the foe, but, the instant he relaxed from the pursuit, or rested on his arms, they returned with redoubled vigour to the attack, and made him pay dearly for his ravages. This prudent system of defence, saved their country from being overwhelmed; and the Portuguese in repeated expeditions to get at the mines, which formed the main object of their pursuit, were invariably foiled.
The most daring of these attempts was undertaken at the immediate command of Sebastian the First, in 1570, by Francis Baretto, who for this express purpose was made Governor-General of Mosambique.[1] In the first instance he fitted out from Sofala a formidable armament, with the design of penetrating into the country of Chicanga, and getting possession of the mines of Manica, in order to reach which, it was necessary for him to pass through the dominions, and close to the capital, of the Quitéve,[2] or chief ruler of the intervening districts, whose power extended in a line across from Sofala, to the angle made by the turn of the river Zambezi.
This country is commonly called Monomotapa, in the accounts of which, a perplexing obscurity has been introduced, by different authors having confounded the names of the districts with the titles of the sovereigns, indiscriminately styling them 'Quitéve,' 'Monomotapa,' 'Benemotapa,' 'Benemotasha,' 'Chikanga,' 'Manika,'
- ↑ This account is chiefly taken from Marmol, and J. Dos Santos, but represented in a very different point of view; the last writer is the grossest adulator of the court, and dignifies every exploit of Baretto with most undeserved encomium.
- ↑ Vide a description of this sovereign, and the manners of his subjects, in the Histoire de l'Ethiopie, par Jean Dos Santos; à Paris, 1684, p. 38, and Purchas, Vol. II. p. 1537. In many respects they appear to resemble the Abyssinians. The king, as a mark of distinction, wears a singular kind of horn over the forehead. If a prince be in any way mutilated, he is considered as unfit for the crown. The inhabitants celebrate, after the death of their monarchs, a festival called 'pemberar,' very much resembling the 'toscar' of the Abyssinians, both of which end in riot and debauchery. They are very curious in the various modes of dressing their hair, like the Abyssinians. Their mode of hunting is similar. They are governed by head-men, holding a jurisdiction independent of the king: their mode of trial is summary; and when they purchase their wives, they carry them home upon their shoulders without stopping, as is always customary in Abyssinia, presents being made to the bridegroom on the occasion, by his companions.
