A Popular Account

第24章

Mr。MoffathastranslatedthewholeBibleintothelanguageoftheBechuana,andhasdiligentlystudiedthistongueforthelastforty-

four-years;and,thoughknowingfarmoreofthelanguagethananyofthenativeswhohavebeenrearedontheMission-stationofKuruman,hedoesnotpretendtohavemastereditfullyevenyet。Howevercopiousitmaybeintermsofwhichwedonotfeelthenecessity,itispoorinothers,asinabstractterms,andwordsusedtodescribementaloperations。

Ourthirdday\'smarchendedintheafternoonofthe27thSeptember,1863,atthevillageofChinangaonthebanksofabranchoftheLoangwa。Alarge,roundedmassofgranite,athousandfeethigh,calledNomberume,standontheplainafewmilesoff。Itisquiteremarkable,becauseithassolittlevegetationonit。Severalothergranitichillsstandnearit,ornamentedwithtrees,likemostheightsofthiscountry,andaheapofbluemountainsappearsawayinthenorth。

Theeffectofthepiercingwindsuponthemenhadneverbeengotridof。Severalhadbeenunabletocarryaloadeversinceweascendedtothehighlands;wehadlostone,andanotherpoorladwassoillastocauseusgreatanxiety。Bywaitinginthisvillage,whichwassooldthatitwasfullofvermin,allbecameworse。OurEuropeanfoodwasentirelyexpended,andnativemeal,thoughfinelyground,hassomanysharpangularparticlesinit,thatitbroughtbackdysentery,fromwhichwehadsufferedsomuchinMay。Wecouldscarcelyobtainfoodforthemen。TheheadmanofthisvillageofChinangawasoffinaforayagainstsomepeoplefurthernorthtosupplyslavestothetradersexpectedalongtheslaveroutewehadjustleft;andwassaid,afterhavingexpelledtheinhabitants,tobelivingintheirstockade,anddevouringtheircorn。Theconqueredtribehadpurchasedwhatwascalledapeacebypresentingtheconquerorwiththreewomen。

Thisstateofmattersaffordedusbutapoorprospectoffindingmoreprovisionsinthatdirectionthanwecouldwithgreatdifficultyandatenormouspricesobtainhere。Butneitherwantoffood,dysentery,norslavewarswouldhavepreventedourworkingourwayroundtheLakeinsomeotherdirection,hadwehadtime;butwehadreceivedordersfromtheForeignOfficetotakethe"Pioneer"downtotheseainthepreviousApril。Thesalariesofallthemeninherwerepositively"inanycasetoceasebythe31stofDecember。”

Weweresaidtobeonlytendays\'distantfromLakeBemba。Wemightspeculateonalateriseoftheriver。Amonthorsixweekswouldsecureageographicalfeat,buttherainswerenear。Wehadbeenwarnedbydifferentpeoplethattherainswerecloseathand,andthatweshouldthenbeboggedandunabletotravel。Thefloodintherivermightbeanearlyone,orsosmallinvolumeastogivebutonechanceofthe"Pioneer"descendingtotheocean。TheMakololotoowerebecomingdispiritedbysicknessandwantoffood,andwerenaturallyanxioustobebacktotheirfieldsintimeforsowing。Butinadditiontoallthisandmore,itwasfeltthatitwouldnotbedealinghonestlywiththeGovernment,werewe,forthesakeofalittleeclat,toriskthedetentionofthe"Pioneer"uptheriverduringanotheryear;sowedecidedtoreturn;andthoughwehadafterwardsthemortificationtofindthatweweredetainedtwofullmonthsattheshipwaitingforthefloodwhichweexpectedimmediatelyafterourarrivalthere,thechagrinwaslessenedbyaconsciousnessofhavingactedinafair,honest,above-boardmannerthroughout。

Onthenightofthe29thofSeptemberathiefcametothesleeping-

placeofourmenandstolealegofagoat。Oncomplainingtothedeputyheadman,hesaidthatthethiefhadfled,butwouldbecaught。

Hesuggestedafine,andofferedafowlandhereggs;butwishingthatthethiefaloneshouldbepunished,itwasadvisedthatHE

shouldbefoundandfined。TheMakololothoughtitbesttotakethefowlasameansofmakingthepunishmentcertain。AftersettlingthismatteronthelastdayofSeptember,wecommencedourreturnjourney。Wehadjustthesametimetogobacktotheship,thatwehadspentincomingtothispoint,andthereisnotmuchtointerestoneinmarchingoverthesamegroundasecondtime。

Whileonourjourneynorth-west,acheeryoldwoman,whohadoncebeenbeautiful,butwhosewhitehairnowcontrastedstronglywithherdarkcomplexion,wasworkingbrisklyinhergardenaswepassed。Sheseemedtoenjoyahale,heartyoldage。Shesaluteduswithwhatelsewherewouldbecalledagoodaddress;and,evidentlyconsciousthatshedeservedtheepithet,"darkbutcomely,"answeredeachofuswithafrank"Yes,mychild。”Anothermotherly-lookingwoman,sittingbyawell,begantheconversationby"YouaregoingtovisitMuazi,andyouhavecomefromafar,haveyounot?"Butingeneralwomenneverspeaktostrangersunlessspokento,soanythingsaidbythemattractsattention。Muazioncepresenteduswithabasketofcorn。Onhintingthatwehadnowifetogrindourcorn,hisbuxomspousestruckinwithroguishglee,andsaid,"Iwillgrinditforyou;andleaveMuazi,toaccompanyandcookforyouinthelandofthesettingsun。”Asarulethewomenaremodestandretiringintheirdemeanour,and,withoutbeingoppressedwithtoil,showagreatdealofindustry。Thecropsneedabouteightmonths\'attention。

Thenwhentheharvestishome,muchlabourisrequiredtoconvertitintofoodasporridge,orbeer。Thecornispoundedinalargewoodenmortar,liketheancientEgyptianone,withapestlesixfeetlongandaboutfourinchesthick。Thepoundingisperformedbytwooreventhreewomenatonemortar。Each,beforedeliveringablowwithherpestle,givesanupwardjerkofthebody,soastoputstrengthintothestroke,andtheykeepexacttime,sothattwopestlesareneverinthemortaratthesamemoment。Themeasuredthud,thud,thud,andthewomenstandingattheirvigorouswork,areassociationsinseparablefromaprosperousAfricanvillage。Bytheoperationofpounding,withtheaidofalittlewater,thehardoutsidescaleorhuskofthegrainisremoved,andthecornismadefitforthemillstone。Themealirritatesthestomachunlessclearedfromthehusk;withoutconsiderableenergyintheoperator,thehusksticksfasttothecorn。Solomonthoughtthatstillmorevigourthanisrequiredtoseparatethehardhuskorbranfromwheatwouldfailtoseparate"afoolfromhisfolly。”"Thoughthoushouldstbrayafoolinamortaramongwheatwithapestle,YETwillnothisfoolishnessdepartfromhim。”Therainbow,insomeparts,iscalledthe"pestleoftheBarimo,"orgods。Boysandgirls,byconstantpracticewiththepestle,areabletoplantstakesinthegroundbyasomewhatsimilaraction,inerectingahut,sodeftlythattheynevermissthefirstholemade。

Letanyonetrybyrepeatedlyjobbingapolewithallhisforcetomakeadeepholeintheground,andhewillunderstandhowdifficultitisalwaystostrikeitintothesamespot。

Asweweresleepingonenightoutsideahut,butnearenoughtohearwhatwasgoingonwithin,ananxiousmotherbegantogrindhercornabouttwoo\'clockinthemorning。"Ma,"inquiredalittlegirl,"whygrindinthedark?"Mammaadvisedsleep,andadministeredmaterialforasweetdreamtoherdarling,bysaying,"Igrindmealtobuyaclothfromthestrangers,whichwillmakeyoulookalittlelady。”

Anobserveroftheseprimitiveracesisstruckcontinuallywithsuchlittletrivialtouchesofgenuinehumannature。

Themillconsistsofablockofgranite,syenite,orevenmicaschist,fifteenoreighteeninchessquareandfiveorsixthick,withapieceofquartzorotherhardrockaboutthesizeofahalfbrick,onesideofwhichhasaconvexsurface,andfitsintoaconcavehollowinthelargerandstationarystone。Theworkwomankneeling,graspsthisuppermillstonewithbothhands,andworksitbackwardsandforwardsinthehollowofthelowermillstone,inthesamewaythatabakerworkshisdough,whenpressingitandpushingfromhim。

Theweightofthepersonisbroughttobearonthemovablestone,andwhileitispressedandpushedforwardsandbackwards,onehandsupplieseverynowandthenalittlegraintobethusatfirstbruisedandthengroundonthelowerstone,whichisplacedontheslopesothatthemealwhengroundfallsontoaskinormatspreadforthepurpose。Thisisperhapsthemostprimitiveformofmill,andanteriortothatinorientalcountries,wheretwowomengrindatonemill,andmayhavebeenthatusedbySarahofoldwhensheentertainedtheAngels。

On2ndOctoberweappliedtoMuaziforguidestotakeusstraightdowntoChinsamba\'satMosapo,andthuscutoffanangle,whichweshouldotherwisemake,bygoingbacktoKota-kotaBay。HerepliedthathispeopleknewtheshortwaytoChinsamba\'sthatwedesiredtogo,butthattheyallwereafraidtoventurethere,onaccountoftheZulus,orMazitu。Wethereforestartedbackonouroldroute,and,afterthreehours\'march,foundsomeBabisainavillagewhopromisedtoleadustoChinsamba。

Wemeetwiththesekeentraderseverywhere。Theyareeasilyknownbyalineofhorizontalcicatrices,eachhalfaninchlong,downthemiddleoftheforeheadandchin。Theyoftenwearthehaircollectedinamassontheupperandbackpartofthehead,whileitisallshavenofftheforeheadandtemples。TheBabisaandWaiauorAjawaheadshavemoreoftheroundbullet-shapethanthoseoftheManganja,indicatingamarkeddifferenceincharacter;theformerpeoplebeinggreattradersandtravellers,thelatterbeingattachedtohomeandagriculture。TheManganjausuallyintrusttheirivorytotheBabisatobesoldattheCoast,andcomplainthatthereturnsmadenevercomeuptothehighpriceswhichtheyhearsomuchaboutbeforeitissent。Infact,bythetimetheBabisareturn,theexpensesofthejourney,inwhichtheyoftenspendamonthortwoataplacewherefoodabounds,usuallyeatupalltheprofits。

Ournewcompanionsweretradingintobacco,andhadcollectedquantitiesoftheroundballs,aboutthesizeofninepoundershot,intowhichitisformed。Oneofthemownedawoman,whosechildhadbeensoldthatmorningfortobacco。Themotherfollowedhim,weepingsilently,forhoursalongthewaywewent;sheseemedtobewellknown,foratseveralhamlets,thewomenspoketoherwithevidentsympathy;wecoulddonothingtoalleviatehersorrow——thechildwouldbekeptuntilsomeslave-traderpassed,andthensoldforcalico。Thedifferentcasesofslave-tradingobservedbyusarementioned,inordertogiveafairideaofitsdetails。

Wespentthefirstnight,afterleavingtheslaveroute,atthevillageofNkoma,amongasectionofManganja,calledMachewa,orMacheba,whosedistrictextendstotheBua。

ThenextvillageatwhichwesleptwasalsothatofaManganjasmith。

Itwasabeautifulspot,shadedwithtalleuphorb

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