310 WANT OF FOOD. 



ornament. I could not save him from the loss, as all 

 had been forewarned ; and it is the universal custom 

 among the Makololo, and many other tribes, to show 

 whatever they may find to the chief person of their 

 company, and" make a sort of offer of it to him. This lad 

 ought to have done so to me ; the rest of the party always 

 observed this custom. I felt annoyed at the imposition, 

 but the order we invariably followed in crossing a river 

 forced me to submit. The head of the party remained to 

 be ferried over last ; so, if I had not come to terms, I 

 would have been, as I always was in crossing rivers which 

 we could not swim, completely in the power of the enemy. 

 It was but rarely we could get a headman so witless as to 

 cross a river with us, and remain on the opposite bank in 

 a convenient position to be seized as a hostage, in case of 

 my being caught. 



This trick is but one of a number equally dishonourable 

 which are practised by tribes that he adjacent to the 

 more civilised settlements. The Balouda farther east 

 told us, by way of warning, that many parties of the more 

 central tribes had at various periods set out, in order to 

 trade with the white men themselves, instead of through 

 the Mambari, but had always been obliged to return 

 without reaching their destination, in consequence of so 

 many pretexts being invented by the tribes encountered 

 in the way, for fining them 01 their ivory. 



This ford was in 1 1° 1 5' 47'' S. latitude, but the weather 

 was so excessively cloudy, we got no observation for 

 longitude. 



We were now in want of food, for, to the great surprise 

 of my companions, the people of Kangenke gave nothing 

 except by way of sale, and charged the most exorbitant 

 prices for the little meal and manioc they brought. The 

 only article of barter my men had, was a little fat saved 

 from the ox we slaughtered at Katema's, so I was obliged 

 to give them a portion of the stock of beads. One day 

 (29th) of westing brought us from the Kasai to near the 

 village of Katende, and we saw that we were in a land 

 where no hope could be entertained of getting supplies of 

 animal food, for one of our guides caught a light-blue 

 coloured mole and two mice for his supper. The care 

 with which he wrapped them up in a leaf and slung them 

 on his spear, told that we could not hope to enjoy any 

 larger game. We saw no evidence of any animals besides ; 



