180 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER ch. 
him that air of distinction which unmistakably 
denotes the chief. On two occasions I happened to 
pass through his village. On the first, I encamped 
just on the outskirts of his kraal, and he came down 
to meet me with a retinue of about seventy men, all 
armed with muzzle-loading rifles, to inquire what I 
was doing in his country, and whether I wasn’t 
afraid to come there without his permission and 
with so few men. I replied that I was an English¬ 
man, and had nothing to fear ; that I had seven 
rifles, five of which had ten cartridges in each of 
them, and should trouble arise, each cartridge 
would mean at least one dead man. I assured him, 
however, that I was not there for fighting, but 
simply on my way to the Lujenda River, in search 
of elephants, and desired to purchase some food for 
my men and myself from his villagers, to which he 
replied that an Englishman was welcome to pass 
through his country, but that he would spill his last 
drop of blood in resisting the aggression of the 
Portuguese shensis (heathens). To show that I 
was desirous of being friendly, I gave him a cupful 
of whisky and a bowl of tea, and no sooner had he 
put these out of sight, than he begged for more. 
This I promised to let him have next day, and on 
returning to his village, he sent me fowls, eggs, and 
goats for myself, and plenty of flour and native 
beer for my men. 
