RECEPTION AT LIBONTA. 309 



speaker, now I would leave the task of speaking to them. 

 Pitsane then delivered a speech of upward of an hour in 

 length, giving a highly-flattering picture of the whole jour- 

 ney, of the kindness of the white men in general, and of 

 Mr. G-abriel in particular. He concluded by saying that I 

 had done more for them than they expected ; that I had not 

 only opened up a path for them to the other white men, 

 but conciliated all the chiefs along the route. The oldest 

 man present rose and answered this speech, and, among 

 other things, alluded to the disgust I felt at the Makololo 

 for engaging in marauding-expeditions against Lechulatebo 

 and Sebolamakwaia, of which we had heard from the first 

 persons we met, and which my companions most energeti- 

 cally denounced as " mashue hela," entirely bad. He en- 

 treated me not to lose heart, but to reprove Sekeletu as my 

 child. Another old man followed with the same entreaties. 

 The following day we observed as our thanksgiving to 

 God for his goodness in bringing us all back in safety to 

 our friends. My men decked themselves out in their best, 

 ard I found that, although their goods were finished, they 

 had managed to save suits of European clothing, which, 

 being white, with their red caps, gave them rather a dash- 

 iug appearance. They tried to walk like the soldiers they 

 had seen in Loanda, and called themselves my "braves," 

 (batlabani.) During the sei'vice they all sat with their 

 guns over their shoulders, and excited the unbounded admi- 

 ration of the women and children. I addressed them all 

 on the goodness of God in preserving us from all the 

 dangers of strange tribes and disease. We had a similar 

 service in the afternoon. The men gave us two fine oxen 

 for slaughter, and the women supplied us abundantly with 

 milk, meal, and butter. It was all quite gratuitous, and I felt 

 ashamed that I could make no return. My men explained 

 the total expenditure of our means, and the Libontese 

 answered, gracefully, "It does not matter : you have opened 

 a path for us, and we shall have sleep." Strangers came 



