Chap. XV. MODE OF PROCURING SALT. 18^ 



"When the strangers visited us again in the evening, they 

 were accompanied by a number of the people of an Ambonda 

 chief named Sekelenke, who had fled from his own country in 

 the N.W., and was now living as a vassal of Masiko. He had 

 gone to hunt elephants on the right bank of the Leeba, and 

 was now on his way back to Masiko. He sent me a dish of 

 boiled zebra's flesh, with a request that I would lend him a 

 canoe to ferry his wives and family across the river to the 

 bank on which we were encamped. Many of his people came 

 to salute the first white man they had ever seen ; but Seke- 

 lenke himself did not come, and we heard that he was offended 

 with his people for letting me know he was among them. 

 This was the only instance in which I was shunned in this 

 quarter. 



As it would have been impolitic to pass Manenko without 

 calling and explaining the objects of our journey, we waited 

 two days for the return of the messengers to her ; and as I 

 could not hurry matters, I went into the adjacent country to 

 search for meat. 



The country is largely furnished with forest, having occa- 

 sionally open glades completely covered with grass, and not 

 in tufts as in the south. We came upon a man and his two 

 wives and children, burning coarse rushes and the stalks of 

 tsitla, in order to extract salt from the ashes. Their mode of 

 effecting this was as follows : — they made a funnel of branches 

 ?f trees which they lined with grass rope, twisted round until 

 it resembled an inverted beehive. The ashes were mixed 

 with water, and were then allowed to percolate through the 

 grass. When the water has evaporated, a residuum of salt is 

 left, sufficient to form a relish with food. The women and 

 children fled, and the man trembled excessively at the appa- 

 rition before him; but when we explained our object he 

 became calm and called back his wives. We soon afterwards 

 fell in with another party engaged in the same business as 

 ourselves. The man had a bow about six feet long, and iron- 

 headed arrows about thirty inches in length; he had also 

 wooden arrows to use when he was likely to lose them. We 

 soon afterwards got a zebra, and gave our hunting acquaint- 

 ances such a liberal share that we soon became friends. All 

 whom we saw that day then accompanied us to the encamp- 



p 



