252 SHOOTING ZEBRAS. 



he became calm, and called back his wives. We soon 

 afterwards came to another party on the same errand 

 with ourselves. The man had a bow about six feet long, 

 and iron-headed arrows about thirty inches in length ; 

 he had also wooden arrows neatly barbed, to shoot in cases 

 where he might not be quite certain of recovering them 

 again. We soon afterwards got a zebra, and gave our 

 hunting acquaintances such a liberal share that we soon 

 became friends. All whom we saw that day then came 

 with us to the encampment to beg a little meat ; and 

 as they have so little salt, I have no doubt they felt 

 grateful for what we gave. 



Sekelenke and his people, twenty-four in number, 

 defiled past our camp carrying large bundles of dried 

 elephants' meat. Most of them came to say good-bye, 

 and Sekelenke himself sent to say that he had gone to visit 

 a wife living in the village of Manenko. It was a mere 

 African manoeuvre to gain information, and not commit 

 himself to either one line of action or another, with respect 

 to our visit. As he was probably in the party before us, 

 I replied that it was all right, and when my people came 

 up from Masiko, I would go to my wife too. Another 

 zebra came to our camp, and as we had friends near, it 

 was shot. It was the Equus montanus, though the country 

 is perfectly flat, and was finely marked down to the feet, 

 as all the zebras are in these parts. 



To our first message, offering a visit of explanation 

 to Manenko, we got an answer, with a basket of manioc- 

 roots, that we must remain where we were till she should 

 visit me. Having waited two days already for her, other 

 messengers arrived with orders for me to come to her. 

 After four days of rains and negotiation, I declined going 

 at all, and proceeded up the river to the small stream 

 Makondo (lat. 13 23' 12" S.), which enters the Leeba from 

 the east, and is between twenty and thirty yards broad. 



January 1st, 1854. — We had heavy rains almost every 

 day ; indeed, the rainy season had fairly set in. Baskets 

 of the purple fruit called mawa were frequently brought 

 to us bv the villagers ; not for sale, but from a belief 

 that their chiefs would be pleased to hear that they had 

 treated us well ; we gave them pieces of meat in return. 



When crossing at the confluence of the Leeba and Ma- 

 kondo, one of my men picked up a bit of a steel watch- 

 chain of English manufacture, and we were informed 



