220 
Seven Years in Central Africa. [July, 
EXECUTIONS. 
July i^th. — To-day a son of the great Kasembe, of Lake 
Moero, an old friend of Dr. Livingstone, was executed. This 
man, a tall, handsome fellow, came to Msidi's town as a refugee 
after the break-up of his father's power. Conspiracies against 
him in his own country compelled him to seek a friend in his 
father's old enemy. He, however, acted very unwisely when 
staying with Msidi, who tested his fidelity by employing him 
in subordinate positions. Young Kasembe would not submit 
to such tests, seeing he himself was a king's son, and he preferred 
to remain idle at the capital. It so happened that one of Msidi's 
daughters cherished animosity against this man, because some 
of her relatives by marriage had been murdered by him years 
ago. She consequently did all in her power to bring him into 
trouble, and at last he gave her an opportunity by speaking un- 
guardedly, in a drunken fit, in the presence of Msidi, and 
implicating himself in the death of one of Msidi's favourite 
generals. He was withal so defiant to Msidi, that the king saw 
the wisdom of handing him over to his daughter, who had been 
petitioning her father for his head for a long time. So the poor 
fellow was bound and beheaded to-day, and his head was placed 
on a pole above the door of this relentless princess. 
August ^th. — I had long been planning to revisit the town of 
Kalolo, where the people were so afraid of me as to go off and 
sleep in their fields all night. This time I carried nothing but 
my gun and blanket, intending to give the people the benefit of 
entertaining me to their hearts' content. I went a different road 
to the one previously taken, and called at the town of Likoko, a 
brother of Msidi. In doing so I had to pass the town of 
Kapapa, Msidi's chief wife. In going along a little path leading 
up to her town, I was astonished to see close by the gateway 
what I at first thought was a young man buried in the ground up 
to his neck — a mode of punishment common in these parts, as 
prisons and handcuffs are unknown ; but to my horror I found it 
to be the head of a young man freshly decapitated, placed thus 
on the path as a warning to all evildoers. The headless trunk 
was lying a few yards away, by the side of the road. At once I 
suspected that Msidi was at Kapapa's town. I found that he 
had arrived there very early in the morning, and had caught this 
