Chap. IX. SLAVE-TRADERS. 123 



chisane stood up in the assembly and addressed her brothel 

 with a womanly gush of tears : "I havo been a chief only 

 because my father wished it. I always would have preferred 

 to be married and have a family like other women. You, 

 Sekeletn, must be chief and build up your father's house." 



After the Mambari, in 1850, took to tho west a favourable 

 report of this new Makololo market, a number of half-caste 

 Portuguese slave-traders paid it a visit. One, who resembled 

 closely a real Portuguese, came to Linyanti while I was there (23) 

 in 1853. He had no merchandise, and pretended that his 

 object was to inquire "what sort of goods were necessary for 

 the market." He seemed much disconcerted by my presence. 

 Sekeletu presented him with an elephant's tusk and an ox ; 

 and when he had departed about fifty miles to the westward 

 he carried off an entire village of the Bakalahari belonging 

 to the Makololo. He had a number of armed slaves with him ; 

 and as all the villagers — men, women, and children — were 

 removed, and the fact was unknown until a considerable time 

 afterwards, it is not certain whether he attained his object by 

 violence or by promises. 



Mpepe, the rival candidate for the chieftainship, favoured 

 these slave-traders. A large party of Mambari had come to 

 Linyanti while I was floundering on the prairies south of the 

 Chobe. They fled precipitately by night when some Makololo, 

 who had assisted us to cross the river, returned with hats 

 which I had given them. The natives inquired the cause of 

 their haste, and were told that, if I found them there, I should 

 take all their slaves and goods from them. It afterwards 

 appeared that they derived their impression from their know- 

 ledge of what was done by the English cruisers on the coast. 

 They went to the north, where they erected a stockade of 

 considerable size, and, under the leadership of a native 

 Portuguese, carried on the abominable traffic in human beings. 

 Mpepe fed them with the cattle of Sekeletu, and formed a plan 

 of raising himself, by means of their fire-arms, to be the head 

 of the Makololo. The usual policy of slave -traders is to side 

 with the strongest party in a tribe, and get well paid by 

 captures made from the weaker faction. Long secret confer- 

 ences were held by these dealers in men and their rebel ally, 



