ing, so . we went on onr way; but in a few moments we saw
the rifle-loving Chief approaching with some armed men.
Before meeting us, he left the path and drew up his “ following”
under a tree, expecting us to halt, and give him a
chance of bothering us again; but, having already had
enough of that, we held right o n : he seemed dumb-
foundered, and could hardly believe his own eyes. For a few
seconds he was speechless, but at last recovered so far as to
be able to say, “ You are passing Pangóla.' Do not you see
•Pangóla?” Mbia was just going by at the time with the
donkey, and, proud of every opportunity of airing his small
stock of English, shouted in reply, “All right! then get
on. Click, click, click. This fellow, Pangóla, would
have annoyed and harassed a trader until his unreasonable
demands were complied with.
On the 26th J une we breakfasted at Zumbo, on the left bank
of the Loangwa, near the ruins of some ancient Portuguese
houses. The Loangwa was too deep to be forded, and there were
no canoes on our side. Seeing two small ones on the opposite
shore, near a few recently-erected huts of two half-castes from
Tette, we halted for the ferry-men to come over. From their
movements it was evident that they were in a state of
rollicking drunkenness. Having a waterproof cloak, which
could be inflated into a tiny boat, we sent Mantlanyane across
in it. Three half-mtoxicated slaves then brought us the shaky
canoes, which we lashed together and manned with our own
canoe-men. Five men were all that we could carry over at
a time; and after four trips had been made the slaves
began to clamour for drink; not receiving any, as we had
none to give, they grew more insolent, and declared
that not another man should cross that day. Sininyane was
remonstrating with them, when a loaded musket was presented
at him by one of the trio. In an instant the gun was
out of the rascal’s hands, a rattling shower of blows fell on
his back, and he took an involuntary header into the river. He
crawled up the bank a sad and sober man, and all three at once
tumbled from the height of saucy swagger to a low depth of
slavish abjectness. The musket was found to have an enormous
charge, and might have blown our man to pieces, but for the
promptitude with which his companions administered justice
in a lawless land. We were all ferried safely across by
8 o’clock in the evening.
In illustration of what takes place where no government,
or law exists, the two half-castes, to whom these men
belonged, left Tette, with four hundred slaves, armed with
the old Sepoy Brown Bess, to hunt elephants and trade
in ivory. On our way up, we heard from natives of their
lawless deeds, and again, on our way down, from several,
who had been eyewitnesses of the principal crime, and all
reports substantially agreed. The story is a sad one. After
the traders reached Zumbo, one of them, called by the natives
Sequasha, entered into a plot with the disaffected headman,
Namakusuru, to kill his Chief, Mpangwe, in order that Nama-
kusuru might seize upon the chieftainship; and for the murder
of Mpangwe, the trader agreed to receive ten large tusks of
ivory. Sequasha, with a picked party of armed slaves, went
to visit Mpangwe, who received him kindly, and treated him
with all the honour and hospitality usually shown to distinguished
strangers, and the women busied themselves in cooking
the best of their provisions for the repast to be set before
him. Of this, and also of the beer, the half-caste partook
heartily. Mpangwe was then asked by Sequasha to allow his
men to fire their guns in amusement. Innocent of any suspicion
of treachery, and anxious to hear the report of firearms,