218 A ROBBER-PARTY. 



peaceably, the guilt would be on their heads This is a 

 favorite mode of expression throughout the whole country 

 All are anxious to give explanation of any acts tbey have 

 performed, and conclude the narration with, "I have no 

 guilt or blame," ("molatu.") "They have the guilt." ] 

 never could be positive whether the idea in their minds is 

 guilt in the sight of the Deity, or of mankind only. 



Next morning the robber-party came with about thirty 

 yards of strong striped English calico, an axe, and two 

 hoes for our acceptance, and returned the copper rings, as 

 the chief was a great man and did not need the ornaments 

 of my men, but we noticed that they were taken back 

 again. I divided the cloth among my men, and pleased 

 them a little by thus compensating for the loss of the ox. 

 I advised the chief, whose name we did not learn, as he 

 did not deign to appear except under the alias Matiamvo, 

 to get cattle for his own use, and expressed sorrow that I 

 had none wherewith to enable him to make a commence- 

 ment. Eains prevented our proceeding till Thursday 

 morning, and then messengers appeared to tell us that 

 their chief had learned that all the cloth sent by him had 

 not been presented ; that the copper rings had been secreted 

 by the persons ordered to restore them to us, and that he 

 had stripped the thievish emissaries of their property as a 

 punishment. Our guides thought these were only spies of 

 a larger party concealed in the forest through which fte 

 were now about to pass. We prepared for defence by 

 marching in a compact body and allowing no one tc 

 straggle far behind the others. We marched through 

 many miles of gloomy forest in gloomier silence, but no- 

 thing disturbed us. We came to a village, and found all 

 the men absent, — the guides thought 1 , in the forest, with 

 their countrymen. I was too ill to care much whether we 

 were attacked or not. Though a pouring rain came on, as 

 we were all anxious to get away out of a bad neighbor- 

 hood, we proceeded. The thick atmosphere prevented my 

 seeing the creeping plants in time to avoid them ; sc 



