Chap. X. THE MAZITU ALABMED. 271 



to their chief. All the goods were in the boat, and to 

 show that no present such as they wanted was in his 

 pockets, Dr. Livingstone emptied them, turning out, among 

 other things, a note-book : thinking it was a pistol they 

 started up, and said, " Put that in again." The younger 

 men then became boisterous, and demanded a goat. That 

 could not be spared, as they were the sole provisions. 

 When they insisted, they were asked how many of the 

 party they had killed, that they thus began to divide 

 the spoil ; this evidently made them ashamed. The elders 

 were more reasonable ; they dreaded treachery, and were 

 as much afraid of Dr. Livingstone and his party as his 

 men were of them ; for on leaving they sped away up the 

 hills like frightened deer. One of them, and probably 

 the leader, was married, as seen by portions of his hair 

 sewn into a ring ; all were observed by their teeth to 

 be people of the country, who had been incorporated into 

 the Zulu tribe. 



The way still led over a succession of steep ridges 

 with ravines of from 500 to 1000 feet in depth ; some of 

 the sides had to be scaled on hands and knees, and no 

 sooner was the top reached than the descent began again. 

 Each ravine had a running stream; and the whole 

 country, though so very rugged, had all been cultivated, 

 and densely peopled. Many banana-trees, uncared for 

 patches of corn, and Congo-bean bushes attested former 

 cultivation. The population had all been swept away ; 

 ruined villages, broken utensils, and human skeletons, 

 met with at every turn, told a sad tale. So numerous 

 were the slain, that it was thought the inhabitants had 

 been slaughtered in consequence of having made raids on 

 the Zulus for cattle. 



Continuing the journey that night as long as light 

 served, they slept unconsciously on the edge of a deep 

 precipice, without fire, lest the Mazitu should see it. Xext 



