They Were Called "Bones";
And I Myself Saw Eight Instances In Which The Tusks Had Been Left
To Rot With The Other Bones Where The Elephant Fell.
The Batauana never had
a chance of a market before; but, in less than two years after our discovery,
not a man of them could be found who was not keenly alive
to the great value of the article.
On the day after our arrival at the lake, I applied to Lechulatebe
for guides to Sebituane. As he was much afraid of that chief, he objected,
fearing lest other white men should go thither also, and give Sebituane guns;
whereas, if the traders came to him alone, the possession of fire-arms
would give him such a superiority that Sebituane would be afraid of him.
It was in vain to explain that I would inculcate peace between them -
that Sebituane had been a father to him and Sechele, and was
as anxious to see me as he, Lechulatebe, had been. He offered to give me
as much ivory as I needed without going to that chief;
but when I refused to take any, he unwillingly consented to give me guides.
Next day, however, when Oswell and I were prepared to start,
with the horses only, we received a senseless refusal; and like Sekomi,
who had thrown obstacles in our way, he sent men to the Bayeiye with orders
to refuse us a passage across the river. Trying hard to form a raft
at a narrow part, I worked many hours in the water; but the dry wood
was so worm-eaten it would not bear the weight of a single person.
I was not then aware of the number of alligators which exist in the Zouga,
and never think of my labor in the water without feeling thankful
that I escaped their jaws. The season was now far advanced;
and as Mr. Oswell, with his wonted generous feelings, volunteered,
on the spot, to go down to the Cape and bring up a boat,
we resolved to make our way south again.
Coming down the Zouga, we had now time to look at its banks.
These are very beautiful, resembling closely many parts of the River Clyde
above Glasgow. The formation is soft calcareous tufa,
such as forms the bottom of all this basin. The banks are perpendicular
on the side to which the water swings, and sloping and grassy on the other.
The slopes are selected for the pitfalls designed by the Bayeiye
to entrap the animals as they come to drink. These are about
seven or eight feet deep, three or four feet wide at the mouth,
and gradually decrease till they are only about a foot wide at the bottom.
The mouth is an oblong square (the only square thing made by the Bechuanas,
for every thing else is round), and the long diameter at the surface
is about equal to the depth. The decreasing width toward the bottom
is intended to make the animal wedge himself more firmly in
by his weight and struggles.
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