LIONS.— AKABS. 243 



The numbers of large game above Libonta are prodigious, and 

 they proved remarkably tame. Eighty-one buffaloes denied in 

 slow procession before our fire one evening, within gunshot ; and 

 herds of splendid elands stood by day, without fear, at two hund- 

 red yards distance. They were all of the striped variety, and 

 with their forearm markings, large dewlaps, and sleek skins, were 

 a beautiful sight to see. The lions here roar much more than 

 in the country near the lake, Zouga, and Chobe. One evening 

 we had a good opportunity of hearing the utmost exertions the an- 

 imal can make in that line. We had made our beds on a large 

 sand-bank, and could be easily seen from all sides. A lion on the 

 opposite shore amused himself for hours by roaring as loudly as 

 he could, putting, as is usual in such cases, his mouth near the 

 ground, to make the sound reverberate. The river was too broad 

 for a ball to reach him, so we let him enjoy himself, certain that 

 he durst not have been guilty of the impertinence in the Bushman 

 country. Wherever the game abounds, these animals exist in 

 proportionate numbers. Here they were very frequently seen, 

 and two of the largest I ever saw seemed about as tall as com- 

 mon donkeys ; but the mane made their bodies appear rather 

 larger. 



A party of Arabs from Zanzibar were in the country at this 

 time. Sekeletu had gone from Naliele to the town of his mother 

 before we arrived from the north, but left an ox for our use, and in- 

 structions for us to follow him thither. We came down a branch 

 of the Leeambye called Marile, which departs from the main river 

 in latitude 15° 15 / 43" S., and is a fine deep stream about sixty 

 yards wide. It makes the whole of the country around Naliele 

 an island. When sleeping at a village in the same latitude as 

 Naliele town, two of the Arabs mentioned made their appearance. 

 They were quite as dark as the Makololo, but, having their heads 

 shaved, I could not compare their hair with that of the inhabitants 

 of the country. When we were about to leave they came to bid 

 adieu, but I asked them to stay and help us to eat our ox. As 

 they had scruples about eating an animal not blooded in their own 

 way, I gained their good-will by saying I was quite of their opin- 

 ion as to getting quit of the blood, and gave them two legs of an 

 animal slaughtered by themselves. They professed the greatest 

 detestation of the Portuguese, "because they eat pigs ;" and dis- 



