74 THE QUAKERS OF AFRICA. 



distance, and died. His death, had a good effect, for the villagers 

 connected it with the injury he was attempting to do to us. They 

 all saw through Sekomi's reasons for wishing us to fail in our at- 

 tempt; and though they came to us at first armed, kind and fair 

 treatment soon produced perfect confidence. 



When we had gone up the bank of this beautiful river about 

 ninety-six miles from the point where we first struck it, and 

 understood that we were still a considerable distance from the 

 Ngami, we left all the oxen and wagons, except Mr. OswelPs, 

 which was the smallest, and one team, at Ngabisane, in the 

 hope that they would be recruited for the home journey, while 

 we made a push for the lake. The Bechuana chief of the Lake 

 region, who had sent men to Sechele, now sent orders to all 

 the people on the river to assist us, and we were received by 

 the Bakoba, whose language clearly shows that they bear an 

 affinity to the tribes in the north. They call themselves Bayeiye, 

 i. e., men; but the Beckuanas call them Bakoba, which contains 

 somewhat of the idea of slaves. They have never been known 

 to fight, and, indeed, have a tradition that their forefathers, in 

 their first essays at war, made their bows of the Palma Christi, 

 and, when these broke, they gave up fighting altogether. They 

 have invariably submitted to the rule of every horde which has 

 overrun the countries adjacent to the rivers on which they spe- 

 cially love to dwell. They are thus the Quakers of the body pol- 

 itic in Africa. 



A long time after the period of our visit, the chief of the Lake, 

 thinking to make soldiers of them, took the trouble to furnish them 

 with shields. "All! we never had these before ; that is the rea- 

 son Ave have always succumbed. Now we will fight." But a 

 marauding party came from the Makololo, and our " Friends" at 

 once paddled quickly, night and day, down the Zouga, never dar- 

 ing to look behind them till they reached the end of the river, at 

 the point where we first saw it. 



The canoes of these inland sailors are truly primitive craft: 

 they are hollowed out of the trunks of single trees by means of 

 iron adzes ; and if the tree has a bend, so has the canoe. I liked 

 the frank and manly bearing of these men, and, instead of sitting 

 in the wagon, preferred a seat in one of the canoes. I found 

 they regarded their rude vessels as the Arab does his camel. 



