he night near a series of villages. Before we
came to a stand under our tree, a man came running to us with hands and
arms firmly bound with cords behind his back, entreating me to release
him. When I had dismounted, the head man of the village advanced, and
I inquired the prisoner's offense. He stated that he had come from the
Bashukulompo as a fugitive, and he had given him a wife and garden and
a supply of seed; but, on refusing a demand for more, the prisoner had
threatened to kill him, and had been seen the night before skulking
about the village, apparently with that intention. I declined
interceding unless he would confess to his father-in-law, and promise
amendment. He at first refused to promise to abstain from violence, but
afterward agreed. The father-in-law then said that he would take him to
the village and release him, but the prisoner cried out bitterly, "He
will kill me there; don't leave me, white man." I ordered a knife, and
one of the villagers released him on the spot. His arms were cut by the
cords, and he was quite lame from the blows he had received.

These villagers supplied us abundantly with ground-nuts, maize, and
corn. All expressed great satisfaction on hearing my message, as I
directed their attention to Jesus as their Savior, whose word is "Peace
on earth, and good-will to men." They called out, "We are tired of
flight; give us rest and sleep." They of course did not understand
the full import of the message, but it was no wonder that they eagerly
seized the idea of peace. Their country has been visited by successive
scourges during the last half century, and they are now "a nation
scattered and peeled." When Sebituane came, the cattle were innumerable,
and yet these were the remnants only, left by a chief called Pingola,
who came from the northeast. He swept across the whole territory
inhabited by his cattle-loving countrymen, devouring oxen, cows, and
calves, without retaining a single head. He seems to have been actuated
by a simple love of conquest, and is an instance of what has occurred
two or three times in every century in this country, from time
immemorial. A man or more energy or ambition than his fellows rises
up and conquers a large territory, but as soon as he dies the power
he built up is gone, and his reign, having been one of terror, is
not perpetuated. This, and the want of literature, have prevented the
establishment of any great empire in the interior of Africa. Pingola