IN DANGER OF BEING MURDERED 289 
other chief, fired by the recollections of the wrongs he had 
suffered, would start off to gather his men for the same purpose, 
but again was held by the champions of justice. Stremboom, 
whom we met later, gave us an account of all that took place 
that night, telling us that several times he despaired of saving 
our lives, so wild and excited did the proceedings wax, till, day¬ 
light appearing, the chiefs consented to give the prisoners a fair 
trial. Satisfied with the king’s promise that a trial should take 
place, Stremboom and Umkook retired to rest, unfortunately 
to oversleep themselves next day. The reason lying at the 
bottom of all this fuss was explained later by the fact that last 
year a white man, while travelling on the road from Lake Ngami 
to Mongwato, with five hundred slaughter cattle he had traded 
and was taking out for sale, met the advancing Matabele army, 
who, in great straits for food, had seized his cattle and devoured 
the lot. The white man immediately proceeded to Lobengula 
for redress, and it was related how this king promised him the 
number of his cattle doubled provided he would return and 
discover the hidden passages in the reeds utilised by the 
Batowaana to secrete their cattle in times of danger. This 
transaction of Lobengula’s had been reported to Khama by 
one of his spies at Lobengula’s court, and Khama had 
forwarded, as a matter of friendship, the message on to the 
Batowaana, who are a remote branch of his tribe. It was not 
reported that this white man had actually started on his tour 
of investigation, and I do not believe that any of the interior 
hunters or travellers would lend themselves to so foul a plot for 
the benefit of Lobengula or any other native king. But the 
suspicious instincts of the Batowaana were awakened wide by 
the tale, and, inflamed by their recent horrible experiences of 
Matabele ferocity, they fully believed that the white man had 
undertaken to carry out this nefarious proposition; and therefore 
small blame can be attached to them for visiting the full weight 
of their suspicions and wrath on us, who had gone through the 
back part of their country at this excitable time, mapping out 
with mysterious instruments (sextant, etc.) a new course hitherto 
T 
