558 INFORMATION OF CHINSAMBA. Chap. XXVII. 



many hundreds of instances in which we have sat with a 

 lantern star-gazing, we never once, as far as we know, excited 

 the suspicion of being engaged in the practice of witchcraft. 

 Being fully aware of the general belief in wizards and 

 witches, it has often been a matter of surprise to us that no 

 accusation ever reached our ears that this " foreign water " 

 must be used for something else than measuring distances, 

 and to help in writing down the paths of the new country. 

 The only reason we can conceive for our immunity is the 

 fact that we have invariably tried to give a truthful expla- 

 nation of what we were doing. In the case of Sequasha, 

 mentioned in an earlier portion of this work, we suspect that 

 he told the people that the clocks for which he was fined 

 were his fetishes or charms. 



Chinsamba gave us a great deal of his company during 

 our visits. As we have often remarked in other cases, a 

 Chief has a great deal to attend to in guiding the affairs of 

 his people. He is consulted on all occasions, and gives his 

 advice in a stream of words, which show a very intimate 

 acquaintance with the topography of his district; he knows 

 every rood cultivated, every weir put in the river, every 

 hunting-net, loom, gorge, and every child of his tribe. Any 

 addition made to the number of these latter is notified to 

 him ; and he sends thanks and compliments to the parents. 



After a great deal of intercourse with different rulers, we 

 have been unable to discover the grounds on which " sensation 

 writers" have managed to envelop African Chiefs with an 

 air of ridicule. As the headmen and people, too, are found 

 to deteriorate as we approach the borders of civilization, it 

 is probable that the stupid bestiality, described by the writers 

 referred to, on the West Coast, may be a reflection from the 

 low trading characters with whom many of the Chieftains 

 there have had then only intercourse. When a Chief has 



