THE LEEBA. 523 



Limboa, but, as he had advised them "both to wait till I came, I 

 now urged him to let the quarrel alone, and he took my advice. 



We parted on the best possible terms with our friend Shinte, 

 and proceeded by our former path to the village of his sister 

 JSTyamoana, who is now a widow. She received us with much 

 apparent feeling, and said, "We had removed from our former 

 abode to the place where you found us, and had no idea then that 

 it was the spot where my husband was to die." She had come 

 to the River Lofuje, as they never remain in a place where death 

 has once visited them. We received the loan of five small canoes 

 from her, and also one of those we had left here before, to proceed 

 down the Leeba. After viewing the Coanza at Massangano, I 

 thought the Leeba at least a third larger, and upward of two 

 hundred yards wide. We saw evidence of its rise during its 

 last flood having been upward of forty feet in perpendicular 

 height ; but this is probably more than usual, as the amount of 

 rain was above the average. My companions purchased also a 

 number of canoes from the Balonda. These are very small, and 

 can carry only two persons. They are made quite thin and light, 

 and as sharp as racing-skiffs, because they are used in hunting 

 animals in the water. The price paid was a string of beads equal 

 to the length of the canoe. We advised them to bring canoes for 

 sale to the Makololo, as they would gladly give them cows in 

 exchange. 



In descending the Leeba we saw many herds of wild animals, 

 especially the tahetsi (Aigoceros equina), one magnificent ante- 

 lope, the putokuane (Antilqpe niger), and two fine lions. The 

 Balobale, however, are getting well supplied with guns, and will 

 soon thin out the large game. At one of the villages we were 

 entreated to attack some buffaloes which grazed in the gardens 

 every night and destroyed the manioc. As we had had no 

 success in shooting at the game we had seen, and we all longed 

 to have a meal of meat, we followed the footprints of a number 

 of old bulls. They showed a great amount of cunning by select- 

 ing the densest parts of very closely-planted forests to stand or re- 

 cline in during the day. We came within six yards of them sev- 

 eral times before we knew that they were so near. We only heard 

 them rush away among the crashing branches, catching only a 

 glimpse of them. It was somewhat exciting to feel, as we trod 



