“ Good. Tell it to take us back, and we
will go.”
“ If you do not go back, we will fight you.”
“No, don’t; we are friends.”
“We don’t want you for our friends; we will
eat you.”
But we persisted in talking to them, and as
their curiosity was so great they persisted in
listening, and the consequence was that the current
conveyed us near to the right bank; and in
such near neighbourhood to another district,
that our discourteous escort had to think of
themselves, and began to skurry hastily up
river, leaving us unattacked.
The villages on the right bank also maintained
a tremendous drumming and blowing of war-
horns, and their wild men hurried up with menace
towards us, urging their sharp-prowed canoes
so swiftly that they seemed to skim over the
water like flying fish. Unlike the Luavala
villagers, they did not wait to be addressed,
but as soon as they came within fifty or sixty
yards they shot out their spears, crying out,
Meat! meat! A h ! ha! We shall have plenty of
meat! Bo-bo-bo-bo, Bo-bo-bo-bo-o-o!”
Undoubtedly these must be relatives of the
terrible “ Bo-bo-bo’s ” above, we thought, as
with one mind we rose to respond to this rabid
man-eating tribe. Anger we had none for them-
It seemed to me so absurd to be angry with
r Dec- 29, 1876. lREGARDED in t h [Kisaoga'Sanga.J e l i g h t o f m e a t ! 259
people who looked upon one only as an epicure
would regard a fat capon, Sometimes also a
faint suspicion came to my mind that this was
all but a part of a hideous dream. Why was
it that I should be haunted with the idea that
there were human beings who regarded me and
my friends only in the light of meat? Meat!
Wei Heavens! what an atrocious idea!
“Meat! Ah! we shall have meat to-day. Meat!
meat! meat!”
There was a fat-bodied wretch in a canoe,
whom I allowed to crawl within spear-throw of
me; who, while he swayed to spear with a
vigour far from assuring to one who stood
within reach of it, leered with such a clever
hideousness of feature that I felt, if only within
arm’s length of him, I could have bestowed
upon him a hearty thump on the back, and
cried out applaudingly, “ Bravo, old boy! You
do it capitally!”
Yet not being able to reach him, I was rapidly
being fascinated by him. The rapid movements
of the swaying spear, the steady wide-
mouthed grin, the big square teeth, the head
poised on one side with the confident pose of
a practised spear-thrower, the short brow and
square face, hair short and thick. Shall I. ever
forget him? It appeared to me as if the spear
partook of the same cruel inexorable look as
the grinning savage. Finally, I saw him draw