WARLIKE DEMONSTRATION. 107 



Sekeletu receives tribute from a great number of tribes 

 in corn or dura, groundnuts, hoes, spears, honey, canoes, 

 paddles, wooden vessels, tobacco, mutokuane, (Cannabis sa- 

 liva,) various wild fruits, (dried,) prepared skins, and ivory. 

 "When these articles are brought into the kotla, Sekeletu 

 has the honor of dividing them among the loungers who 

 usually congregate there. A small portion only is reserved 

 for himself. The ivory belongs nominally to him too, bnt 

 this is simply a way of making a fair distribution of the 

 profits. The chief sells it only with the approbation of his 

 counsellors, and the proceeds are distributed in open day 

 among the people as before. He has the choice of every 

 thing; but, if he is not more liberal to others than to him- 

 self, he loses in popularity. I have known instances in this 

 and other tribes in which individuals aggrieved, because 

 they had been overlooked, fled to other chiefs. One discon- 

 tented person, having fled to Lechulatebe, was encouraged 

 to go to a village of the Bapalleng, on the river Cho or Tso, 

 and abstracted the tribute of ivory thence which ought to 

 have come to Sekeletu. This theft enraged the whole of 

 the ALakololo, because they all felt it to be a personal loss 

 Some of Lechulatebe's people having come on a visit to 

 Linyanti, a demonstration was made, in which about five 

 hundred Makololo, armed, went through a mimic fight; the 

 pi*incipal warriors pointed their spears toward the lake 

 where Lechulatebe lives, and every thrust in that direction 

 was answered by all with the shout, " Hoo I" while every 

 stab on the ground drew out a simultaneous " Huzz I" On 

 these occasions all capable of bearing arms, even the old, 

 must turn out at the call. In the time of Sebituane, any 

 one remaining in his house was searched for and killed 

 without mercy. 



This offence of Lechulatebe was aggravated by repeti- 

 tion, and by a song sung in his town accompanying the 

 dances, which manifested joy at the death of Sebituane. 

 He had enjoined his people to live in peace with those at 

 the lake, and Sekeletu felt disposed to follow his advice ; 



