governed by “a great chief,” who made every sacrifice he could to come to reasonable terms with the encroaching Matabele. But the time came when the bloodthirsty Moselikatze, a very tiger amongst men, having ruined the Makalaka empire and half devoured the Mashonas, proceeded to annihilate the Manansas also. No credence had he to give to the conciliating proposals of the good honest chief; as a Matabele he was quite incapable of putting faith in any promise, or appreciating any right feeling; he was sure that some ulterior motive lurked behind the proposals that were made, and that the chief was only temporizing while his forces were collecting; and so he overpowered him in his own courtyard, pierced him with assegais, tore out his heart, pressed it to the still quivering lips, and shrieked aloud, “You had two hearts; one was false, and you shall eat it!”
Practically this victory and deed of Moselikatze put an end to the Manansas as a nation. Most of the boys were carried off to be trained as Matabele warriors, while of the men who escaped some took refuge with Sepopo, some with the Batoka chief Mochuri to the north, and others with Wankie, the ruler of the north-eastern Makalakas.
While I was in daily intercourse with them, I made repeated inquiries as to whether they had now any recognized chief, but I had great difficulty in getting a definite reply. They always appeared to suspect me; and any one of whom I asked the question seemed to fear that I wanted to put his name down in my “lungalo” (book) in order to betray him to the Matabele king. At length, however, they acknowledged that they all, wherever
