248 
FUGITIVES—THE BEE-EATEE. 
Chap. XIV. 
Ills crimej secretly made his escape from Linyanti to Lake 
Ngami. He was sent for, however, and the chief at the lake 
delivered him up, on Sekeletu declaring that he had no intention 
of punishing him otherwise than by scolding. He did not even 
do that, as Sekohinyane was evidently terrified enough, and 
also became ill through fear. 
The fugitive villagers remained only a few weeks with their 
new master Masiko, and then fled hack again, and were received 
as if they had done nothing wrong. All united in abusing the 
conduct of Sekohinyane, and no one condemned the fugitives; 
and the cattle, the use of which they had previously enjoyed, 
never having been removed from them village, they re-esta¬ 
blished themselves with apparent gladness. 
This incident may give some idea of the serfdom of the subject 
tribes, and, except that they are sometimes punished for running 
away and other offences, I can add nothing more by way of 
showing the true nature of this form of servitude. 
Leaving Naliele, amidst abundance of good wishes for the 
success of our expedition and hopes that we might return accom¬ 
panied with white traders, we began again our ascent of the river. 
It was now beginning to rise, though the rains had hut just com¬ 
menced in the valley. The hanks are low, hut cleanly cut, and 
seldom sloping. At lov/ water they are from four to eight feet 
high, and make the river always assume very much the aspect 
of a canal. They are in some parts of whitish tenacious clay 
with strata of black clay intermixed, and black loam in sand, or 
pure sand stratified. As the river rises it is always wearing to 
one side or the other, and is known to have cut across from one 
bend to another, and to form new channels. As we coast along 
the shore, pieces which are undermined often fall in with a splash 
like that caused by the plunge of an alligator, and endanger 
the canoe. 
These perpendicular banks afford building-places to a pretty 
bee-eater,^ which loves to breed in society. The face of the 
sandbank is perforated with hundreds of holes leading to their 
nests, each of which is about a foot apart from the other; 
and as we pass they pour out of their hiding-places, and float 
overhead. 
* Merojps ajoiasfer and M. biiJlocJcoides (Smith). 
