354 CURTAILING THE OXEN. Chap. XVIII. 



my children ; they knew no one bnt Sekeletu and me, and they 

 would die for me ; they had not fought because I did not wish 

 it ; they had just spoken in the bitterness of their spirit, and 

 when feeling that they could do nothing ; but if these enemies 

 begin" you will see what we can do." One of the oxen we 

 offered to the Chiboque had been rejected because he had lost 

 part of his tail, as they thought that it had been cut off and 

 witchcraft medicine inserted ; and some mirth was excited by 

 my proposing to raise a similar objection to all the oxen we 

 still had hi our possession. The remaining four soon presented 

 a singular shortness of their caudal extremities, and though no 

 one ever asked whether they had medicine in the stumps or 

 no, we were no more troubled by the demand for an ox ! We 

 now slaughtered another ox, that the spectacle might not be 

 seen of the owners of the cattle fasting, while the Chiboque were 

 feasting. 



