A Cruel Murder. 223 



Achewa police were out raiding, when they heard the cries 

 of a child in some reeds, and they called out, when Chibisa 

 who was herding some goats, and had taken his young 

 brother with him, came out of the reeds holding the child. 

 The murderous Achewa then told Chibisi, who was only a 

 youth about fifteen years of age, that they intended to kill 

 him, so he asked permission to place the child to one side 

 in a safe place. He then walked back, and the scoundrels 

 shot and killed him. This murder greatly impressed the 

 Angoni and they still talk of Chibisa, who was said to be a 

 good-looking, kind-hearted youth. Singo they considered a 

 grand fellow and he seems to have been the beau-ideal of a 

 Zulu warrior, for he was tall and good-looking and in their 

 various fighting and raids he was always the " bravest of 

 the brave." 



Some tribes, including the Angoni, have a peculiar idea 

 with regard to having a case heard by their chief. If the 

 chief refuses to listen, considering that the case is small 

 and petty, the man will go out and kill an innocent person, 

 whereby attention is drawn to the -previous case. An 

 occurrence lately took place in this country when a man, 

 who was refused a hearing in the first instance by his 

 native headman, took a spear and went out and killed a 

 young woman he met in her maize garden. The European 

 magistrate heard of it and he was caught, tried, and hanged. 

 So much for native reasoning ! 



Natives often make friends with another person, forming 

 a kind of blood brothership, or blood sistership, and then 

 they are always presenting each other with presents, which 

 it is considered courtesy to return. 



Natives can be very kind-hearted and generous at times, 

 especially to those of the same tribe and family, and if a 

 person is sick, a man will take quite a lot of trouble in 

 getting the sufferer medicine from the bush ; or if he 

 expresses a wish for meat it will be got. 



There are many quaint ideas with reference to planting 

 the crops ; for instance, they do not plant ground-nuts 

 without scattering some reddish looking powder made from 



