328 AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
less alike of the crocodiles and of the displeasure of the 
tyrant, waded into the stream and demanded her son— 
her darling Mushemani. But to Sepopo a mother’s 
grief was nothing; he landed quite unconcerned, and 
proceeded with his myrmidons to enjoy his pots of 
butshuala, while the doctors stored away the dismem¬ 
bered toes and fingers in a war-drum. 
This narrative 1 give as related to me in its general 
outline on my second return to Sesheke by two of the 
resident chiefs, the details being filled in by Blockley, 
whose quarters were just opposite to the scene of the 
murder. 
The following brief account of the origin of the Mata- 
bele kingdom will be of interest. 
At this time the Matabele kingdom was only second 
in power to any of the native tribes south of the Zam¬ 
besi, and now, since the subjugation of the southern 
Zulus, it must rank as absolutely the most powerful 
of all. It is considerably more than 300 miles long, and 
from 250 to 300 miles broad. According to Mr. Mac¬ 
kenzie, Moselikatze, the founder of this extensive king¬ 
dom, was the son of Matsliobane, a Zulu captain in 
Natal ; lie was taken prisoner by Cliaka, the most 
powerful of the Zulu chiefs, who subsequently, when he 
found out the courage of his captive, gave him the 
command of one of his marauding expeditions; but 
Moselikatze, instead of returning with his booty, carried 
it off to the heart of what is now the Transvaal country, 
subdued the Bakhatlas, Baharutse, and other Becliuana 
tribes, and finally settled in the highlands round the 
Marico and its tributaries. Here he was attacked by 
the Griqua chief, Berend-Berend, whom he defeated and 
killed. All this, however, was but the beginning of a 
series of eno-agements. Two Zulu armies in succession 
were sent after him as a recreant, one by Cliaka, and the 
other by his successor D'ingan, but both failed to dis¬ 
lodge him. His next assailants were the Boers, who 
were most anxious to get rid of such a dangerous neigh¬ 
bour, and to drive him from the beautiful Marico country, 
which they coveted for themselves. To accomplish their 
