Chap. XII. LIONS— AEABS. 223 



The numbers of large game above Libonta are prodigious, and 

 they proved remarkably tame. Eighty-one buffaloes defiled in 

 slow procession before our fire one evening within gun-shot ; and 

 herds of splendid elands stood by day without fear at two hundred 

 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 animal 

 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 

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

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

 in lat. 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 opinion as 

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

 slaughtered by themselves. They professed the greatest detesta- 



