1G6 LIVINGSTONE'S LAST JOURNALS. [Chai\ VII. 



that I could have given him another cloth, and the more 

 so as it was accompanied by a message that he would cook 

 more next day and in larger quantity. On inquiring next 

 evening he said "the man had told lies," he had cooked 

 nothing more : he was prone to lie himself, and was a rather 

 bad specimen of a chief. 



The Babisa have round bullet heads, snub noses, often 

 high cheek-bones, an upward slant of the eyes, and look as 

 if they had a lot of Bushman blood in them, and a good 

 many would pass for Bushmen or Hottentots. Both Babisa 

 and Waiyau may have a mixture of the race, which would 

 account for their roving habits. The women have the 

 fashion of exposing the upper part of the buttocks by 

 letting a very stiff cloth fall down behind. Their teeth are 

 filed to points, they wear no lip-ring, and the hair is parted 

 so as to lie in a net at the back part of the head. The 

 mode of salutation among the men is to lie down nearly on 

 the back, clapping the hands, and making a rather inelegant 

 half-kissing sound with the lips. 



2dth December. — We remain a day at Malambwe, but get 

 nothing save a little maere,* which grates in the teeth and 

 in the stomach. To prevent the Mazitu starving them they 

 cultivate small round patches placed at wide intervals in 

 the forest, with which the country is covered. The spot, 

 some ten yards or a little more in diameter, is manured with 

 ashes and planted with this millet and pumpkins, in order 

 that should Mazitu come they may be unable to carry off 

 the pumpkins, or gather the millet, the seed of which is 

 very small. They have no more valour than the other 

 Africans, but more craft, and are much given to falsehood. 

 They will not answer common questions except by misstate- 

 ments, but this may arise in our case from our being in 

 disfavour, because we will not sell all our goods to them for 

 ivory. 



* Eleusine Coracana. 



