Chap. XI. NATIVE GAME-LAW. 221 



their hands on their hips. Immense crops of mapira (holcus 

 sorghum) are raised ; one species of it forms a natural bend 

 on the seed-stalk, so that the massive ear hangs down. The 

 grain was heaped up on wooden stages, and so was a variety 

 of other products. The men are skilful hunters, and kill 

 elephants and buffaloes with long heavy spears. We halted 

 a few minutes on the morning of the 12th July, opposite 

 the narrow island of Sikakoa, which has a village on 

 its lower end. We were here told that Moselekatse's chief 

 town is a month's distance from this place. They had 

 heard, moreover, that the English had come to Moselekatse, 

 and told him it was wrong to kill men ; and he had replied 

 that he was born to kill people, but would drop the habit ; 

 and, since the English came, he had sent out his men, not 

 to kill as of yore, but to collect tribute of cloth and ivory. 

 This report referred to the arrival of the Rev. K. Moffat, 

 of Kurmnan, who, we afterwards found, had established a 

 Mission. The statement is interesting as showing, that, 

 though imperfectly expressed, the purport of the Mission- 

 aries' teaching had travelled, in a short time, over 300 

 miles, and we know not how far the knowledge of the 

 English operations on the Coast spread inland. 



When abreast of the high wooded island Kalabi we came 

 in contact with one of the game-laws of the country, which 

 has come down from the most ancient times. An old buffalo 

 crossed the path a few yards in front of us ; our guide threw 

 his small spear at its hip, and it was going off scarcely hurt, 

 when three rifle balls knocked it over. "It is mine," said 

 the guide. He had wounded it first, and the established 

 native game-law is that the animal belongs to the man who 

 first draws blood ; the two legs on one side, by the same law, 

 belonged to us for killing it. This beast was very old, blind of 



