We Had Now Come Among People Who Had Plenty, And Were Really Very Liberal.
My Men Never Returned From A Village Without Some Corn Or Maize
In Their Hands.
The real politeness with which food is given
by nearly all the interior tribes, who have not had much intercourse
with Europeans, makes it a pleasure to accept.
Again and again
I have heard an apology made for the smallness of the present,
or regret expressed that they had not received notice of my approach
in time to grind more, and generally they readily accepted our excuse
at having nothing to give in return by saying that they were quite aware that
there are no white men's goods in the interior. When I had it in my power,
I always gave something really useful. To Katema, Shinte, and others,
I gave presents which cost me about 2 Pounds each, and I could return to them
at any time without having a character for stinginess. How some men
can offer three buttons, or some other equally contemptible gift,
while they have abundance in their possession, is to me unaccountable.
They surely do not know, when they write it in their books,
that they are declaring they have compromised the honor of Englishmen.
The people receive the offering with a degree of shame, and ladies may be seen
to hand it quickly to the attendants, and, when they retire,
laugh until the tears stand in their eyes, saying to those about them,
"Is that a white man?
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