Chap. XIV. PRESENTS GUIDES. 395 



his advice in a stream of words, which show a very inti- 

 mate acquaintance with the topography of his district; he 

 knows every rood cultivated, every weir put in the river, 

 every hunting-net, loom, gorge, and every child of his 

 tribe. Any addition made to the number of these latter 

 is notified to him ; and he sends thanks and compliments 

 to the parents. 



The presents which, following the custom of the 

 country, we gave to every headman, where we either 

 spent a night or a longer period, varied from four to eight 

 yards of calico. We had some Manchester cloths made in 

 imitation of the native manufactured robes of the West 

 Coast, each worth five or six shillings. To the more 

 important of the chiefs, for calico we substituted one of 

 these strong gaudy dresses, iron spoons, a knife, needles, 

 a tin dish, or pannikin, and found these presents to be 

 valued more than three times their value in cloth would 

 have been. Eight or ten shillings' worth gave abundant 

 satisfaction to the greediest ; but this is to be understood 

 as the prime cost of the articles, and a trader would some- 

 times have estimated similar generosity as equal to from 

 £30 to £50. In some cases the presents we gave exceeded 

 the value of what was received in return ; in others the 

 excess of generosity was on the native side. 



We never asked for leave to pass through the country ; 

 we simply told where we were going, and asked for 

 guides ; if they were refused, or if they demanded pay- 

 ment beforehand, we requested to be put into the beginning 

 of the path, and said that we were sorry we could not 

 agree about the guides, and usually they and we started 

 together. Greater care would be required on entering the 

 Mazitu or Zulu country, for there the Government extends 

 over very large districts, while among the Manganja each 

 little district is independent of every other. The people 

 here have not adopted the exacting system of the Banyai, 



