226 Livingstone's courage tested. 



Livingstone gives an account of his entertainment at the first 

 of these border villages, which ought to have a place here in 

 his own language, as it illustrates some of the trials which his 

 own courage had to endure, as well as manners of the country : 



" On the 4th we reached their first village. Remaining at 

 a distance of a quarter of a mile, we sent two men to inform 

 them who we were, and that our purposes were peaceful. The 

 head man came and spoke civilly, but, when nearly dark, the 

 people of another village arrived and behaved very differently. 

 They began by trying to spear a young man who had gone for 

 water. Then they approached us, and one came forward howl- 

 ing at the top of his voice in the most hideous manner; his eyes 

 were shot out, his lips covered with foam, and every muscle of 

 his frame quivered. He came near to me, and, having a small 

 battle-axe in his hand, alarmed my men lest he might do violence; 

 but they were afraid to disobey my previous orders, and to fol- 

 low their own inclination by knocking him on the head. I felt 

 a little alarmed too, but would not show fear before my own 

 people or strangers, and kept a sharp look-out on the little battle- 

 axe. It seemed to me a case of ecstasy or prophetic frenzy, 

 voluntarily produced. I felt it would be a sorry way to leave 

 the world to get my head chopped by a mad savage, though 

 that, perhaps, would be preferable to hydrophobia or delirium 

 tremens. Sekwebu took a spear in his hand as if to pierce a bit 

 of leather, but in reality to plunge it into the man if he offered 

 violence to me. After my courage had been sufficiently tested, 

 I beckoned with the head to the civil head man to remove him, 

 and he did so by drawing him aside. This man pretended not 

 to know what he was doing. I would fain have felt his pulse 

 to ascertain whether the violent trembling were not feigned, but 

 had not much inclination to go near the battle-axe again. There 

 was, however, a flow of perspiration, and the excitement con- 

 tinued fully half an hour, then gradually ceased. This paroxysm 

 is the direct opposite of hypnotism, and it is singular that it 

 has not been tried in Europe as well as clairvoyance. This 

 second batch of visitors took no pains to conceal their contempt 

 for our small party, saying to each other, in a tone of triumph, 

 ' They are quite a godsend ! ' literally, ' God has apportioned 

 them to us.' ' They are lost among the tribes ! ' ' They have 



