d to make converts by force. A prohibition of the use of
alcohol, however, has seemed to him to lie "within the sphere of
governmental action," and he has, indeed, imperilled his throne by
efforts to prevent the Bamangwato from making and drinking the stronger
kind of Kafir beer, to which, like all natives, they were much
addicted.[44] This beer is made from the so-called "Kafir-corn" (a grain
resembling millet, commonly cultivated by the natives), and, though less
strong than European-made spirits, is more intoxicating than German or
even English ale. Khama's prohibition of it had, shortly before my
visit, led to a revolt and threatened secession of a part of the tribe
under his younger brother, Radiclani, and the royal reformer, (himself a
strict total abstainer), had been compelled to give way, lamenting, in a
pathetic speech, that his subjects would not suffer him to do what was
best for them. Just about the same time, in England, the proposal of a
measure to check the use of intoxicating liquors led to the overthrow of
a great party and clouded the prospects of any temperance legislation.
Alike in Britain and in Bechuanaland it is no light matter to interfere
with a people's favourite indulgences. European spirits are, however, so
much more deleterious than Kafir beer that Khama still fought hard
against their introduction. The British South Africa Company forbids the
sale of intoxicants to natives in its territory, but Khama naturally
felt that when at railway stations and stores spirits were being freely
consumed by whites, the difficulty of keeping them from natives would be
largely increased. The Colonial Office gave leave for the construction
of the railway, and brought Khama into closer relations with the
Company, while securing to him a large reserve and establishing certain
provisions for his benefit and that of his people. However, a few months
later (in the beginning of 1896) the extension of the Company's powers
as to Bechuanaland was recalled, and Khama is now under the direct
protection of the Imperial Government.

His kingdom covers on the map a vast but ill-defined area, stretching on
the west into the Kalahari Desert, and on the north-west into the thinly
peopled country round Lake Ngami, where various small tribes live in
practical independence. Sovereignty among African natives is tribal
rather than territorial. Khama is the chief of the Bamangwato, rather
than ruler of a country, and where the Bam