LIVINGSTONE'S JOURNEY ACROSS AFRICA ^x'j 



"The hands of the parlies are joined; small incisions are made on 

 the clasped hands, on the pits of the stomach of each, and on the ri<;ht 

 cheeks and foreheads. A small quantity of blood is taken off from 

 these points in both parties by means of a stalk of g-rass. The blood 

 from one person is put into one pot of native beer, and that of the 

 second into another; each then drinks the other's blood, and they are 

 supposed to become perpetual friends or relations. During the drink- 

 iing of the beer, some of the party continue beating the ground with 

 Uiort clubs, and utter sentences by way of ratifying the treaty. The 

 men belonging to each then finish the beer. The principals in the 

 performance of 'kasendi' are henceforth considered blood-relations, 

 and are bound to disclose to each other any impending evil." The 

 new-made brothers clench the compact by presenting to each other the 

 most valuable things they have about them. 



Malarious fever and native hostility were not the only dangers 

 that Livingstone had to face. The wild animals which abound in the 

 Zambesi basin often proved formidable obstacles in the path. Liv- 

 ingstone, however, never feared the lion much, and in his writings 

 he did his best to dethrone that "lord of the desert" from his place in 

 public estimation. Both the elephant and buffalo he considered more 

 dangerous to the unoffending traveler, and on one occasion in this jour- 

 ney he narrowly escaped from death through the malicious attack of a 

 bufifalo. 



In September, 1855, the party marched into Sesheke, a Makololo 

 town on the Zambesi, and Livingstone found some goods and letters, 

 which had been lying there for twelve months, awaiting his return. 

 Not only had nothing been taken, but a hut had been built over them 

 for protection from the weather. Similarly, on reaching Linyanti he 

 found everything just as he had left it. This was a striking example 

 of honesty, for the Makololo were feared through a wide region for 

 their marauding spirit and fondness for raiding among their neigh- 

 bors' cattle. 



The return of the travelers was a time of great rejoicing. All 

 the wonderful things which the Makololo had seen and met with were 

 rehearsed a hundred times to an audience whose appreciation never 

 waned, and whose appetite seemed only whetted by the tales of the 

 marvelous adventures their kinsmen had gone through. The pres- 



