A Small Stream Meanders
Down The Centre Of This Pleasant Green Glen; And On A Little Rill,
Which Flows Into It From The Western Side, Stands The Town Of Kabompo,
Or, As He Likes Best To Be Called, Shinte.
(Lat.
12d 37' 35" S.,
long. 22d 47' E.) When Manenko thought the sun was high enough
for us to make a lucky entrance, we found the town embowered
in banana and other tropical trees having great expansion of leaf;
the streets are straight, and present a complete contrast
to those of the Bechuanas, which are all very tortuous.
Here, too, we first saw native huts with square walls and round roofs.
The fences or walls of the courts which surround the huts
are wonderfully straight, and made of upright poles a few inches apart,
with strong grass or leafy bushes neatly woven between. In the courts
were small plantations of tobacco, and a little solanaceous plant
which the Balonda use as a relish; also sugar-cane and bananas.
Many of the poles have grown again, and trees of the `Ficus Indica' family
have been planted around, in order to give to the inhabitants
a grateful shade: they regard this tree with some sort of veneration
as a medicine or charm. Goats were browsing about, and,
when we made our appearance, a crowd of negroes, all fully armed,
ran toward us as if they would eat us up; some had guns,
but the manner in which they were held showed that the owners
were more accustomed to bows and arrows than to white men's weapons.
After surrounding and staring at us for an hour, they began to disperse.
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