250 A FEMALE CHIEF. 



and be their own ichneumons. The white of the egg 

 does not coagulate, but the yolk does, and this is the only- 

 part eaten. 



As the population increases the alligators will decrease, 

 for their nests will be oftener found ; the principal check 

 on their inordinate multiplication seems to be man. They 

 are more savage and commit more mischief in the Iyeeam- 

 bye than in any other river. After dancing along in 

 the moonlight nights, young men run down to the water 

 to wash off the dust, and cool themselves before going to 

 bed, and are thus often carried away. One wonders they 

 are not afraid ; but the fact is, they have as little sense 

 of danger impending over them as the hare has when 

 not actually pursued by the hounds ; and in many ren- 

 contres, in which they escape, they had no time to be 

 afraid, and only laugh at the circumstance afterwards : 

 there is a want of calm reflection. In many cases, not 

 referred to in this book, I feel more horror now in thinking 

 on dangers I have run, than I did at the time of their 

 occurrence. 



When we reached the part of the river opposite to the 

 village of Manenko, the first female chief whom we en- 

 countered, two of the people called Balunda, or Balonda, 

 came to us in their little canoe. From them we learned 

 that Kolimbota, one of our party, who had been in the 

 habit of visiting these parts, was believed by the Balonda 

 to have acted as a guide to the marauders under Iyerimo, 

 whose captives we were now returning. They very 

 naturally suspected this, from the facility with which 

 their villages had been found, and, as they had since 

 removed them to some distance from the river, they were 

 unwilling to lead us to their places of concealment. We 

 were in bad repute, but, having a captive boy and girl 

 to show in evidence of Sekeletu and ourselves not being 

 partakers in the guilt of inferior men, I could freely 

 express my desire that all should live in peace. They 

 evidently felt that I ought to have taught the Makololo 

 first, before coming to them, for they remarked that what 

 I advanced was very good, but guilt lay at the door of 

 the Makololo for disturbing the previously existing peace. 

 They then went away to report us to Manenko. 



When the strangers visited us again in the evening, 

 they were accompanied by a number of the people of 

 an Ambonda chief named Sekelenke. The Ambonda 



