ns of all ages and both sexes. The men were well armed with
bows, arrows, spears, and broadswords. Beside the husband sat a rather
aged woman, having a bad outward squint in the left eye. We put down
our arms about forty yards off, and I walked up to the centre of the
circular bench, and saluted him in the usual way by clapping the hands
together in their fashion. He pointed to his wife, as much as to say,
the honor belongs to her. I saluted her in the same way, and a mat
having been brought, I squatted down in front of them.

The talker was then called, and I was asked who was my spokesman. Having
pointed to Kolimbota, who knew their dialect best, the palaver began
in due form. I explained the real objects I had in view, without any
attempt to mystify or appear in any other character than my own, for
I have always been satisfied that, even though there were no other
considerations, the truthful way of dealing with the uncivilized is
unquestionably the best. Kolimbota repeated to Nyamoana's talker what
I had said to him. He delivered it all verbatim to her husband, who
repeated it again to her. It was thus all rehearsed four times over,
in a tone loud enough to be heard by the whole party of auditors. The
response came back by the same roundabout route, beginning at the lady
to her husband, etc.

After explanations and re-explanations, I perceived that our new friends
were mixing up my message of peace and friendship with Makololo affairs,
and stated that it was not delivered on the authority of any one less
than that of their Creator, and that if the Makololo did again break His
laws and attack the Balonda, the guilt would rest with the Makololo and
not with me. The palaver then came to a close.

By way of gaining their confidence, I showed them my hair, which is
considered a curiosity in all this region. They said, "Is that hair?
It is the mane of a lion, and not hair at all." Some thought that I
had made a wig of lion's mane, as they sometimes do with fibres of the
"ife", and dye it black, and twist it so as to resemble a mass of their
own wool. I could not return the joke by telling them that theirs was
not hair, but the wool of sheep, for they have none of these in the
country; and even though they had, as Herodotus remarked, "the African
sheep are clothed with hair, and men's heads with wool." So I had to
be content with asserting that mine was the real original hair, such as
theirs would have been had it not be