We Were Told That He Has Good Reason To Believe That Matiamvo
Will Some Day Cut Off His Head For His Disregard Of The Rights Of Strangers.
Kawawa was not to be balked of his supposed rights by the unceremonious way
in which we had left
Him; for, when we had reached the ford of the Kasai,
about ten miles distant, we found that he had sent four of his men,
with orders to the ferrymen to refuse us passage. We were here
duly informed that we must deliver up all the articles mentioned,
and one of our men besides. This demand for one of our number
always nettled every heart. The canoes were taken away before our eyes,
and we were supposed to be quite helpless without them, at a river
a good hundred yards broad, and very deep. Pitsane stood on the bank,
gazing with apparent indifference on the stream, and made
an accurate observation of where the canoes were hidden among the reeds.
The ferrymen casually asked one of my Batoka if they had rivers
in his country, and he answered with truth, "No, we have none."
Kawawa's people then felt sure we could not cross. I thought of swimming
when they were gone; but after it was dark, by the unasked loan
of one of the hidden canoes, we soon were snug in our bivouac
on the southern bank of the Kasai. I left some beads as payment for some meal
which had been presented by the ferrymen; and, the canoe having been left
on their own side of the river, Pitsane and his companions
laughed uproariously at the disgust our enemies would feel,
and their perplexity as to who had been our paddler across.
They were quite sure that Kawawa would imagine that we had been ferried over
by his own people, and would be divining to find out who had done the deed.
When ready to depart in the morning, Kawawa's people appeared
on the opposite heights, and could scarcely believe their eyes
when they saw us prepared to start away to the south. At last one of them
called out, "Ah! ye are bad," to which Pitsane and his companions retorted,
"Ah! ye are good, and we thank you for the loan of your canoe."
We were careful to explain the whole of the circumstances to Katema
and the other chiefs, and they all agreed that we were perfectly justifiable
under the circumstances, and that Matiamvo would approve our conduct.
When any thing that might bear an unfavorable construction
happens among themselves, they send explanations to each other.
The mere fact of doing so prevents them from losing their character,
for there is public opinion even among them.
Chapter 24.
Level Plains - Vultures and other Birds - Diversity of Color in Flowers
of the same Species - The Sundew - Twenty-seventh Attack of Fever -
A River which flows in opposite Directions - Lake Dilolo the Watershed
between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans - Position of Rocks -
Sir Roderick Murchison's Explanation - Characteristics of the Rainy Season
in connection with the Floods of the Zambesi and the Nile -
Probable Reason of Difference in Amount of Rain South and North
of the Equator - Arab Reports of Region east of Londa -
Probable Watershed of the Zambesi and the Nile - Lake Dilolo -
Reach Katema's Town:
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