362 LONGINGS FOk PEACE. Chap. XXV11 



pressing great joy at the first appearance of a white man. 

 The women clothe themselves "better than the Balonda, but 

 the men walk about m puris naturalibus without the smallest 

 sense of shame. They have even lost the tradition of the 

 " figleaf." The further we advanced, the more the country 

 swarmed with inhabitants. Great numbers came to see the 

 novel spectacle of a white man, and brought presents of maize 

 and niasuka. Their mode of salutation is singular ; they 

 throw themselves on their backs on the ground, and, rolling 

 from side to side, slap their thighs, uttering the words, "Kina 

 bomba." This was to me a very disagreeable sight, and 

 I used to call out "Stop, stop! I don't want that;" but, 

 imagining me to be dissatisfied, they only tumbled about more 

 furiously and slapped their thighs with greater vigour. 



A large amount of ground in this quarter was covered with 

 masuka-trees, and my men kept constantly eating the pleasant 

 fruit as we marched along. We saw a smaller kind of the 

 same tree named Molondo, the fruit of which is about the size 

 of marbles, having a tender skin, and a slight acidity mingled 

 with its sweetness. Another tree which is said to yield good 

 fruit is named Sombo, but it was not ripe at this season. 



December 6th. — We passed the night near a series of villages. 

 The villagers supplied us abundantly with ground-nuts, 

 maize, and corn, and expressed great satisfaction on hearing 

 me speak of Him whose word is " Peace on earth and good 

 will to men." They called out, " We are tired of flight ; give 

 us rest and sleep." They did not of course understand the 

 full import of the message, but they eagerly seized the idea of 

 peace. And no wonder; for their country has been visited 

 by successive scourges during the last half-century, and they 

 are now "a nation scattered and peeled." When Sebituane 

 came the cattle were innumerable, and yet these were only 

 the remnants which had been left by a chief called Pingola, 

 who came from the north-east, and, actuated by a simple love 

 of conquest, swept across the whole territory, devouring oxen, 

 cows, and calves, without retaining a single head. After 

 Pingola came Sebituane, and after him the Matebele of 

 Mosilikatse ; and these successive inroads have reduced the 

 Batoka to a state in which they naturally rejoice at the 

 prospect of deliverance and peace 



