100 CAKEER OF SEBITUANE. 



a pastoral tribe like his, so he moved down that river among the 

 Baslmbia and Batoka, who were then living in all their glory. 

 His narrative resembled closely the " Commentaries of Caesar," 

 and the history of the British in India. He was always forced to 

 attack the different tribes, and to this day his men justify every 

 step he took as perfectly just and right. The Batoka lived on 

 large islands in the Leeambye or Zambesi, and, feeling perfect- 

 ly secure in their fastnesses, often allured fugitive or wandering 

 tribes on to uninhabited islets on pretense of ferrying them across, 

 and there left them to perish for the sake of their goods. Sek- 

 omi, the chief of the Bamangwato, was, when a child, in danger of 

 meeting this fate ; but a man still living had compassion on him, 

 and enabled his mother to escape with him by night. The river 

 is so large that the sharpest eye can not tell the difference between 

 an island and the bend of the opposite bank ; but Sebituane, with 

 his usual foresight, requested the island chief who ferried him 

 across to take his seat in the canoe with him, and detained him 

 by his side till all his people and cattle were safely landed. The 

 whole Batoka country was then densely peopled, and they had a 

 curious taste for ornamenting their villages with the skulls of 

 strangers. When Sebituane appeared near the great falls, an im- 

 mense army collected to make trophies of the Makololo skulls ; 

 but, instead of succeeding in this, they gave him a good excuse for 

 conquering them, and capturing so many cattle that his people 

 were quite incapable of taking any note of the sheep and goats. 

 He overran all the high lands toward the Kafue, and settled in 

 what is called a pastoral country, of gently undulating plains, cov- 

 ered with short grass and but little forest. The Makololo have 

 never lost their love for this fine, healthy region. 



But the Matebele, a Caffre or Zulu tribe, under Mosilikatse, 

 crossed the Zambesi, and, attacking Sebituane in this choice spot, 

 captured his cattle and women. Eallying his men, he followed 

 and recaptured the whole. A fresh attack was also repulsed, and 

 Sebituane thought of going farther down the Zambesi, to the 

 country of the white men. He had an idea, whence imbibed I 

 never could learn, that if he had a cannon he might live in peace. 

 He had led a life of war, yet no one apparently desired peace 

 more than he did. A prophet induced him to turn his face again 

 to the westward. This man, by name Tlapane, was called a 



