THE BAEOTSE COUNTRY. 
559 
horns or little calabashes. The arms of the country 
are assegais, clubs, and hatchets. Bows and arrows 
are not in use. By way of defensive arm, they employ 
large oval-shaped shields of ox-liide over a wooden 
frame. Every man carries, as a rule, from five to six 
assegais for throwing. The irons of these assegais, 
although not poisoned, are none the less very terrible 
weapons, owing to their being barbed in every direction, 
so that, in the majority of cases where they run into 
the body there is no extracting them, saving by the 
death of the wounded. 
With respect to beads, I observed that the Luinas 
give the preference to those known in the Benguella 
trade under the names of leite, milk, azul celeste, sky- 
blue, and Maria II. The fine white, blue and red 
cassungas are likewise much esteemed. All goods are 
acceptable in the Lui, the best being preferred. Brass 
wire, about the eighth of an inch in diameter, is valu¬ 
able, and all ready-made clothes, coverlets, percussion- 
arms, powder, lead in pigs, and articles of the chase, 
are quoted at a high figure. Throughout the country, 
trade is carried on exclusively with the King, who 
makes a monopoly of it; to him belongs all the ivory 
obtainable within his dominions, as well as all the cattle 
of his subjects, from whom he obtains them whenever 
needed. He makes presents to his hunters, chiefs of 
villages and courtiers, of the goods, arms, and other 
articles which he obtains by barter. 
Women enjoy within the territory a good deal of 
consideration, and the nobler among them do literally 
nothing, passing their lives seated upon mats, drinking 
ca-pata and taking snuff. They possess many slaves, 
who are for the most part Macalacas, who wait upon 
them and attend to their wants. 
The vast herds of the Luinas are cattle of a mag¬ 
nificent race, and even their poultry and dogs are of 
better breeds than any I had previously observed. To 
the east and south of the Baroze valley the terrible 
tsee-tsee fly is constantly met with, a circumstance 
which obliges the people to concentrate their herds in 
