HONEY AND WAX — UONS. 575 



laden with large blocks of this substance, each 80 or 100 lbs. 

 in weight, and pieces were offered to us for sale at every 

 village ; but here we never saw a single artificial hive. 

 The bees were always found in the natural cavities of 

 mopane-trees. It is probable that the good market for 

 wax afforded to Angola by the churches of Brazil led to 

 the gradual development of that branch of commerce 

 there. I saw even on the banks of the Quango as muck 

 as .sixpence paid for a pound. In many parts of the Batoka 

 country, bees exist in vast numbers ; and the tribute due 

 to Sekeletu is often paid in large jars of honey ; but 

 having no market nor use for the wax, it is thrown away. 

 This was the case also with ivory at the I^ake Ngami, at 

 the period of its discovery. The reports brought by my" 

 other party from L,oanda of the value of wax had induced, 

 some of my present companions to bring small quantities 

 of it to Tete, but, not knowing the proper mode of pre- 

 paring it, it was so dark coloured that no one would pur- 

 chase it ; I afterwards saw a little at Kilimane, which had 

 been procured from the natives somewhere in this region. 

 Though we are now approaching the Portuguese settle- 

 ment, the country is still full of large game. My men 

 killed six buffalo calves out of a herd we met. The 

 abundance of these animals, and also of antelopes, shows 

 the insufficiency of the bow and arrow to lessen their 

 numbers. There are also a great many lions and hyaenas, 

 and there is no check upon the increase of the former, 

 for the people, believing tnat the souls of their chiefs enter 

 into them, never attempt to kill them ; they even believe 

 that a chief may metamorphose himself into a lion, kill 

 any one he chooses, and then return to the human form ; 

 therefore when they see one they commence clapping their 

 hands, which is the usual mode of salutation here. The 

 consequence is, that lions and hysenas are so abundant* 

 that we see little huts made in trees, indicating the places 

 where some of the inhabitants have slept when benighted 

 in the fields. As numbers of my men frequently left the 

 line of march in order to take out the korwes from their 

 nests, or follow the honey-guides, they excited the astonish- 

 ment of our guides, who were constantly warning them of 

 the danger they thereby incurred from lions. I was often 

 considerably ahead of the main body of my men on this 

 account, and was obliged to stop every hour or two, but, the 

 sun being excessively hot by day, I was glad of the excuse 



