and articles that I should be likely to find serviceable, such as calico and beads.
Before continuing my personal narrative, and concluding my account of my first visit to the residence of king Sepopo, I think it desirable to give some outline of the characteristics of the various tribes dwelling in his dominions.
With the exception of the Mashonas, on the east of the Matabele, there are none of the South African tribes that exhibit so much energy, as these in the Marutse-Mabunda kingdom. The various products of their handicraft to be found throughout the country mark them out to a student of comparative ethnology as people of a relatively high state of culture, an inference which is further illustrated and confirmed by their skill in boating, fishing, and other similar pursuits. Their aptitude in manipulating metal, horn, bone, wood, or leather, augurs well for their mental capacity, and they are very quick in receiving instruction. Compared with the tribes south of the Zambesi it must be confessed that their moral standard is low, but this proceeds so much from their primitive ignorance, and from their long seclusion from the outer world, and not, as is the case with the Hottentots, from wilful and degraded corruption, that I do not hesitate to express my belief that in this respect they will gradually show many signs of improvement.
Perhaps the evil which is most deeply rooted among them is their superstition. In this they are far worse than most other South African tribes, the Zulus and Matabele being hardly their match in this respect. The effect of the vice is both demonstrated and aggravated by the multitude of human lives that
