108 lechulatebe's provocations 



Dut Lechulatebe had now got possession of fire-arras, and 

 considered himself more than a match for the Makoloio. 

 His father had been dispossessed of many cattle by Sebi- 

 tuane; and, as forgiveness is not considered among the 

 virtues by the heathen, Lechulatebe thought he had a 

 right to recover what he could. As I had a good deal of 

 influence with the Makoloio, I persuaded them that, before 

 they could have peace, they must resolve to give the same 

 blessing to others, and they never could do that without 

 forgiving and forgetting ancient feuds. It is hard to make 

 them feel that shedding of human blood is a groat crime : 

 they must be conscious that it is wrong, but, having been 

 accustomed to bloodshed from infancy, they are remarkably 

 callous to the enormity of the crime of destroying human 

 life. 



I sent a message at the same time to Lechulatebe, advising 

 him to give up the course he had adopted, and especially 

 the song; because, though Sebituane was dead, the arms 

 with which he had fought were still alive and strong. 



Sekeletu, in order to follow up his father's instructions 

 and promote peace, sent ten cows to Lechulatebe to be ex- 

 changed for sheep ; these animals thrive w T ell in a bushy 

 country like that around the lake, but will scarcely live in 

 the flat prairies between the network of waters north of 

 the Chobe. The men who took the cows carried a number 

 of hoes to purchase goats besides. Lechulatebe took the 

 cows and sent back an equal number of sheep. Now, ac- 

 cording to the relative value of sheep and cows in these 

 parts, he ought to have sent sixty or seventy. 



One of the men who had h^es was trying to purchase in 

 a village without formal leave from Lechulatebe; this chief 

 punished him by making him sit some hours on the broiling 

 hot sand, (at least 130°.) This further offence put a stop to 

 amicable relations between the two tribes altogether. It 

 was a case in which a very small tribe, commanded by a 

 weak and foolish chief, had got possession of fire-arms, and 

 felt conscious of ability to cope with a numerous and war- 



