CHAPTER IX.
RECONNOITRING.
“ Ah, master! I tink of me leetle wife.”—Negotiating with Sandani—He
tells of Negomo—Chibero dread and mistrust—The valley of the
Etsatse—The Gramapudzi river—An uninviting country—Gold finding
possible—A friendly welcome—“ Gughle, gughle seree! ”—Curing a
fit—My first present—Frightening the white man—Native drums—
Gold—Products of the country—Mode of life—Chibabura presents me
with an ox—Friendly people—Assegai practice—A successful shot—
Cobbling shoes—Appearance of the people—-Adornments of the women
and men—Absence of gold ornaments—Smoking customs—Entertainments—
Weapons and implements — The “ look out”—A strange
musician—Anxiety about John—Powder of native manufacture—
Reflections on the retreat from Chuzu’s—Startled by a baboon—
Retrospect.
A so f t refreshing breeze swept up the Etsatse valley on
the night of the 10th of July, fanning into lively flames
the fires which we had made from the wind-fallen timber.
Around the flickering blaze unhappy groups sat in a sulky
silence, which was broken only by the melancholy sound of
the wind as it bent the trees, and made them creak a doleful
and depressing dirge.
“ What makes you so fearfully despondent, John ? ”
“ Ah, master! I tink of me leetle wife.”
“ Never mind, John, we will yet get to the Zambesi.
Then just think of the lot of elephants we may come across;
there are plenty on the river.”
“ But, master, de Igova men is gone, and dese Chibero
say dey will leave all de tings here. De meal is done.
My G-aut! what shall us do wid dese peoples ? Karem, he
say he is very tired now, and want to go home.”
After a long confabulation of this kind John’s spirits rose,
and I was by no means sorry when I heard him say :
“ I like to see de beeg town on the rafeer (river).”
The old man Sandani, whom we had recruited on our
journey northwards, sat opposite me, for he never went far
from the source of the bead supply. Sandani was evidently
on a foraging expedition, and was bent upon being able to
give a good account of himself on his return home.
The Igova men who had left had each received a small
present. Although they left rather awkwardly, they had
done all I could expect them to do, as they had said they
would only go to the Makorikori country. Their desertion
rather suited my views, too, because it prevented the possibility
of a further and immediate falling back towards the
waggon.
I had left the payment of Sandani until the last. When
his turn came, I said that I wished him to wait for a little,
and I would pay him more than the rest, assuming that his
absorbing love of calico would yet be the means of our
getting valuable information. As it was clear he was to
take all he could from me, I was determined to get all I
could from him, so that the thoughts of both lay in similar
directions.
Besides, I was impressed with the belief that the old boy
had not lived and roved amidst these rocks for nearly half
a century without knowing something of the eastern country.
Sandani, however, evidently judged me with a suspicious
mind, being apparently under the impression that I meant
to cheat him and his son out of their honest emoluments.
All the morning he had been in a storming rage, which had
gradually exhausted itself, for he was then paying strict