MONINA'S UNFRIENDLINESS. 5 79 



cooked food is brought, the young men may not approach, 

 the dish, but an elder divides a portion to each. They 

 remain unmarried, until a fresh set of youths is ready to 

 occupy their place under the same instruction. The 

 parents send servants with their sons to cultivate gardens 

 to supply them with food, and also tusks to Monina tc* 

 purchase clothing for them. When the lads return to the 

 village of their parents, a case is submitted to them for 

 adjudication, and if they speak well on the point, the 

 parents are highly gratified. 



When we told Monina that we had nothing to present 

 but some hoes, he replied that he was not in need of those 

 articles, and that he had absolute power over the country 

 in front, and if he prevented us from proceeding, no one 

 would say anything to him. His little boy Bor6mo> 

 having come to the encampment to look at us, I gave him 

 a knife, and he went off and brought a pint of honey for 

 me. The father came soon afterwards, and I offered him. 

 a shirt. He remarked to his councillors, " It is evident* 

 that this man has nothing, for, if he had, his people 

 would be buying provisions, but we don't see them going 

 about for that purpose." His council did not agree in 

 this. They evidently believed that we had goods, but 

 kept them hid, and we felt it rather hard to be suspected 

 of falsehood. It was probably at their suggestion that in 

 the evening a war-dance was got up, about a hundred 

 yards from our encampment, as if to put us in fear and 

 force us to bring forth presents. Some of Monina's young 

 men had guns, but most were armed with large bows* 

 arrows, and spears. They beat their drums furiously,, 

 and occasionally fired off a gun. As this sort of dance is 

 never got up unless there is an intention to attack, my 

 men expected an assault. We sat and looked at them 

 for some time, and then, as it became dark, lay down, all 

 ready to give them a warm reception. But an hour or 

 two after dark, the dance ceased, and, as we then saw no 

 one approaching us, we went to sleep. During the nighty 

 one of my head-men, Monahin, was seen to get up, look 

 towards the village, and say to one who was half awake,, 

 " Don't you hear what these people are saying ? Go and 

 listen ! " He then walked off in the opposite direction 

 and never returned. We had no guard set, but every 

 one lay with his spear in his hand. The man to whom he 

 spoke appears to have been in a dreamy condition, for it 



