Chap. V. PANGOLA. 139 



made to imitate the Portuguese style' of building. We 

 established ourselves under a stately wild fig-tree, round 

 whose trunk witchcraft medicine had been tied, to protect 

 from thieves the honey of the wild bees, which had their 

 hive in one of the limbs. This is a common device. The 

 charm, or the medicine, is purchased of the dice doctors, 

 and consists of a strip of palm-leaf smeared with something, 

 and adorned with a few bits of grass, wood, or roots. It 

 is tied round the tree, and is believed to have the power of 

 inflicting disease and death on the thief who climbs over 

 it. Superstition is thus not without its uses in certain 

 states of society ; it prevents many crimes and mis- 

 demeanours, which would occur but for the salutary fear 

 that it produces. 



Pangola arrived, tipsy and talkative. — "We are friends, 

 we are great friends ; I have brought you a basket of 

 green maize — here it is ! " We thanked him, and handed 

 him two fathoms of cotton cloth, four times the market- 

 value of his present. No, he would not take so small a 

 present ; he wanted a double-barrelled rifle — one of Dixon's 

 best. " We are friends, you know ; we are all friends 

 together." But although we were willing to admit that, 

 we could not give him our best rifle, so he went off in 

 high dudgeon. Early next morning, as we were com- 

 mencing Divine service, Pangola returned, sober. We 

 explained to him that we wished to worship God, and 

 invited him to remain ; he seemed frightened, and 

 retired : but after service he again importuned us for the 

 rifle. It was of no use telling him that we had a long 

 journey before us, and needed it to kill game for ourselves. 

 — " He too must obtain meat for himself and people, for 

 they sometimes suffered from hunger." He then got 

 sulky, and his people refused to sell food except at extrava- 

 gant prices. Knowing that we had nothing to eat, they 

 felt sure of starving us into compliance. But two of our 



