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f going off to hunt for the daily supply of fresh meat accompanied by Chimbolo as their guide and game-carrier, Antonio as their interpreter, and Mokompa as their poet and jester. They did not indeed, appoint Mokompa to that post of honour, but the little worthy took it upon himself, for the express purpose of noting the deeds of the white men, in order to throw his black comrades into convulsions over supper by a poetic recital of the same. "It pleases them, an' it don't hurt us," was Disco's observation on this head. On the afternoon, then, of which we write, the party of four went out to hunt, while the encampment was being prepared under the superintendence of Jumbo, who had already proved himself to be an able manager and cook, as also had his countrymen Masiko and Zombo. "What a rich country!" exclaimed Harold, looking round in admiration from the top of a small hillock on as fine a scene as one could wish to behold, "and what a splendid cotton country it might be if properly cultivated!" "So it is," said Disco, "an' I shouldn't wonder if there wos lots of gold too, if we only knew where to look for it." "Gold!" exclaimed Antonio, who sat winking placidly on the stump of a fallen tree; "dere be lots ob gold near Zambesi--an' oder ting too." "Let's hear wot are some of the other things," said Disco. "What are dere?--oh, let me see: der be coal, lots ob coal on Zambesi, any amount ob it, an' it burn fuss-rate, too. Dere be iron-ore, very much, an' indigo, an' sugar-cane, an ivory; you hab hear an' see yooself about de elephants an' de cottin, an' tobacco. [See Livingstone's _Zambesi and its Tributaries_, page 52.] Oh! great plenty ob eberyting eberywhere in dis yere country, but," said Antonio, with a shrug of his shoulders, "no can make noting out ob it on account ob de slave-trade." "Then I 'spose 'ee don't approve of the slave-trade?" said Disco. "No, dat am true," replied Antonio; "de country very good for slave-trader, but no good for man like me what want to trade proper." "H'm! I've more respect for 'ee than I had," said Disco. "I 'spose you've bin up in these parts before now, have 'ee?" "No, nevah, but I hab sister what marry one nigger, one slave, what sold himself, an' him tell me much 'bout it. Hims bin up here many time." "Sold himself!" repeated Harold in surprise. "What do you mean?" "Mean dat," returned Antonio. "Him was a black free-man--call him Chibanti; him was
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