324 WATER-TURTLES. Chap. XXIV. 



she remarked, " You were a friend before, now you are a blood- 

 relation ; whenever you pass this way, send rue word, that I 

 may cook food for you." In creating these friendships, my 

 men had the full intention of returning ; each one had his 

 Molekane (friend) in every village of the friendly Balonda. 

 Mohorisi even married a wife in the town of Katema, and 

 Pitsane took another in the town of Shinte. These alliances 

 were looked upon with great favour by the Balonda chiefs, as 

 securing the goodwill of the Makololo. 



On leaving this place we were deserted by one of our party, 

 Mboenga, an Ambonda man, who had accompanied us all the 

 way to Loanda and back. His father was living with Masiko, 

 and it was natural for him to wish to join his own family 

 again. He went off honestly, with the exception of taking a 

 fine " tari " skin given me by Nyamoana. I regretted parting 

 with him thus, and sent notice to him that he need not have 

 run away, and that, if he wished to come to Se'keletu again, he 

 would be welcoma. We subsequently met a large party of 

 Barotse fleeing in t'he same direction, but, when I represented 

 to them that there was a probability of their being sold as 

 slaves in Londa, they determined to return. They feel it 

 a sore grievance to be obliged to live with Sekeletu at Lin- 

 yanti, where there is neither fish, fowl, nor any other kind 

 of food equal in quantity to what they enjoy in their own 

 rich valley. 



A short distance below the confluence of the Leeba and 

 Zambesi we met a number of hunters belonging to the tribe 

 called Mambowe, who live under Masiko. They stalk the 

 animals disguised in headdresses made to represent the head 

 either of a leche or a crane. With these they crawl 

 through the grass, and can easily ra«ise their heads so far as to 

 see their prey without being recognised until they are within 

 bowshot. They presented me with three fine water-turtles, 

 one of which had upwards of forty eggs in its body. The 

 egg has a flexible shell, and is of the same size at both endtf, 

 like the alligator's. The flesh, and especially the liver, is 

 excellent. The Mambowe hunters joined our party, and on 

 the following day discovered a dead hippopotamus, which they 

 had previously wounded. This was the first feast of flesh 

 my men had enjoyed, for, though the game was wonderfully 



