earch was
abandoned. The body of the donkey was left behind, but two canoes
remained near the village, and it is most probable that it went to make
a feast at Chisalamalama's.

[Illustration: An old Servant destroyed.]

Travelling through incessant swamp and water, they were fain to make
their next stopping-place in a spot where an enormous ant-hill spread
itself out,--a small island in the waters. A fire was lit, and by
employing hoes, most of them dug something like a form to sleep in on
the hard earth.

Thankful to leave such a place, their guide led them next day to the
village of Kawinga, whom they describe as a tall man, of singularly
light colour, and the owner of a gun, a unique weapon in these parts,
but one already made useless by wear and tear. The next village,
N'kossu's, was much more important. The people, called Kawende, formerly
owned plenty of cattle, but now they are reduced: the Banyamwesi have
put them under the harrow, and but few herds remain. We may call
attention to the somewhat singular fact, that the hump quite disappears
in the Lake breed; the cows would pass for respectable shorthorns.[38]

A present was made to the caravan of a cow; but it seems that the rule,
"first catch your hare," is in full force in N'kossu's pastures. The
animals are exceedingly wild, and a hunt has to be set on foot whenever
beef is wanted; it was so in this case. Safene and Muanyasere with their
guns essayed to settle the difficulty. The latter, an old hunter as we
have seen, was not likely to do much harm; but Safene, firing wildly at
the cow, hit one of the villagers, and smashed the bone of the poor
fellow's thigh. Although it was clearly an accident, such things do not
readily settle themselves down on this assumption in Africa. The chief,
however, behaved very well. He told them a fine would have to be paid on
the return of the wounded man's father, and it had better be handed to
him, for by law the blame would fall on him, as the entertainer of the
man who had brought about the injury. He admitted that he had ordered
all his people to stand clear of the spot where the disaster occurred,
but he supposed that in this instance his orders had not been heard.
They had not sufficient goods in any case to respond to the demand; the
process adopted to set the broken limb is a sample of native surgery,
which must not be passed over.

[Illustration: Kawende Surgery.]

First of all a hole was dug, say two feet deep