270 FUGITIVES.— THE BEE-EATER. 



his crime, secretly made his escape from Linyanti to Lake Ngami. 

 He was sent for, however, and the chief at the lake delivered him 

 up, on Sekeletu declaring that he had no intention of punishing 

 him otherwise than by scolding. He did not even do that, as 

 Sekobinyane was evidently terrified enough, and also became ill 

 through fear. 



The fugitive villagers remained only a few weeks with their 

 new master Masiko, and then fled back again, and were received 

 as if they had done nothing wrong. All united in abusing the 

 conduct of Sekobinyane, and no one condemned the fugitives ; 

 and the cattle, the use of which they had previously enjoyed, never 

 having been removed from their village, they re-established them- 

 selves with apparent gladness. 



This incident may give some idea of the serfdom of the subject 

 tribes, and, except that they are sometimes punished for running 

 away and other offenses, I can add nothing more by way of show- 

 ing the true nature of this form of servitude. 



Leaving Naliele, amid abundance of good wishes for the success 

 of our expedition, and hopes that we might return accompanied 

 with white traders, we began again our ascent of the river. It 

 was now beginning to rise, though the rains had but just com- 

 menced in the valley. The banks are low, but cleanly cut, and 

 seldom sloping. At low water they are from four to eight feet 

 high, and make the river always assume very much the aspect 

 of a canal. They are in some parts of whitish, tenacious clay, 

 with strata of black clay intermixed, and black loam in sand, or 

 pure sand stratified. As the river rises it is always wearing to 

 one side or the other, and is known to have cut across from one 

 bend to another, and to form new channels. As we coast along 

 the shore, pieces which are undermined often fall in with a splash 

 like that caused by the plunge of an alligator, and endanger the 

 canoe. 



These perpendicular banks afford building-places to a pretty 

 bee-eater,* which loves to breed in society. The face of the 

 sand-bank is perforated with hundreds of holes leading to their 

 nests, each of which is about a foot apart from the other ; and 

 as we pass they pour out of their hiding-places, and float over- 

 head. 



* Merops apiaster and M. bullockoides (Smith). 



