Around The Reeds, Which In Some Parts Line The Banks,
We See Fresh-Water Sponges.
They usually encircle the stalk,
and are hard and brittle, presenting numbers of small round grains
near their circumference.
The river was running at the rate of five miles an hour,
and carried bunches of reed and decaying vegetable matter on its surface;
yet the water was not discolored. It had, however, a slightly
yellowish-green tinge, somewhat deeper than its natural color.
This arose from the quantity of sand carried by the rising flood
from sand-banks, which are annually shifted from one spot to another,
and from the pieces falling in as the banks are worn; for when the water
is allowed to stand in a glass, a few seconds suffice for its deposit
at the bottom. This is considered an unhealthy period. When waiting,
on one occasion, for the other canoes to come up, I felt no inclination
to leave the one I was in; but my head boatman, Mashauana,
told me never to remain on board while so much vegetable matter
was floating down the stream.
17TH DECEMBER. At Libonta. We were detained for days together collecting
contributions of fat and butter, according to the orders of Sekeletu,
as presents to the Balonda chiefs. Much fever prevailed,
and ophthalmia was rife, as is generally the case before the rains begin.
Some of my own men required my assistance, as well as the people of Libonta.
A lion had done a good deal of mischief here, and when the people
went to attack it two men were badly wounded; one of them had his thigh-bone
quite broken, showing the prodigious power of this animal's jaws.
The inflammation produced by the teeth-wounds proved fatal to one of them.
Here we demanded the remainder of the captives, and got our number
increased to nineteen. They consisted of women and children,
and one young man of twenty. One of the boys was smuggled away in the crowd
as we embarked. The Makololo under-chiefs often act in direct opposition
to the will of the head chief, trusting to circumstances and brazenfacedness
to screen themselves from his open displeasure; and as he does not always
find it convenient to notice faults, they often go to considerable lengths
in wrong-doing.
Libonta is the last town of the Makololo; so, when we parted from it,
we had only a few cattle-stations and outlying hamlets in front,
and then an uninhabited border country till we came to Londa or Lunda.
Libonta is situated on a mound like the rest of the villages
in the Barotse valley, but here the tree-covered sides of the valley
begin to approach nearer the river. The village itself
belongs to two of the chief wives of Sebituane, who furnished us
with an ox and abundance of other food. The same kindness was manifested
by all who could afford to give any thing; and as I glance over
their deeds of generosity recorded in my journal, my heart glows
with gratitude to them, and I hope and pray that God may spare me
to make them some return.
Before leaving the villages entirely, we may glance at our way of spending
the nights. As soon as we land, some of the men cut a little grass
for my bed, while Mashauana plants the poles of the little tent.
These are used by day for carrying burdens, for the Barotse fashion
is exactly like that of the natives of India, only the burden is fastened
near the ends of the pole, and not suspended by long cords. The bed is made,
and boxes ranged on each side of it, and then the tent pitched over all.
Four or five feet in front of my tent is placed the principal or kotla fire,
the wood for which must be collected by the man who occupies
the post of herald, and takes as his perquisite the heads
of all the oxen slaughtered, and of all the game too. Each person knows
the station he is to occupy, in reference to the post of honor at the fire
in front of the door of the tent. The two Makololo occupy my right and left,
both in eating and sleeping, as long as the journey lasts. But Mashauana,
my head boatman, makes his bed at the door of the tent as soon as I retire.
The rest, divided into small companies according to their tribes,
make sheds all round the fire, leaving a horseshoe-shaped space in front
sufficient for the cattle to stand in. The fire gives confidence to the oxen,
so the men are always careful to keep them in sight of it. The sheds
are formed by planting two stout forked poles in an inclined direction,
and placing another over these in a horizontal position. A number of branches
are then stuck in the ground in the direction to which the poles are inclined,
the twigs drawn down to the horizontal pole and tied with strips of bark.
Long grass is then laid over the branches in sufficient quantity
to draw off the rain, and we have sheds open to the fire in front,
but secure from beasts behind. In less than an hour
we were usually all under cover. We never lacked abundance of grass
during the whole journey. It is a picturesque sight at night,
when the clear bright moon of these climates glances on
the sleeping forms around, to look out upon the attitudes of profound repose
both men and beasts assume. There being no danger from wild animals
in such a night, the fires are allowed almost to go out; and as there is
no fear of hungry dogs coming over sleepers and devouring the food,
or quietly eating up the poor fellows' blankets, which at best
were but greasy skins, which sometimes happened in the villages,
the picture was one of perfect peace.
The cooking is usually done in the natives' own style, and,
as they carefully wash the dishes, pots, and the hands before handling food,
it is by no means despicable.
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