SELOUS AND LOBENGULA 
17 
in one of the king’s preserves, and he said to all hunters, Selous 
included, “ You must not shoot sea-cows there, for I want them 
for myself. When you hunters come across game, you are not 
satisfied with a little, but you kill it all.” So we all went out 
hunting, some going one way and some another. We had been 
out about three weeks, and had just reached the elephants, 
when a king's messenger came to us and said, “ The king wants 
you.” So we inspanned and trekked to Gu Bulawayo—the 
place where they kill—the king’s kraal. Mighty ! when we got 
there but the king was angry, and would see no one of us until 
the hunters were all arrived. Then we were asked before him, 
and he sat in his cattle kraal with his ring shining on his head, 
looking very fierce. In a deep voice the king asked, “ Why do 
you white men shoot sea-cows ? ” And the white men all said, 
“ We have shot no sea-cows, king.” Then the king called a 
coloured hunter belonging to a white man there, and asked, 
“ Did you shoot sea-cows ? ” And the hunter, seeing a lie was 
no good, said, “ King, I did shoot sea-cows.” Then the white 
man, the master of the hunter, said, “ King, I know nothing 
of this.” But Selous said *to him, “ Tell the king the man shot 
the sea-cows at your orders, and all will be well—a lie now 
will harm us, and can do no good.” But the white man was 
afraid, and said, “ I know nothing about this.” Then the king 
looked at the white man sideways with his red eyes awful to 
see, and said quickly to the hunter, like a large dog barking, 
“ Whose gun did you shoot the sea-cows with ? ” “ My master’s,” 
was the answer. “ And whose bullets did you use ? ” “ My 
master’s,” again answered the hunter. “ And whose powder and 
caps ? ” asked the king. “ My master’s,” was the reply. Then 
the king’s anger was terrible, and he shouted, “ Who killed the 
sea-cows ? Who killed the sea-cows ? The white man killed 
the sea-cows.” And his eyes opened and closed with rage, and 
we were all very frightened, for the king had only to say the word 
tc Lahla Batagati ”—“ Throw away the devils ”—and we should 
all have been killed. Ha, men, you should have seen him then ! 
—he seemed to grow big with rage ! But Selous spoke and said, 
B 
