102 
IMPEDIMENTS TO TRAVELLING. 
in token of submission to the court's decision against 
him. Thus, by simple arbitration, ended their war of 
four-and-twenty days, which had entailed no greater 
loss than half-a-dozen men. 
A great talk and excitement was caused on the 4th 
August by the discovery of a man throwing a pair of 
human hands into a bush in the forest. As he could 
give no satisfactory account of himself, and was sus- 
pected of murder, he was at once made prisoner, but 
unfortunately he made his escape. It seems to be the 
established rule here, that when such trophies are 
proved to be those of war, the chief of his village kills 
a cow and gives a feast. This was sufficient for the 
prisoner, and for many others, no doubt, to commit 
murder, and it was the only case I heard of that 
created any very great sensation amongst the natives. 
Owing to such incidental circumstances, trade and 
travel are very much impeded, as single individuals 
can never with impunity move from one district to 
another, and are sure to be plundered, if not murdered. 
Two of our men fell behind upon one occasion, when 
their guns were at once seized, and to recover them it 
was necessary to pay a tax of two fathoms of cloth, 
after which the men were allowed to pass on. War 
causes retaliation in every direction. A M'salala 
caravan on its way through Ugogo from the coast was 
plundered by the natives. The latter on their part 
attributed their ill fortune to the Arab traders, who 
had brought war on the country, and to revenge 
themselves they seized the property of an Arab trader 
passing through their territory, and meant to treat all 
foreigners visiting them with the same rigour, until 
the lex talionis was fairly vindicated. 
