"You Know That God Has Placed Chiefs Among Us
Whom We Ought To Support.
How is it that you, who have a book that tells you
about him, do not come forward at
Once to pay this chief tribute
like every one else?" I replied by asking, "How could I know
that this was a chief, who had allowed me to remain a day and a half near him
without giving me any thing to eat?" This, which to the uninitiated
may seem sophistry, was to the Central Africans quite a rational question,
for he at once admitted that food ought to have been sent,
and added that probably his chief was only making it ready for me,
and that it would come soon.
After being wearied by talking all day to different parties sent by Sansawe,
we were honored by a visit from himself: he is quite a young man,
and of rather a pleasing countenance. There can not have been
much intercourse between real Portuguese and these people even here,
so close to the Quango, for Sansawe asked me to show him my hair,
on the ground that, though he had heard of it, and some white men
had even passed through his country, he had never seen straight hair before.
This is quite possible, as most of the slave-traders are not Portuguese,
but half-castes. The difference between their wool and our hair
caused him to burst into a laugh, and the contrast between
the exposed and unexposed parts of my skin, when exhibited
in evidence of our all being made of one stock originally,
and the children of one Maker, seemed to strike him with wonder.
I then showed him my watch, and wished to win my way into his confidence
by conversation; but, when about to exhibit my pocket compass,
he desired me to desist, as he was afraid of my wonderful things.
I told him, if he knew my aims as the tribes in the interior did,
and as I hoped he would yet know them and me, he would be glad to stay,
and see also the pictures of the magic lantern; but, as it was now
getting dark, he had evidently got enough of my witchery,
and began to use some charms to dispel any kindly feelings
he might have found stealing round his heart. He asked leave to go,
and when his party moved off a little way, he sent for my spokesman,
and told him that, "if we did not add a red jacket and a man
to our gift of a few copper rings and a few pounds of meat,
we must return by the way we had come." I said in reply "that we should
certainly go forward next day, and if he commenced hostilities,
the blame before God would be that of Sansawe;" and my man added
of his own accord, "How many white men have you killed in this path?"
which might be interpreted into, "You have never killed any white man,
and you will find ours more difficult to manage than you imagine."
It expressed a determination, which we had often repeated to each other,
to die rather than yield one of our party to be a slave.
Hunger has a powerful effect on the temper. When we had got
a good meal of meat, we could all bear the petty annoyances of these borderers
on the more civilized region in front with equanimity; but having suffered
considerably of late, we were all rather soured in our feelings,
and not unfrequently I overheard my companions remark in their own tongue,
in answer to threats of attack, "That's what we want: only begin then;"
or with clenched teeth they would exclaim to each other,
"These things have never traveled, and do not know what men are."
The worrying, of which I give only a slight sketch, had considerable influence
on my own mind, and more especially as it was impossible to make any allowance
for the Bashinje, such as I was willing to award to the Chiboque.
They saw that we had nothing to give, nor would they be benefited in the least
by enforcing the impudent order to return whence we had come.
They were adding insult to injury, and this put us all into a fighting spirit,
and, as nearly as we could judge, we expected to be obliged
to cut our way through the Bashinje next morning.
3D APRIL. As soon as day dawned we were astir, and, setting off
in a drizzling rain, passed close to the village. This rain probably damped
the ardor of the robbers. We, however, expected to be fired upon
from every clump of trees, or from some of the rocky hillocks
among which we were passing; and it was only after two hours' march
that we began to breathe freely, and my men remarked, in thankfulness,
"We are children of Jesus." We continued our course,
notwithstanding the rain, across the bottom of the Quango Valley,
which we found broken by clay shale rocks jutting out,
though lying nearly horizontally. The grass in all the hollows,
at this time quite green, was about two feet higher than my head
while sitting on ox-back. This grass, wetted by the rain,
acted as a shower-bath on one side of our bodies; and some deep gullies,
full of DISCOLORED water, completed the cooling process.
We passed many villages during this drenching, one of which
possessed a flock of sheep; and after six hours we came to a stand
near the River Quango (lat. 9d 53' S., long. 18d 37' E.),
which may be called the boundary of the Portuguese claims to territory
on the west. As I had now no change of clothing, I was glad to cower
under the shelter of my blanket, thankful to God for his goodness
in bringing us so far without losing one of the party.
4TH APRIL. We were now on the banks of the Quango,
a river one hundred and fifty yards wide, and very deep.
The water was discolored - a circumstance which we had observed
in no river in Londa or in the Makololo country.
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