snatching up C. L. K., went forth quickly to see what
was the matter. At a little distance from the town, in the
bed of the river, we found a party of panic-stricken women,
all shrieking with terror. One of the women having been
very badly torn by a lion.
When we returned, I inquired what was the origin of all
the excitement. The answer was, that these women were
coming back from their gardens, and having missed one of
their number, were searching for her, when they heard
her piercing screams. She had fallen asleep, and had been
attacked by a lion; but through the combined yells of the
party, the brute had cleared off. The women said that he
had followed them to the river; but that was unlikely, as
the feminine noise they were making would have terrified
any animal. There was no doubt about the truth of the
first portion of their story,
Senhor Eubero told me that between Chibinga and his
other town, at least ten men were killed every year by lions.
The attacks usually take place during the rainy season,
when the people are working at their corn patches, and fall
asleep. Some of them are killed en route from one town to
the other.
. Wolves, he also told me, were very vicious here. Many
of his people had been bitten on the face. The savage
beasts would even enter the houses, if the doors were left
open. When I heard this, I fully understood the reason
why the people had made such a fuss when I had attempted
to go to sleep in peace with the door open; and I have just
described how the women objected to my reposing beneath
the tree in front of the hut. That they had good reason
to dread the exposure was very apparent; for I saw several
persons of both sexes, whose faces were very much disfigured
by the horrible bites of these ferocious animals.
One afternoon was devoted to walking through the town
with .the king. He showed me the house, or rather its
remains, where his eldest brother had been buried. After
the brother’s demise, Senhor Eubero had successfully claimed
the country; but I heard that he had another brother, who
had some pretensions to the leadership, and had caused not
a little trouble. The ruined house was enclosed by a fence,
through which no native could be induced to pass. The
defunct ruler had been left in the home in which he had
lived and died, a common custom among many native tribes
in Africa.
Beside the remains of the house was a broken flag-staff.
The red-tiled roof was sinking amidst a wild profusion of
luxuriant vegetation. Tiles in other quarters seemed to be
things of a more prosperous past; Nothing but grass-thatch
could now be seen on the surrounding huts. Even Senhor
Eubero’s abode was rather hovel-like, with its walls of mud
and grass-thatched roof.
On the west side of the town I was shown a succession of
circular mounds, occupying a place where many huts once
stood. My royal guide explained with considerable excitement
how there had been a great battle on the spot. The
people had been surprised by a tribe, living only a few
days’ march westward from the place, who were under a
very powerful chief, and were bitterly hostile to the
Mzungo, as his people were designated.
The wild fiends had started suddenly from the forest, in
the grey of the early dawn. Ere a stand could be made
against them, they succeeded in setting fire to the huts,
almost totally destroying the town, for the flames spread
with great rapidity.
Sakanii told, with justifiable pride, how gallantly his
people had rallied, and although attacked by overwhelming