202 DISOBEDIENCE PUNISHED WITH DEATH. Chap. VIII. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Life amongst the Makololo — Eeturn journey — Native hospitality — 

 A canoe voyage on the Zambesi. 



While we were at Sesheke, an ox was killed by a croco- 

 dile ; a man found the carcass floating in the river, and 

 appropriated the meat. When the owner heard of this, 

 he requested him to come before the chief, as he meant to 

 complain of him ; rather than go, the delinquent settled 

 the matter by giving one of his own oxen in lieu of the 

 lost one. A headman from near Linyanti came with a 

 complaint that all his people had run off, owing to the 

 " hunger." Sekeletu said, " You must not be left to grow 

 lean alone, some of them must come back to you." He 

 had thus an order to compel their return, if he chose to 

 put it in force. Families frequently leave their own head- 

 man and flee to another village, and sometimes a whole 

 village decamps by night, leaving the headman by him- 

 self. Sekeletu rarely interfered with the liberty of the 

 subject to choose his own headman, and, as it is often the 

 fault of the latter which causes the people to depart, it is 

 jjunishment enough for him to be left alone. Flagrant 

 disobedience to the chiefs orders is punished with death. 

 A Moshubia man was ordered to cut some reeds for Seke- 

 letu : he went off, and hid himself for two days instead. 

 For this he was doomed to die, and was carried in a canoe 

 to the middle of the river, choked, and tossed into the 



