210 PLAINS COVERED WITH WATER. Chap. XVII. 



village had given me. When charged with the theft, every 

 one of Tntemese's party indignantly vociferated his innocence. 

 One of my men, however, went off to the village, brought the 

 lady who had presented the fowl to identify it, and then 

 pointed to the hut in which it was hidden. Upon thi? 

 Intemese called on me to send one of my people to search the 

 hnts, if I suspected his people. The man sent soon found it, 

 and brought it out, to the confusion of Intemese and the 

 laughter of our party. We never met an instance like this, of 

 theft from a white man, among the Makololo, though this 

 people have the reputation of being addicted to pilfering. 

 The honesty of the Bakwains has been already noticed. 

 Probably the estimation in which I was held as a public 

 benefactor, in which character I was not yet known to the 

 Balonda, may account for the sacredness with which my 

 property was always treated before. But other incidents 

 which happened subsequently showed, as well as this, that 

 idolaters are not so virtuous as those who have no idols. 



As the people on the banks of the Leeba were the last of 

 Shinte's tiibe over whom Intemese had power, he was natu- 

 rally anxious to remain as long as possible. He occupied his 

 leisure in making a large wooden mortar and pestle for his 

 wife, and in carving some wooden spoons and a bowl ; but as 

 what he considered good living was anything but agreeable to 

 us, who had been accustomed to milk and maize, we went 

 forward on the 2nd without him. He soon followed, but left 

 our pontoon behind, saying that it would be brought on by 

 the head-man of the village. This, of course, turned out a 

 mere falsehood, and the loss proved a serious one to us. 



We entered an extensive plain beyond the Leeba, at least 

 twenty miles broad, and covered with water, which was ankle- 

 deep in the shallowest parts. We deviated somewhat from 

 our N.W. course, keeping the Piri hills nearly on our right 

 during a great part of the first day, in order to avoid the still 

 (43 more deeply flooded plains of Lobale (Luval ?) on the west, 

 which Intemese stated to be quite impassable, being thigh- 

 deep. The plains are so perfectly level as to possess no 

 drainage whatever, and consequently the rain-water which 

 c alls upon them in prodigious masses stands upon them foT 

 »nonths together, until it is gradually absorbed into the soil. 



