Chap. IX. KETUHN TO L1NYANTI. 121 



He was now located on the island Mahonta (lat. 17 c 58' S«, 

 long. 24° 6" E.). The inhabitants looked like people who had 

 seen a ghost, and in their figurative way of speaking exclaimed, 

 " He has dropped among us from the clouds, yet came 

 riding on the back of a hippopotamus ! We Makololo thought 

 no one could cross the Chobe without our knowledge, but here 

 he drops among us like a bird." 



Next day we returned across the flooded lands in canoes to 

 our waggons, and found that in our absence the men had 

 allowed the cattle to wander into a small patch of wood to 

 the west infested by tsetse. This carelessness cost me ten 

 fine oxen. After we had remained a few days some of the 

 head-men of the Makololo came down from Linyanti, with a 

 large party of Barotse, to conduct us over the river. This 

 they did in fine style. They took the waggons to pieces and 

 carried them across on a number of canoes lashed together, 

 while they themselves swum and dived among the oxen more 

 like alligators than men. "We were now among friends. 

 After advancing about thirty miles to the north, in order to 

 avoid the still flooded lands on the north of the Chobe, we 

 turned westwards towards Linyanti (lat. 18° 17' 20" S., long. 

 23° 50' 9" E.), where we arrived on the 23rd of May, 1853. 

 This is the capital town of the Makololo, and only a short 

 distance from our waggon-stand of 1851 (lat. 18° 20' S., 

 long. 23° 50' E.). 



CHAPTEE IX. 



Ltnyanti. — The chief Sekeletu. — Customs of the Makololo. 



The whole population of Linyanti, numbering between six 

 and seven thousand, turned out to see the waggons in motion. 

 They had never witnessed the phenomenon before, for on the 

 former occasion we departed by night. Sekeletu, now in 

 power, received us in royal style, and sent us pots of boyaloa, 

 the beer of the country. These were brought by women, and 

 each bearer took a good draught of the beer to show that it 

 was not poisoned. 



