54 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D. 



of his own tribe, besides a number of women, and between 200 and 300 

 children carried away captives. He lost, also, about 1500 head of cattle, and 

 several thousand sheep and goats. For his cattle he seemed not to care so 

 much, although his people were starving. He hoped to be able to replace them 

 by the profits of hunting for ivory ; but his people felt sorely the loss of their 

 children. Ninety waggon-loads of corn had been carried off by the Boers, 

 and the rest they had burnt in his town. Besides his own property, they had 

 carried off several waggons, oxen, and other property belonging to English 

 gentlemen at that time travelling to the lake. 



"From Sechele we learnt that the war originated with Maselleelie, chief 

 of the Batkatla tribe at Mabotsa, who had often been promised by the 

 Boers that if he supplied them with a number of servants he would be 

 exempted from further demands ; but on giving one supply after another, still 

 more was demanded, in spite of the promises made him. At length he refused, 

 and became surly, thinking probably, with many others of the natives, that 

 the late fever had so diminished the numbers of the Boers that he could 

 successfully resist their authority. The Batkatla chief having ascertained, 

 however, that the Boers intended to punish him, and being an arrant coward, 

 fled to Sechele for protection, it being a custom amongst those races that when 

 one tribe flies to another and solicits protection it must be given ; so that on 

 the Boers demanding that Maselleelie should be delivered up, Sechele refused, 

 saying he ' could not do it unless he was to cut open his own bowels and let 

 them fall out.' 



" Most of the people of Sechele's tribe were out during the day grubbing 

 for roots, their only food at present. Famine, ' the meagre fiend,' that 

 ' blows mildew from between the shrivelled lips,' had already made great 

 havoc among them. Several mothers had followed the Boers home, and, 

 hiding themselves during the day, endeavoured at night to steal away their 

 children ; a few only had succeeded and returned. 



" On the 1st of November we obtained a guide from Sechele to conduct us 

 to the main road, our waggons having been brought since our own arrival up 

 to his town. We accordingly departed, and at night overtook some emaciated 

 Bakwains, roasting the roots they had gathered during the day. I ate one 

 of these roots, but I thought I should have died from the effects it produced, 

 creating a lather like soap, and blistering the inside of my mouth in a few 

 minutes. I drank water to cure it, but that only aggravated the symptoms. 

 The pain I suffered was at last allayed by putting some fat into my mouth. 



" Next day we travelled still south, and reached Kolobeng in the forenoon. 

 This is the site of the town where Dr. Livingstone lived with the tribe. His 

 house had been pillaged, and presented a melancholy picture of wanton 

 destruction. The Boers had taken away everything that was valuable to 

 them in the shape of furniture, utensils, and implements, and destroyed some 



