324 LIVINGSTONE'S LAST JOURNALS. [Chap. XIII. 



them dug something like a form to sleep in on the hard 

 earth. 



Thankful to leave such a place, their guide led them 

 next day to the village of Kawinga, whom they describe as 

 a tall man, of singularly light colour, and the owner of a 

 gun, a unique Aveapon in these parts, but one already 

 made useless by wear and tear. The next village, N'kossu's, 

 was much more important. The people, called Kawende, 

 formerly owned plenty of cattle, but now they are reduced : 

 the Banyamwesi have put them under the harrow, and but 

 few herds remain. We may call attention to the some- 

 what singular fact, that the hump quite disappears in the 

 Lake breed; the cows would pass for respectable short- 

 horns.* 



A present was made to the caravan of a cow ; but it seems 

 that the rule, "first catch your hare," is in full force in 

 N'kossu's pastures. The animals are exceedingly wild, and 

 a hunt has to be set on foot whenever beef is wanted ; it 

 was so in this case. Safene and Muanyasere with their 

 guns essayed to settle the difficulty. The latter, an old 

 hunter as we have seen, was not likely to do much harm ; 

 but Safene, firing wildly at the cow, hit one of the villagers, 

 and smashed the bone of the poor fellow's thigh. Although 

 it was clearly an accident, such things do not readily settle 

 themselves down on this assumption in Africa. The chief, 

 however, behaved very well. He told them a fine would 

 have to be paid on the return of the wounded man's 

 father, and it had better be handed to him, for by law the 

 blame would fall on him, as the entertainer of the man who 

 had brought about the injury. He admitted that he had 



* This comparison was got at from the remarks made by Susi and 

 Chuma at an agricultural show ; they pointed out the resemblance borne 

 by the short-horns and by the Alderney bulls to several breeds near Lake 

 Bemba. — Ed. 



