88 LIONS AND SERPENTS. 



cable. Sorrowfully enough he left them to follow the duty 

 which called him again into the wilderness. He found the 

 wells at Boatlanama and Lopepe all dry, and pressed on to 

 Mashue, where there was delicious water. There is little which 

 can interest a traveller when every step he takes is taken so 

 anxiously ; but the country from Kuruman is thronging with 

 all those forest monsters which have made the continent one of 

 wonderful interest. By the very fountain of Lopepe a lioness 

 once sprang upon the horse of Mr. Oswell, who, falling to the 

 ground, was only saved by his faithful dogs. The hyena 

 prowls among the forests ; the buffalo, the elephant, the giraffe, 

 the zebra, the tiger, all are here. All about Mashue great 

 numbers of mice trace their subterranean homes, or raise the 

 odd-looking little haycocks, against the inclement season. 



Occasionally as they went they found a beautiful tortoise, 

 whose hard shell is its secure castle even under the teeth of the 

 lion, and a bid for covetousness to all who love the beautiful 

 ornaments which they afford. 



All about Mashue there are great numbers of serpents. 

 These are associated in every mind with the very word Africa. 

 The saying, " Familiarity breeds contempt," applies to them. 

 A residence in this country overcomes that terror which these 

 gliding, coiling enemies inspire in regions where they are seldom 

 seen. They are death on rats. To kill the rats is to be free of 

 snakes. There a cat is a household treasure. Some of these 

 reptiles are fearfully venomous. The pecakholu is a species 

 peculiarly so. They are sometimes eight or ten feet long ; and 

 even when its head has been cut off, the fangs have been known 

 to distil clear poison for hours. The nogo-put-sone, or serpent 

 of a kid, is a sort of puff-adder which imitates with wonderful 

 exactness the bleating of that animal ; and, unquestionably, the 

 uplifted head, the wicked, glassy eyes, the darting tongue of the 

 cobra, is calculated to suggest very serious reflections on death 

 and antidotes. 



Livingstone in this journey found the Bamangwato chief 

 Sekomi particularly friendly. All of these Bechuana tribes 

 south of the Zambesi practice circumcision, and the ceremony 

 is attended with singular severities. The young gentlemen are 

 subjected to severe whippings, which leave their backs scarred 



