MESSAGE TO MASIKO. 245 



CHAPTER XV, 



On the 27th December we were at the confluence of the 

 Leeba and Leeambye (lat. 14 10' 52" S., long. 23 35' 40" 

 E.). Masiko, the Barotse chief, for whom we had some 

 captives, lived nearly due east of this point. They were 

 two little boys, a little girl, a young man, and two middle- 

 aged women. One of these was a member of a Babimpe 

 tribe, who knock out both upper and lower front teeth as 

 a distinction. As we had been informed by the captives 

 on the previous Sunday, that Masiko was in the habit of 

 seizing all orphans, and those who have no powerful friend 

 in the tribe whose protection they can claim, and selling 

 them for clothing to the Mambari, we thought the objection 

 of the women to go first to his town before seeing their 

 friends, quite reasonable, and resolved to send a party of 

 our own people to see them safely among their relatives. 

 I told the captive young man to inform Masiko that he 

 was very unlike his father Santuru, who had refused to sell 

 his people to Mambari. He will probably be afraid to 

 deliver such a message himself, but it is meant for his 

 people, and they will circulate it pretty widely, and Masiko 

 may yet feel a little pressure from without. We sent 

 Mosantu, a Batoka man, and his companions, with the 

 captives. The Barotse whom we had, were unwilling to 

 go to Masiko, since they owe him allegiance as the son of 

 Santuru, and while they continue with the Makololo are 

 considered rebels. The message by Mosantu was, that 

 " I was sorry to find that Santuru had not borne a wiser 

 son. Santuru loved to govern men, but Masiko wanted to 

 govern wild beasts only, as he sold his people to the 

 Mambari ; " adding an explanation of the return of the 

 captives, and an injunction to him to live in peace, and 

 prevent his people kidnapping the children and canoes of 

 the Makololo, as a continuance in these deeds would lead 

 to war, which I wished to prevent. He was also instructed 

 to say, if Masiko wanted fuller explanation of my views, 

 he must send a sensible man to talk with me at the first 

 town of the Balonda, to which I was about to proceed. 



We ferried Mosantu over to the left bank of the Leeba. 

 The journey required five days, but it could not have been 

 at a quicker rate than ten or twelve miles per day ; the 



