256  DISCOVERY  OF  LAKE  NYASSA.
Soon  it  is  time  to  descend  into  the  valley,  where
the  Shire'  is  found  again  flowing  deep  and  slow,  as
below  the  falls,  and  opening  up  into  a  marshy  lake-
let, Pamalombe,  with  a  strong  family  resemblance
to  the  swamps  of  the  lower  river.  It  ought  to
be  recorded,  in  justice  to  African  honesty,  that  when
the  I  lab  J,  the  first  steamer  that  floated  on  the  Nyassa,
was  conveyed  in  pieces  from  the  Lower  to  the
Upper  Shire*  by  a  band  of  some  hundreds  of  porters,
under  Captain  Young's  leadership,  it  was  found,
on  putting  the  little  craft  together,  that  not  a
single  bolt  or  screw  had  been  mislaid  or  stolen,
though  the  temptation  to  fling  away  or  decamp
with  their  burdens  must  have  sorely  tried  the
carriers.
Even  when  almost  within  sight  of  the  Nyassa,
Livingstone  could  hear  nothing  of  the  goal  of  which
he  was  in  search.  The  chief  of  the  "  Great  Lake"
village  on  the  Shire'  told  him  that  the  river  stretched
on  for  "  two  months'  journey,"  and  then  emerged
from  two  rocks  that  towered  perpendicularly  to  the
skies.  "  We  shall  go  and  see  these  wonderful  rocks,''
said  the  doctor.  "And  when  you  see  them,"  objected
his  Makololo  companions,  "you  will  just  want  to  see
something  else."  Next  day  they  continued  their
march,  and  before  noon  on  the  lGth  of  September
L859  came  in  sight  of  the  lake.
