This consisted of thirty-one jars of
merissa, each of which was duly tasted by themselves as a proof of the
absence of poison.
Before they departed, I was assured, not only of their regret that any
misunderstanding should have taken place, but that after their bean
crop, which would be in about two months, they would unite with Bedden
and carry all my baggage into the interior. They took leave and went off
in the direction of the dead elephants.
Here was a sudden change in the politics of the country! Peace had been
effected by the sacrifice of two elephants!
This peace was the result of greediness and envy. The natives had pined
for the flesh, and envied the Baris of Bedden who were carrying it away;
therefore they sued for peace.
At the same time, they had originally declined my offer of a large herd
of cattle that would have been worth a hundred elephants. Thus they had
courted war, in which they had lost some of their people, together with
much corn, all of which they might have sold for cows; and they now
desired peace, only to join in the scramble, like vultures, over the
flesh of two elephants.
African negroes are incomprehensible people, and they cannot be judged
by the ordinary rules of human nature.
