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.
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