are permitted, however, to rear a few goats, which they do less for the sake of the milk and flesh than for the skins, which are converted into sleeping rugs, and carosses for wear. They also keep a few barn-door fowls, but apparently of a very ordinary breed.

They derive their chief subsistence from the produce of the soil, which is fertile, yielding the necessaries of life in abundance, and with little labor. A month or two before the rainy season the ground for cultivation is selected, cleared, and slightly worked by a small, short hoe, the only agricultural implement I have seen used by the Bayeye in tilling. After the first heavy rains they begin to sow the corn, of which there are two kinds indigenous to the country, namely, the common "Caffre," and another sort, very small-graincd, and not unlike canary-seed-a description which is akin, as I am informed, to the "badjera" of India. This is more nutritious than the other, and, when well ground, makes excellent flour. Tobacco, calabashes, watermelons, pumpkins, beans, and small peas are also grown, as well as different kinds of edible earth-fruits, of which the oiengora (motu-ohatsi of the Bechuanas, I believe) may be mentioned in particular. This is a sort of bean, having its pods under ground. It is well known to the Mozambiques; is extensively grown by the black population in Mauritius, and is, I am told, no uncommon article of importation at the Cape of Good Hope.

Moreover, the country, as before said, produces a variety of wild fruit-trees, which serve no less to beautify the scenery than to afford good and wholesome sustenance to the inhabitants. Among the most handsome and useful trees, the moshoma stands, perhaps, pre-eminent. On account of the great height, the straightness of the trunk, and the distance at which it begins to branch out, the fruit can only be gathered when it falls to the ground. It is then exposed to the sun for some time, and, when sufficiently dried, is put into a hollow piece of wood (a sort of mortar) and pulverized. It

A USEFUL PLANT-HUNTING-FISHING.

483

is fit for use at any time by simply mixing it with water, when it is not unlike honey in appearance, and has a sweet, agreeable flavor. Strangers, however, must use it cautiously at first, for if eaten in any large quantity it is apt to derange the stomach. The moshoma invariably grows on the banks of rivers, or in their immediate neighborhood, and may, with the greatest facility, be conveyed down the Teoge to the Lake. The Bayeye use the timber extensively for canoebuilding and in the manufacture of utensils. I found the moshoma growing in Ovambo-land, and I am also given to understand that it is common throughout the countries west of the Portuguese settlements on the East Coast.

The Bayeye store their corn and other products of the soil in large baskets, not unlike those of the Ovambo, manufactured from palm-leaves and other fibrous and tenacious sub

stances.

The Bayeye are fond of hunting, and as the country abounds in game, the spoils of the chase contribute materially to the support of the people. They are, moreover, expert fishermen. They either strike the fish with a barbed spear, or, more commonly, capture them in nets. These are made from the fibrous stalks of a species of aloe, which is found in abundance throughout the countries of the Namaquas, Damaras, the Ovambo, and others lying to the eastward, but only grows to perfection about the Teoge. The fibres are of great tenacity, apparently stronger and more flexible than hemp, though requiring less labor and attention in its growth and manufacture. Could this plant be naturalized, it would no doubt prove a valuable acquisition to any country. I believe the nets are also occasionally manufactured from fibrous and tenacious leaves, rushes, and grasses. The meshes are knotted the same way as in Europe.

From the humid nature of the country, the Bayeye, although, generally speaking, a healthy race, suffer at times from rheumatism and other similar affections. Ophthalmia

484.

THE MATSANYANA THE BAVICKO-LIBÉBÉ.

is also of frequent occurrence; and many of the natives bear marks of the small-pox. Like the Lake district, the Teoge and the surrounding country is visited by a dangerous fever, which carries off many of the natives.

North of the Bayeye country we find the Matsanyana, but I have not been able to ascertain whether these people form a distinct nation.

Still further north, that is, beyond the Matsanyana, we hear of the Bavicko (or Wavicko) nation, whose capital is called Libébé, from which also the chief derives his name. The Griquas, whom I mentioned when speaking of the watersheds of the Lake, and whom I met and conversed with on the subject, say that the country about Libèbé is flat and thickly overgrown with bush, occasionally relieved by large isolated trees, and that the Teoge is there of great width and studded with beautiful islands, on which the natives chiefly dwell.

The Bavicko are represented as an industrious and honest people of agricultural habits. Their mode of dress resembles that of the Moviza (a great trading nation in the interior of the East Coast, and west of the Portuguese settlement). Timbo, who was well acquainted with the appearance of the Moviza, on hearing a description of the Bavicko, mistook them for the former nation. The latter have some slight knowledge of metallurgy. Iron they procure easily and in abundance from their neighbors; but, from all I can gather, this ore does not seem to be indigenous to their own country.

Libèbé appears to be the centre of a great inland trade. Among other tribes that repair here for the purpose of commerce are the Mambari, a race probably resident in the vicinity of the new Portuguese settlement, Little Fish Bay. A strong argument in favor of this supposition is, that the Griquas, lately alluded to, and who found a party of these men at Libèbé, were informed by them that their tribe was visited by two different white nations: by one of them

DEPARTURE FROM THE BAYEYE WERFT ON A RAFT. 485

meaning probably the Portuguese-chiefly for the purpose of purchasing slaves; by the other-most likely the English or Americans—to obtain, by barter, ivory and other valuable productions of the country. The Mambari bring to Libèbé, as articles of exchange, blue and striped cotton, baize, beads, and even cattle.

Again, we find the Ovapangari and Ovapanyama also. visiting Libèbé for trading purposes. These nations, as before mentioned, occupy the country north of Ovambo-land. On a visit to the latter in 1851 (Galton's expedition), we found the tribes above named likewise trading with the Ovambo. The Bavicko have, moreover, intercourse with Sebetoane, Lecholètébè, and others.

CHAPTER XL.

Departure from the Bayeye Werft.-The Reed-raft.-The Hippopotamus.-Behemoth or Hippopotamus.-Where found.-Two Species. -Description of Hippopotamus.-Appearance.-Size.-Swims like a Duck.-Food.-Destructive Propensities of the Animal.-Disposition.-Sagacity.-Memory.-Gregarious Habits.-Nocturnal Habits. -Domestication.-Food.-Flesh.-Hide.-Ivory.—Medicinal Vir

tues.

AFTER about a week's stay at the Bayeye werft, I was once more launched on the Teoge, and only regretted that my course did not lie to the north instead of to the south. My departure afforded a fresh proof of the rascality of the Bayeye. As previously mentioned, according to the injunctions of Lecholètébè, I was to have two canoes at my disposal; but, on the day in question, the natives unceremoniously deposited me on a raft composed solely of reeds! When I first saw the unshapely mass, I could not help smiling; and it was not until I had set my people the example that they ventured to embark.

This primitive raft, which is in general use among the

Bayeye, either for hunting purposes or for descending the Teoge and other rivers, is exceedingly simple in its construction. All one has to do is to cut the reeds (the different species of palmyra, from their buoyancy, are peculiarly well adapted to the purpose) just above the surface of the water, and to throw them in layers, crosswise, until the heap is of sufficient size to support the party. No binding of any kind is requisite; but fresh layers of reeds must occasionally be added to the raft, as, from the constant pressure at the top, the reeds get soaked, and the air contained in them displaced by water. A stout pole is placed upright in the centre of the mass, to which is attached a strong and long rope. When the voyagers wish to land, this rope is taken ashore by one of the men in the canoe that is always in tow or on board the raft, and secured to a tree or other firm object.

No small recommendation to the reed-raft is the extreme facility and ease with which it can be constructed. In the course of an hour, three or four men can put one together of sufficiently large dimensions to support themselves and baggage.

This mode of conveyance, though inconvenient enough, is well worthy the traveler's attention, and more especially in localities where suitable wood for the construction of a common raft is difficult to procure-any where, in short, where boats or canoes are not obtainable. It must be borne in mind, however, that the reed-raft is only available where the current is in one's favor.

Though I was at first much disconcerted at the appearance of our very primitive looking craft, I soon got accustomed to it, and it proved far more comfortable than might have been supposed. It was much safer, moreover, than our own canoes, one or two of which we obtained shortly after our departure. No efforts were made to steer or propel the raft, which was left entirely to the stream. As soon as we were caught by some projecting reed-bed-and this was of