BETWEEN ANGOLA AND THE ZAMBESI. 
503 
Majesty, as a rule, is never satisfied with what is given, 
hut always demands more. 
The libatas or fortified villages (and they all of them 
are more or less fortified from the coast to the Bihe), 
are counterparts of each other, saving such trifling 
deviations as are due to the configuration of the soil. 
They are composed of groups of huts constructed of 
wood and covered with thatch, surrounded by a stock¬ 
ade or palisade, the height of which varies from six to 
fifteen feet. This palisade is formed of stakes of iron- 
wood, seven inches in diameter, some of which are 
merely stuck into the ground, others are secured to 
cross-pieces by means of withes, whilst others again are 
strengthened by horizontal pieces fitting into enormous 
forked uprights. Another palisade of a similar character 
surrounds the lombe or compound of the chief or 
sovereign of the place. In many cases I observed 
groups of houses isolated as it were by means of a 
palisade. Most of the libatas , and the older ones more 
especially, are shaded by leafy trees, and are almost 
invariably on the banks of some river or brook. In 
many instances they are built over the stream, which 
thus runs through them. The majority of them are 
rectangular in shape, though some are elliptical or 
circular and others form very irregular polygons. There 
is not the slightest order observable in the buildings, 
and the formation of the soil evidently dictates their 
arrangement. The villages are fortified to resist the 
attacks of men, as there are too few wild animals in the 
district to create any fear of assaults from the latter ; 
indeed, this is so clearly the case, that in the interior of 
the country, where wild beasts abound, the villages are 
open and unprotected. 
Wars among the blacks in this part of the world are, 
in the majority of instances, utterly causeless, and a 
reputation for wealth of any particular tribe will be 
quite sufficient to ensure its being attacked. They are 
purely freebooting expeditions. When a sovereign has 
decided upon a war with another potentate or tribe, he 
sends his emissaries round to the native chiefs and 
