362 THE CHIEF SANSAWE. Chap. XIX. 



was refused, said to my men, " You may as well give it, for we 

 shall take all after we have killed you to-morrow." The more 

 humbly we spoke, the more insolent the Bashinje became, till at 

 last we were all feeling savage and sulky, but continued to speak 

 as civilly as we could. They are fond of argument, and when I 

 denied their right to demand tribute from a white man, who did 

 not trade in slaves, an old white-headed negro put rather a posing 

 question : " You know that God has placed chiefs among us whom 

 we ought to support. How is it that you, who have a book that 

 tells you about him, do not come forward at once to pay this chief 

 tribute, like every one else ? " I replied by asking, " How could 

 I know that this was a chief, who had allowed me to remain a day 

 and a half near him without giving me anything to eat ? " This, 

 which to the uninitiated may seem sophistry, was, to the central 

 Africans, quite a rational question, for he at once admitted that 

 food ought to have been sent, and added, that probably his chief 

 was only making it ready for me, and that it would come soon. 



After being wearied by talking all day to different parties sent 

 by Sansawe, we were honoured by a visit from himself: he is 

 quite a young man, and of rather a pleasing countenance. There 

 cannot have been much intercourse between real Portuguese and 

 these people even here, so close to the Quango, for Sansawe asked 

 me to show him my hair, on the ground that, though he had 

 heard of it, and some white men had even passed through Ins 

 country, he had never seen straight hair before. Tins is quite 

 possible, as most of the slave-traders are not Portuguese, but half- 

 castes. The difference between their wool and our hair, caused 

 liim to burst into a laugh, and the contrast between the exposed 

 and unexj>osed parts of my skin, when exhibited in evidence of 

 our all being made of one stock originally, and the children of 

 one Maker, seemed to strike him with wonder. I then showed 

 him my watch, and wished to win my way into his confidence by 

 conversation; but when about to exhibit my pocket compass 

 he desired me to desist, as he was afraid of my wonderful tilings. 

 I told hhn, if he knew my aims, as the tribes in the interior 

 did, and as I hoped he would yet know them and me, he 

 would be glad to stay, and see also the pictures of the magic 

 lantern; but as it was now getting dark he had evidently got 

 enough of my witchery, and began to use some charms to dispel 



