Chap. II. MURDER OF MAKOLOLO BY BONGA. 



43 



tired of cutting firewood for a meagre pittance, proposed 

 to go and dance for gain before some of the neighbouring 

 Chiefs. "Don't go," said the others, "we don't know the 

 people of this country ; " but the young men set out and 

 visited an independent half-caste Chief, a few miles to the north, 

 named Chisaka, who some years ago burned all the Portuguese 

 villas on the north bank of the river ; afterwards the young- 

 men went to Bonga, son of another half-caste Chief, who bade 

 defiance to the Tette authorities, and had a stockade at the 

 confluence of the Zambesi and Luenya, a few miles below that 

 village.* Asking the Makololo whence they came, Bonga 

 rejoined, " Why do you come from my enemy to me ? You 

 have brought witchcraft medicine to kill me." In vain they 

 protested that they did not belong to the country ; they were 

 strangers, and had come from afar with an Englishman. The 

 superstitious savage put them all to death. "We do not 

 grieve," said their companions, " for the thirty victims of the 

 smallpox, who were taken away by Morinio (God) ; but our 

 hearts are sore for the six youths who were murdered by 

 Bonga." Any hope of obtaining justice on the murderer was 

 out of the question. Bonga once caught a captain of the Por- 

 tuguese army, and forced him to perform the menial labour of 

 pounding maize in a wooden mortar. No punishment fol- 

 lowed on this outrage. The Government of Lisbon has since 

 given Bonga the honorary title of Captain, by way of coaxing 

 him to own their authority ; but he still holds his stockade. 

 One of the headmen remarked " that they had some pigs ; 



* This is not that Bonga, brother of 

 Mariano, who was carrying on war in 

 another quarter : the word means a 

 " tiger-cat ;" and this was the son of 

 Nyaude, who, when the whole force 



of Tette was mustered at the Luenya, 

 was sent up the opposite bank by his 

 father, and burned all the village, save 

 the church and fort. 



