people, but very often a caravan of this kind will include considerably more, because whether the men come voluntarily, or under the compulsion of a chief, they are always obliged to bring their whole households with them. On making their entry into Sesheke the party was arranged mainly with regard to the stature of the people who composed it; a leader went in front, carrying nothing but his weapons and a great bell, which he continued ringing without intermission; following him were the men laden with the elephants’ tusks, the manzaroots, and the baskets of fruit that composed the tribute; then came the women in charge of the travelling-apparatus and provisions, the children all trudging on behind.
On the 19th Westbeech, Bauren, Walsh, and myself made up a party to go and fish in one of the lagoons. We arranged to go two and two in separate boats, but we were so unlucky in our choice that we soon found that we were in perpetual danger of losing our equilibrium, and had to return and exchange into craft of safer dimensions. We had an opportunity during our excursion to observe the way in which the Marutse and Masupias manipulate their nets. Made of bast, with meshes that are somewhat wide, each net is cast out with its ends secured to two boats, which are stationed at a distance from each other, and manned by four oarsmen apiece; when the net is sunk the two boats are made to approach each other at the same pomt upon the shore where the net is drawn up; the fish are stupified by being knocked with kiris, and then brought to land.
We were witnesses on our way back of a scene
