The Chest, Belly,
And Orbits Are Nearly White, The Front Of The Legs And Ankles Deep Brown.
From The Horns,
Along the nape to the withers, the male has
a small mane of the same yellowish color with the rest
Of the skin,
and the tail has a tuft of black hair. It is never found a mile from water;
islets in marshes and rivers are its favorite haunts, and it is quite unknown
except in the central humid basin of Africa. Having a good deal of curiosity,
it presents a noble appearance as it stands gazing, with head erect,
at the approaching stranger. When it resolves to decamp, it lowers its head,
and lays its horns down to a level with the withers; it then begins
with a waddling trot, which ends in its galloping and springing over bushes
like the pallahs. It invariably runs to the water, and crosses it
by a succession of bounds, each of which appears to be from the bottom.
We thought the flesh good at first, but soon got tired of it.
Great shoals of excellent fish come down annually with the access of waters.
The mullet (`Mugil Africanus') is the most abundant. They are caught in nets.
The `Glanis siluris', a large, broad-headed fish, without scales, and barbed
- called by the natives "mosala" - attains an enormous size and fatness.
They are caught so large that when a man carries one over his shoulder
the tail reaches the ground. It is a vegetable feeder,
and in many of its habits resembles the eel. Like most lophoid fishes,
it has the power of retaining a large quantity of water
in a part of its great head, so that it can leave the river,
and even be buried in the mud of dried-up pools, without being destroyed.
Another fish closely resembling this, and named `Clarias capensis'
by Dr. Smith, is widely diffused throughout the interior,
and often leaves the rivers for the sake of feeding in pools.
As these dry up, large numbers of them are entrapped by the people.
A water-snake, yellow-spotted and dark brown, is often seen swimming along
with its head above the water: it is quite harmless, and is relished as food
by the Bayeiye.
They mention ten kinds of fish in their river; and, in their songs of praise
to the Zouga, say, "The messenger sent in haste is always forced
to spend the night on the way by the abundance of food you place before him."
The Bayeiye live much on fish, which is quite an abomination
to the Bechuanas of the south; and they catch them in large numbers
by means of nets made of the fine, strong fibres of the hibiscus,
which grows abundantly in all moist places. Their float-ropes
are made of the ife, or, as it is now called, the `Sanseviere Angolensis',
a flag-looking plant, having a very strong fibre, that abounds
from Kolobeng to Angola; and the floats themselves are pieces of a water-plant
containing valves at each joint, which retain the air in cells
about an inch long. The mode of knotting the nets is identical with our own.
They also spear the fish with javelins having a light handle,
which readily floats on the surface. They show great dexterity
in harpooning the hippopotamus; and, the barbed blade of the spear
being attached to a rope made of the young leaves of the palmyra,
the animal can not rid himself of the canoe, attached to him in whale fashion,
except by smashing it, which he not unfrequently does
by his teeth or by a stroke of his hind foot.
On returning to the Bakurutse, we found that their canoes for fishing
were simply large bundles of reeds tied together. Such a canoe
would be a ready extemporaneous pontoon for crossing any river
that had reedy banks.
Chapter 4.
Leave Kolobeng again for the Country of Sebituane - Reach the Zouga -
The Tsetse - A Party of Englishmen - Death of Mr. Rider -
Obtain Guides - Children fall sick with Fever - Relinquish the Attempt
to reach Sebituane - Mr. Oswell's Elephant-hunting -
Return to Kolobeng - Make a third Start thence -
Reach Nchokotsa - Salt-pans - "Links", or Springs - Bushmen -
Our Guide Shobo - The Banajoa - An ugly Chief - The Tsetse -
Bite fatal to domestic Animals, but harmless to wild Animals and Man -
Operation of the Poison - Losses caused by it - The Makololo -
Our Meeting with Sebituane - Sketch of his Career -
His Courage and Conquests - Manoeuvres of the Batoka - He outwits them
- His Wars with the Matebele - Predictions of a native Prophet -
Successes of the Makololo - Renewed Attacks of the Matebele -
The Island of Loyelo - Defeat of the Matebele - Sebituane's Policy -
His Kindness to Strangers and to the Poor - His sudden Illness and Death -
Succeeded by his Daughter - Her Friendliness to us - Discovery,
in June, 1851, of the Zambesi flowing in the Centre of the Continent -
Its Size - The Mambari - The Slave-trade - Determine to send Family
to England - Return to the Cape in April, 1852 - Safe Transit through
the Caffre Country during Hostilities - Need of a "Special Correspondent"
- Kindness of the London Missionary Society - Assistance afforded
by the Astronomer Royal at the Cape.
Having returned to Kolobeng, I remained there till April, 1850,
and then left in company with Mrs. Livingstone, our three children,
and the chief Sechele - who had now bought a wagon of his own -
in order to go across the Zouga at its lower end, with the intention
of proceeding up the northern bank till we gained the Tamunak'le,
and of then ascending that river to visit Sebituane in the north.
Sekomi had given orders to fill up the wells which we had dug
with so much labor at Serotli, so we took the more eastern route
through the Bamangwato town and by Letloche. That chief asked
why I had avoided him in our former journeys. I replied that my reason
was that I knew he did not wish me to go to the lake, and I did not want
to quarrel with him.
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