122 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D. 



down at the Zambesi ?) The Loeti, with its light-coloured water, flows into 

 the Leeanibye in 14° 18'. It comes from Lebale, which is probably a country 

 through which a Portuguese merchant informed me he had passed, and had 

 to cross as many as ten considerable rivers in one day : the Loeti comes from 

 the W.N.W. The current of the Leeambye is rapid ; 100 yards in 60 seconds 

 of time, or between 4 and 5 miles an hour. Our elevation must have been 

 considerable; but I had to regret having no means of ascertaining how much it 

 was. The country flooded by the river ends on the West bank before we 

 reach the Loeti, and there is an elevated table-land, called Mango, on which 

 grows grass, but no trees. The Barotse country, when inundated, presents 

 the appearance of a lake from 20 to 30 miles broad and 100 long. 



" The Makololo quote the precedent of Santuru, who, when he ruled this 

 country, was visited by Mambari, but refused them permission to buy his 

 people as slaves. This enlightened chief deserves a paragraph, and as he was 

 a mighty hunter, you will glance at it with no unfriendly eye. He was very 

 fond of rearing the young of wild animals in his town, and, besides a number 

 of antelopes, had two tame hippopotami. When I visited his first capital, the 

 people led me to one end of the mound and showed me some curious instru- 

 ments of iron, which are just in the state he left them. They are surrounded 

 by trees, all of which he transplanted when young. ' On these,' said the 

 people, ' Santuru was accustomed to present his offerings to the gods ' (Barimo 

 — which means departed souls too). The instruments consisted of an upright 

 stem, having numerous branches attached, on the end of each of which was a 

 miniature axe, or hoe, or spear. Detached from these was another, which 

 seemed to me to be the guard of a basket-hilted sword. When I asked if I 

 might take it as a curiosity, ' O no, he refuses.' ' Who refuses ? ' ' Santuru.' 

 This seems to show a belief in a future state of existence. After explaining 

 to them the nature of true worship, and praying with them in our simple form, 

 which needs no offering on the part of the worshipper except that of the heart, 

 we planted some fruit-tree seeds, and departed in peace. 



" I may relate another incident which happened at the confluence of the 

 Leeba and Leeambye. Having taken lunar observations, we were waiting 

 for a meridian altitude for the latitude, before commencing our return. My 

 chief boatman was sitting by, in order to bind up the instruments as soon as 

 I had finished. There was a large halo round the sun, about 20° in diameter. 

 Thinking that the humidity of the atmosphere which this indicates might 

 betoken rain, I asked him if his experience did not lead him to the same view. 

 ' O no,' said he, ' it is the Barimo who have called a j)icho (assembly). 

 Don't you see they have placed the Lord (sun) in their centre ? ' 



" On returning towards Nailele, I went to the eastern ridge in order to 

 examine that, and to see the stockade of the Portuguese slave-merchant, 

 which was at Katongo. He had come from the furthest inland station of the 



