136 PROGRESS UP THE LEEAMBYE. 



south, who put all their cocks to death because they 

 crowed the words, " Tlaug lo rapeleng," — " Come along to 

 prayers." 



On recovering partially from a severe attack of fever 

 which remained upon me ever since our passing the village 

 of Moremi on the Chobe, we made ready for our departure 

 up the river by sending messages before us to the villages 

 to prepare food. We took four elephants' tusks, belonging 

 to Sekeletu, with us, as a means of testing the difference of 

 prices between the Portuguese, whom we expected to reach, 

 and the white traders from the south. Moriantsane sup- 

 plied us well with honey, milk, and meal. The rains were 

 just commencing in this district; but, though showers 

 sufficient to lay the dust had fallen, they had no influence 

 whatever on the amount of water in the river, yet never 

 was there less in any part than three hundred yards of a 

 deep flowing stream. 



Our progress up the river was rather slow : this was 

 caused by waiting opposite different villages for supplies 

 of food. We might have done with much less than we got; 

 but my Makololo man, Pitsane, knew of the generous orders 

 of Sekeletu, and was not at all disposed to allow them to 

 remain a dead letter. The villages of the Banyeti con. 

 tributed large quantities of mosibe, a bright-red bean 

 yielded by a large tree. The pulp enclosing the seed is not 

 much thicker than a red wafer, and is the portion used. It 

 requires the addition of honey to render it at all palatable. 



To these were added great numbers of the fruit which 

 yields a variety of the nux vomica, from which we derive 

 that virulent poison strychnia. The pulp between the nuts 

 is the part eaten, and it is of a pleasant juicy nature, having 

 a sweet acidulous taste. The fruit itself resembles a large 

 yellow orange, but the rind is hard, and, with the pips and 

 bark, contains much of the deadly poison. They evince 

 their noxious qualities by an intensely bitter taste. Tho 

 nuts, swallowed inadvertently, cause considerable pain, 

 but not death ; and, to avoid this inconvenience, the people 



