240 SLAVE-TRADE FOLLOWS US. Chap. XL 



seeing what they never saw." Others, in reference to old men 

 being in the habit of telling wonderful tales, said, " We are 

 the true ancients ; we have seen stranger things than any 

 of our ancestors, in seeing you." The only tradition of 

 foreigners coming into the country refers to the ascent of 

 Simoens as far as the Sanyati, at the entrance to the Kariba 

 gorge. According to the testimony of the people of the 

 country and the statement of the companion of this robber 

 to us, it was a regular plundering foray similar to that of 

 Sequasha. Like the Boers and others we have known, this 

 man, who is still alive at Tette, eager to make the most of his 

 conquest, represented the people attacked to have been Mate- 

 bele, and on being told that they were Bawe, a tribe of 

 Batoka, he answered, " Well, we thought them to be Mate- 

 bele (Landeens), because they were naked." After accumu- 

 lating large quantities of ivory and many slaves, by the aid 

 of his followers' firearms, which the people had never before 

 encountered, Simoens lost all the booty and his life by a 

 combination of the Chiefs under Chisaka, at the rivulet 

 Zingesi, near to Mpende. 



After we had passed up, however, a party of slaves, belong- 

 ing to the two native Portuguese who assassinated the Chief, 

 Mpangwe, and took possession of his lands at Zumbo, followed 

 on our footsteps, and, representing themselves to be our 

 " children," bought great quantities of ivory, from the Bawe, 

 for a few coarse beads a tusk. They also purchased ten 

 large new canoes to carry it, at the rate of six strings of 

 red or white beads, or two fathoms of grey calico, for each 

 canoe, and, at the same cheap rate, a number of good-looking 

 girls. 



We had long ere this become thoroughly convinced that 

 the Government of Lisbon had been guilty, possibly unin- 



