We Had Such A General Sense Of Security, That Never,
Save When We Suspected Treachery, Did We Set A Watch At Night.
Our
native companions had, on this occasion, been carousing on beer, and
had removed to a distance of some
Thirty yards, that we might not
overhear their free and easy after-dinner remarks, and two of us had
a slight touch of fever; between three and four o'clock in the
morning some thieves came, while we slept ingloriously - rifles and
revolvers all ready, - and relieved us of most of our goods. The
boat's sail, under which we slept, was open all around, so the feat
was easy.
Awaking as honest men do, at the usual hour, the loss of one was
announced by "My bag is gone - with all my clothes; and my boots too!"
"And mine!" responded a second. "And mine also!" chimed in the
third, "with the bag of beads, and the rice!" "Is the cloth taken?"
was the eager inquiry, as that would have been equivalent to all our
money. It had been used for a pillow that night, and thus saved.
The rogues left on the beach, close to our beds, the Aneroid
Barometer and a pair of boots, thinking possibly that they might be
of use to us, or, at least, that they could be of none to them. They
shoved back some dried plants and fishes into one bag, but carried
off many other specimens we had collected; some of our notes also,
and nearly all our clothing.
We could not suspect the people of the village near which we lay. We
had probably been followed for days by the thieves watching for an
opportunity. And our suspicions fell on some persons who had come
from the East Coast; but having no evidence, and expecting to hear if
our goods were exposed for sale in the vicinity, we made no fuss
about it, and began to make new clothing. That our rifles and
revolvers were left untouched was greatly to our advantage: yet we
felt it was most humiliating for armed men to have been so thoroughly
fleeced by a few black rascals.
Some of the best fisheries appear to be private property. We found
shelter from a storm one morning in a spacious lagoon, which
communicated with the lake by a narrow passage. Across this strait
stakes were driven in, leaving only spaces for the basket fish-traps.
A score of men were busily engaged in taking out the fish. We tried
to purchase some, but they refused to sell. The fish did not belong
to them, they would send for the proprietor of the place. The
proprietor arrived in a short time, and readily sold what we wanted.
Some of the burying-grounds are very well arranged, and well cared
for; this was noticed at Chitanda, and more particularly at a village
on the southern shore of the fine harbour at Cape Maclear. Wide and
neat paths were made in the burying-ground on its eastern and
southern sides.
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