Had We Moved Down The River At Once,
It Would Have Been Considered An Indication Of Fear Or Defiance,
And So Would A Retreat.
I therefore resolved to wait,
trusting in Him who has the hearts of all men in His hands.
They
Evidently intended to attack us, for no friendly message was sent;
and when three of the Batoka the night before entered the village to beg food,
a man went round about each of them, making a noise like a lion.
The villagers then called upon them to do homage, and, when they complied,
the chief ordered some chaff to be given them, as if it had been food.
Other things also showed unmistakable hostility. As we were now
pretty certain of a skirmish, I ordered an ox to be slaughtered,
as this is a means which Sebituane employed for inspiring courage.
I have no doubt that we should have been victorious; indeed, my men,
who were far better acquainted with fighting than any of the people
on the Zambesi, were rejoicing in the prospect of securing captives
to carry the tusks for them. "We shall now," said they,
"get both corn and clothes in plenty." They were in a sad state,
poor fellows; for the rains we had encountered had made their skin-clothing
drop off piecemeal, and they were looked upon with disgust
by the well-fed and well-clothed Zambesians. They were, however,
veterans in marauding, and the head men, instead of being depressed by fear,
as the people of Mpende intended should be the case in using their charms,
hinted broadly to me that I ought to allow them to keep Mpende's wives.
The roasting of meat went on fast and furious, and some of the young men
said to me, "You have seen us with elephants, but you don't know yet
what we can do with men." I believe that, had Mpende struck the first blow,
he would soon have found out that he never made a greater mistake in his life.
His whole tribe was assembled at about the distance of half a mile.
As the country is covered with trees, we did not see them;
but every now and then a few came about us as spies, and would answer
no questions. I handed a leg of the ox to two of these, and desired them
to take it to Mpende. After waiting a considerable time in suspense,
two old men made their appearance, and said they had come to inquire
who I was. I replied, "I am a Lekoa" (an Englishman). They said,
"We don't know that tribe. We suppose you are a Mozunga, the tribe with which
we have been fighting." As I was not yet aware that the term Mozunga
was applied to a Portuguese, and thought they meant half-castes,
I showed them my hair and the skin of my bosom, and asked if the Bazunga
had hair and skin like mine. As the Portuguese have the custom
of cutting the hair close, and are also somewhat darker than we are,
they answered, "No; we never saw skin so white as that;" and added,
"Ah!
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