If They See Either
One Of Their Own Herd Or Any Other Animal Taking To Flight,
Wild Animals Invariably Flee.
The most timid thus naturally leads the rest.
It is not any other peculiarity, but simply this provision,
which
Is given them for the preservation of the race.
The great increase of wariness which is seen to occur when the females
bring forth their young, causes all the leaders to be at that time females;
and there is a probability that the separation of sexes into distinct herds,
which is annually observed in many antelopes, arises from the simple fact
that the greater caution of the she antelopes is partaken of
only by the young males, and their more frequent flights now have
the effect of leaving the old males behind. I am inclined to believe this,
because, though the antelopes, as the pallahs, etc., are frequently
in separate herds, they are never seen in the act of expelling the males.
There may be some other reason in the case of the elephants;
but the male and female elephants are never seen in one herd.
The young males remain with their dams only until they are full grown;
and so constantly is the separation maintained, that any one
familiar with them, on seeing a picture with the sexes mixed,
would immediately conclude that the artist had made it from his imagination,
and not from sight.
DECEMBER 2, 1855. We remained near a small hill, called Maundo, where we
began to be frequently invited by the honey-guide (`Cuculus indicator').
Wishing to ascertain the truth of the native assertion
that this bird is a deceiver, and by its call sometimes leads
to a wild beast and not to honey, I inquired if any of my men
had ever been led by this friendly little bird to any thing else
than what its name implies. Only one of the 114 could say
he had been led to an elephant instead of a hive, like myself
with the black rhinoceros mentioned before. I am quite convinced
that the majority of people who commit themselves to its guidance
are led to honey, and to it alone.
On the 3d we crossed the River Mozuma, or River of Dila,
having traveled through a beautifully undulating pastoral country.
To the south, and a little east of this, stands the hill Taba Cheu,
or "White Mountain", from a mass of white rock, probably dolomite,
on its top. But none of the hills are of any great altitude.
When I heard this mountain described at Linyanti I thought
the glistening substance might be snow, and my informants were so loud
in their assertions of its exceeding great altitude that I was startled
with the idea; but I had quite forgotten that I was speaking with men
who had been accustomed to plains, and knew nothing of very high mountains.
When I inquired what the white substance was, they at once replied
it was a kind of rock. I expected to have come nearer to it,
and would have ascended it; but we were led to go to the northeast.
Yet I doubt not that the native testimony of its being stone is true.
The distant ranges of hills which line the banks of the Zambesi
on the southeast, and landscapes which permit the eye to range
over twenty or thirty miles at a time, with short grass under our feet,
were especially refreshing sights to those who had traveled
for months together over the confined views of the flat forest,
and among the tangled rank herbage of the great valley.
The Mozuma, or River of Dila, was the first water-course which indicated
that we were now on the slopes toward the eastern coast.
It contained no flowing water, but revealed in its banks
what gave me great pleasure at the time - pieces of lignite,
possibly indicating the existence of a mineral, namely, coal,
the want of which in the central country I had always deplored.
Again and again we came to the ruins of large towns,
containing the only hieroglyphics of this country, worn mill-stones,
with the round ball of quartz with which the grinding was effected.
Great numbers of these balls were lying about, showing that the depopulation
had been the result of war; for, had the people removed in peace,
they would have taken the balls with them.
At the River of Dila we saw the spot where Sebituane lived,
and Sekwebu pointed out the heaps of bones of cattle which the Makololo
had been obliged to slaughter after performing a march with great herds
captured from the Batoka through a patch of the fatal tsetse.
When Sebituane saw the symptoms of the poison, he gave orders to his people
to eat the cattle. He still had vast numbers; and when the Matebele,
crossing the Zambesi opposite this part, came to attack him,
he invited the Batoka to take repossession of their herds,
he having so many as to be unable to guide them in their flight. The country
was at that time exceedingly rich in cattle, and, besides pasturage,
it is all well adapted for the cultivation of native produce.
Being on the eastern slope of the ridge, it receives more rain
than any part of the westward. Sekwebu had been instructed
to point out to me the advantages of this position for a settlement,
as that which all the Makololo had never ceased to regret. It needed
no eulogy from Sekwebu; I admired it myself, and the enjoyment of good health
in fine open scenery had an exhilarating effect on my spirits. The great want
was population, the Batoka having all taken refuge in the hills.
We were now in the vicinity of those whom the Makololo deem rebels,
and felt some anxiety as to how we should be received.
On the 4th we reached their first village. Remaining at a distance
of a quarter of a mile, we sent two men to inform them who we were,
and that our purposes were peaceful.
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