1 84 WARLIKE DEMONSTRATIONS. 



in corn or dura, ground-nuts, hoes, spears, honey, canoes, 

 paddles, wooden vessels, tobacco, mutokuane {Cannabis 

 sativa), various wild fruits (dried), prepared skins, and 

 ivory. When these articles are brought into the kotla, 

 Sekeletu has the honour of dividing them among the 

 loungers who usually congregate there. A small portion 

 only is reserved for himself. The ivory belongs nominally 

 to him too, but this is simply a way of making a fair 

 distribution of the profits. The chief sells it only with 

 the approbation of his counsellors, and the proceeds are 

 distributed in open day among the people as before. He 

 has the choice of everything ; but if he is not more liberal 

 to others than to himself, he loses in popularity. I have 

 known instances in this and other tribes in which indi- 

 viduals aggrieved, because they had been overlooked, fled 

 to other chiefs. One discontented person, having fled to 

 Lechulatebe, was encouraged to go to a village of the 

 Bapalleng, on the river Cho or Tso, and abstracted the 

 tribute of ivory thence which ought to have come to 

 Sekeletu. This theft enraged the whole of the Makololo, 

 because they all felt it to be a personal loss. Some of 

 Lechulatebe's people having come on a visit to Linyanti, 

 a demonstration was made, in which about five hundred 

 Makololo, armed, went through a mimic fight ; the 

 principal warriors pointed their spears towards the lake 

 where Lechulatebe lives, and every thrust in that direction 

 was answered by all with the shout, " Hoo ! " while every 

 stab on the ground drew out a simultaneous " Huzz ! " 

 On these occasions all capable of bearing arms, even the 

 old, must turn out at the call. In the time of Sebituane, 

 any one remaining in his house was searched for and 

 killed without mercy. 



This offence of Lechulatebe was aggravated by repeti- 

 tion, and by a song sung in his town accompanying the 

 dances, which mamfested joy at the death of Sebituane. 

 He had enjoined his people to live in peace with those at 

 the lake, and Sekeletu felt disposed to follow his advice : 

 but Lechulatebe had now got possession of fire-arms, and 

 considered himself more than a match for the Makololo. 

 His father had been dispossessed of many cattle by 

 Sebituane, and, as forgiveness is not considered among the 

 virtues by the heathen, Lechulatebe thought he had a 

 right to recover what he could. As I had a good deal of 

 influence with the Makololo, I persuaded them that, 



