one side of the head, others both sides, leaving a kind of crest extending from the top to the nape of the neck, while a few are content to wear simply a knot on the top of their foreheads. They bore the gristle of the nose, and suspend to it ornaments made of copper or of bone. The protrusion of their upper lip is more conspicuous than in any other race of men I have seen, and the women in particular consider it as so necessary a feature to beauty, VOL, LVII. that they take especial care to elongate it by introducing into the centre a small circular piece of ivory, wood, or iron, as an additional ornament. The form of the females approximates to that ofthe Hottentot women, the spine being curved and the hinder parts protruding; and indeed, to say the truth, it is scarcely possible to conceive a more disagreeable object to look at than a middle-aged woman belonging to a tribe of the Makooa. Wild as the Makooa are in their savage state, it is astonishing to observe how docile and serviceable they become as slaves, and when partially admitted to freedom, by being enrolled as soldiers, how quickly their improvement advances, and how thoroughly their fidelity may be relied on. Among other inquiries, I was anxious to learn whether they entertained any notion of a Deity; if they do, it must be an extremely obscure one, as they have no other word in their language to express the idea but "wherimb," which signifies also the sky. This remark is equally applicable to the Monjou, who in the same way apply the word "molungo," sky, to their imperfect apprehension of the Deity. The Makooa are fond of music and dancing, and are easily made happy with the sound of the tomtom, yet, like all savages, their unvaried tones and motions soon fatigue European attention. They have a favourite instrument called Ambira,' the notes of which are very simple yet harmonious, sounding to the ear, when skilfully managed, like the changes upon bells. It is formed by a number 2 MX money. With these were mixed people of the town in white turbans, some in large white or dark blue frocks, and others in sheepskin cloaks: Persians and Af ghauns, in brown woollen tunics, or flowing mantles, and caps of black sheep-skin or coloured silk; Khyberees, with the straw sandals, and the wild dress and air of their mountains; Hindoos, uniting the peculiar features and manner of their own nation, to the long beard, and the dress of the country; and Hazaurehs, not more remarkable for their conical caps of skin, with the wool ap pearing like a fringe round the edge, and for their broad faces and little eyes, than for their want of the beard which is the ornament of every other face in the city. Among these, might be discovered a few women, with long white veils that reached their feet, and some of the king's retinue in the grotesque caps and fantastic habits which mark the class to which each belongs. Sometimes a troop of armed horsemen passed, and their appearance was announced by the clatter of their horses hoofs on the pavement, and by the jingling of their bridles. Sometimes, when the king was going out, the streets were choaked with horse and foot, and dromedaries bearing swivels, and large waving red and green flags; and, at all times, loaded dromedaries, or heavy Bactarian camels, covered with shaggy hair, made their way slowly through the streets; and mules, fastened together in circles of eight or ten, were seen off the road, going round and round to cool them after their labour, while their keepers were indulging at an eating-house, or enjoying a smoke of a hired culleeaun in the street. Amidst all this throng, we generally passed without any notice, except a salaum alaikum from a passenger, accompanied by a bow, with the hands crossed in front, or an application from a beggar, who would call out for relief from the Feringee Khauns, admonish us that life was short, and the be nefit of charity immortal, or remind us that what was little to us was a great deal to them. It sometimes happened, that we were descried by a boy from a window; and his shout of Ooph Feringhee would bring all the women and children in the house to stare at us till we were out of sight. The roads in the country were seldom very full of people, though theywere sometimes enlivened by a group of horsemen going out to forage, and listening to a Pushtoo or Persian song, which was shouted by one of their companions. It was common in the country to meet a man of the lower order with a hawk on his fist, and a pointer at his heels; and we frequently saw fowlers catching quails among the wheat, after the harvest was far enough advanced. A net was fastened at one corner of the field, two men held each an end of a rope stretched across the opposite corner, and dragged it for ward, so as to shake all the wheat, and drive the quails before it into the net, which was dropped as soon as they entered. The numbers caught in this manner are almost incredible. Nothing could exceed the civility of the country people. We were often invited into gardens, and we were welcomed in every village by almost every man that saw us. They frequently entreated the gentlemen of the embassy to allow them the honour of being their hosts; and sometimes laid hold of their bridles, and did not permit them to pass till they had promised to breakfast with them on some future day, and even confirmed the promise by putting their hands between theirs. From the nature of the country, the charms of which were heightened by novelty, and by the expectations we formed of the sights and incidents which we should meet with among so wild and extraordinary a people, it may be supposed that these morning expeditions were pleasing and interesting. Our evening rides were not less delightful, when we went out among the gardens round the city, and admired the richness and repose of the landscape, contrasted with the gloomy magnificence of the surrounding mountains, which were often involved in clouds and tempests, while we enjoyed the quiet and sunshine of the plain. The gardens are usually embellished with buildings, among which the cupolas of Mahommedan tombs make a conspicuous figure. The chief objects of this nature are a lofty and spacious building, which ends in se veral high towers, and, at a distance, has an appearance of gran deur, which I believe it does not preserve on a nearer view: a garden house, which has once been splendid, erected by Ali Merdaun Khaun, a Persian nobleman, who has filled the country from Meshhed to Dehli with monuments of his taste and magnificence; and some considerable tombs and religious edifices, more remarkable from their effect in enlivening the prospect of the groves, with which they are surrounded, than for any merit of their own. THE MAKOOA NEGROES. (From Mr. Salt's Voyage to The Makooa, or Makooana, as they are often called, comprise a people consisting of a number of very powerful tribes lying behind Mosambique, which extend northward as far as Melinda, and southward to the mouth of the river Zambezi, while hordes of the same nation are to be found in á south-west direction, perhaps almost to the neighbourhood of the Kaffers bordering on the Cape of Good Hope. A late traveller in that settlement mentions them as a tribe of Kaffers, and says the name is derived from the Arabic language, signifying"workers in iron." In this he is surely mistaken, as the Makooa are negroes, which the Kaffers are not, and as there is no word in Arabic bearing such a signification. Still his notice of the name is satisfactory, as it tends to prove that such a people has been heard of by the Kaffers, which thus establishes the link of connection between the tribes of the Cape and the Mosambique. The Makooa are a strong athletic race of people, very formi dable, and constantly in the habit of making incursions into the small tract of territory which the Portuguese possess on the coast; Their enmity is inveterate, and is confessed to have arisen from the shameful practices of the traders who have gone among them to purchase slaves. They fight chiefly with spears, darts, and poisoned arrows; but they also possess no inconsiderable number of musquets, which they procure in the northern districts from the Arabs, and very frequently, as the Governor assured me, from the Portuguese dealers themselves; who, in the eager pursuit of wealth, are thus content to barter their own security for the gold, slaves, and ivory, which they get in re turn. These obnoxious neighbours have latterly been quiet, but in their last incursion they advanced with such a force into the peninsula of Cabaçeiro, as actually to oblige the Portuguese to quit the field. In their progress they destroyed the plantations, burnt the slave-huts, and killed or carried off every person who fell into their hands. They penetrated even into the fort of Mesuril and threw down the image of St. John which was in the chapel, plundered the one adjoining the Governmenthouse, and converted the priest's dress, in which he celebrates mass, into a habit of ceremony for their chief. This occurred about three years ago, and most clearly evinces the very weak and precarious state of this settlement. The only force on an adequate scale which the Portuguese have to oppose these marauders, is derived from the alliance of certain tribes on the coast, who speak the same language as the Makooa, but who early fell under the jurisdiction of the Arabs. These were conquered by the Portuguese soon after the settlement of the colony, and were bound to render military service, besides the payment of a tribute in kind, which is now often commuted by the trifling present of a few limes. These tribes are ruled by chiefs, styled Sheiks, whose appointment depends on the Governor of Mosambique. Several of them are very powerful, and have extensive jurisdiction, but their support is not much to be relied upon, from their rarely acting in unison. The principal chiefs among these are the Sheiks of Quintangone, St. Cûl, and the Sovereign of Sereima. The latter was at this time a queen, and much attached to the Portuguese, being then on a visit at Mosambique: she commands a large district, and can bring fifteen hundred men into the field. The Sheik of Quintangone is still more powerful: his district lies north of Mosambique, and he is said to command four or five thousand men capable of bearing arms. His predecessor was for a long time at enmity with the Portuguese, and frequently committed great ravages in the peninsula of Cabaçeiro, which he entered by way of Saué Souâh. At length he fell into the hands of a Portuguese detachment, and was, by the order of the ruling governor, shot off from the mouth of a cannon, an example which was thought necessary to strike the neighbouring chieftains with awe. To the south of Mosambique lies the district of St. Câl, which sup plies about three thousand fighting men. The Sheik of this district died about a month before I arrived at Mosambique, and a suc |