320 THE BATOKA'S GENEROSITY. Chap. XVI. 



Tette, so little are the lives of these poor drawers of water 

 valued by the masters, that they never think of erecting 

 even a simple fence for. their protection. Dr. Livingstone 

 tried to induce the padre of Senna to move in this matter, 

 offering to give twenty dollars himself, if a collection should 

 be made after mass ; but the padre merely smiled, shrugged 

 his shoulders, and did nothing. 



Beautiful crowned cranes, named from their note 'ma- 

 loang,' were seen daily, and were beginning to pair. Large 

 flocks of spur -winged geese, or machikwe, were common. 

 This goose is said to lay her eggs in March. We saw also 

 pairs of Egyptian geese, as well as a few of the knob-nosed, or, 

 as they are called in India, combed geese. When the Egyptian 

 geese, as at the present time, have young, the goslings keep 

 so steadily in the wake of their mother, that they look as if 

 they were a part of her tail ; and both parents, when on land, 

 simulate lameness quite as well as our plovers, to draw off 

 pursuers. The ostrich also adopts the lapwing fashion, but 

 no quadrupeds do: they show fight to defend their young 

 instead. In some places the steep banks were dotted with 

 the holes which lead into the nests of bee-eaters. These 

 birds came out in hundreds as we passed. When the red- 

 breasted species settle on the trees, they give them the 

 appearance of being covered with red foliage. 



Our land party came up to us on the evening of the 11th, 

 a number of men kindly carrying their bundles for them. 

 They had received valuable presents of food on the way. 

 One had been given a goat, another fowls and maize. 

 They began to believe that these Batoka "have hearts," 

 though at first, as those who inflict an injury usually are, 

 they were suspicious, and blamed them for hating the Mako- 

 lolo and killing every one they met. Marauding parties of 

 Makololo and subject Batoka had formerly made swoops on 



