Chap. XIX. OUT OF DANGER OF PURSUIT. 377 



should have the stream between us and the people of 

 Magonga, whom we had left in rather a bad humour. 

 The villagers came to us, and we bought a few plan- 

 tains and some provisions with the few beads that 

 I had remaining. About two hours afterwards, as 

 we were eating our dinner by the roadside on the 

 path to Mokenga, Magouga made his appearance, 

 making the excuse that he was obliged to pretend to 

 be vexed with me, otherwise the villagers would 

 have laid on him the blame of my not staying in 

 their town ; in future I was not to mind what he said 

 when we were in a village ; " Recollect," he said, 

 " you go out of the country, but I remain in it, and 

 must take care to keep friends with the people." 

 This little anecdote shows how full of deceit and 

 diplomacy these primitive Africans are, and how 

 difficult it is to know when they are speaking the 

 truth. 



Since wo had crossed the Odiganga we have been 

 amongst the Ishogo tribe, and I felt for the first time 

 that we were safe from fighting ; we had quitted the 

 territory of the tribe with whom we had had so deadly 

 an encounter, and had placed a broad and rapid river 

 with high banks between them and ourselves. The 

 villagers on the western side of the Odiganga brought 

 us a great number of articles for sale, denguis, fowls, 

 bongos, fruit, and nuts, and wished us to stay ; but 

 we had resolved not to make any lengthened stay 

 anywhere. We passed several Ishogo villages in 

 succession, and in the evening arrived at a small 

 plantation not far from Ayamba, or Diamba. We 

 slept at the plantation, and on the following morn- 



