378 THE CHIEF CHIBISA. 



exclamations of delight from the most indifferent. The noble 

 river winding away toward the Zambesi, twining, about hundreds 

 of verdant islands, laving gently the grassy banks, and catching 

 the shadows of the splendid trees ; the valley, also, covered with 

 its marvellous wealth of forest growth and animal life; and 

 farther away mountain on mountain ; then, looking northward, 

 their vision leaped along the summits of the numerous ranges 

 of the highlands. 



The chief of the village was a remarkably shrewd man, and 

 the most intelligent chief, by far, in this quarter. A great deal 

 of fighting had fallen to his lot, he said ; but it was always others 

 who began ; he was invariably in the right, and they alone were 

 to blame. He was, moreover, a firm believer in the divine right 

 of kings. He was an ordinary man, he said, when his father 

 died and left him the chieftainship ; but directly he succeeded to 

 the high office he was conscious of power passing into his head 

 and down his back ; he felt it enter, and knew that he was a 

 chief, clothed with authority and possessed of wisdom ; and 

 people then began to fear and reverence him. He mentioned 

 this as one would a fact of natural history, any doubt being 

 quite out of the question. His people, too, believed in him, for 

 they bathed in the river without the slightest fear of crocodiles, 

 the chief having placed a powerful medicine there which pro- 

 tected them. He sent out two men to invite Dr. Livingstone 

 to drink beer with him ; but the steamer was above their com- 

 prehension, they could not confront such an apparition, and, 

 shouting the invitation from a distance, they abandoned their 

 canoes and made for the shore with amusing earnestness. 



The most conspicuous industry of the place was the manufac- 

 ture of cotton according to the primitive methods, which have 

 maintained their dominion grandly, while other lands have wit- 

 nessed an entire revolution in such matters. The men might 

 be seen sitting about busily cleaning, sorting, spinning and weav- 

 ing. It was then, as always, easy to observe the influence on 

 the people of an intelligent and thoughtful chief: they were 

 more generous and friendly and more readily appreciated the 

 spirit and plans of the white men. 



"Leaving the vessel opposite Chibisa's village, Drs. Living- 

 stone and Kirk, and a number of the Makololo, started on foot 



