COMMERCE. HUNTING. FISHING. 473 Lake, are ostrich feathers, furs and skins of various sorts, rhinoceros-horns, and ivory (elephant and hippopotamus). The staple articles of exchange are beads, and more especially ammunition. Clothing is as yet but very little in demand, the people not being sufficiently advanced in civilization to care for such a luxury. Even beads are not sought after with the avidity they used to be, such quantities having of late been exported to the Lake country, that (to use a vulgar, but very emphatic expression of Lecholètébè) "the women," who chiefly wear beads, "grunt under their burdens like pigs." No visitor, however, should be entirely without them. All large beads are useless. Small beads of the following colours, pink, dull-white, light-green, brick-coloured, lightblue, dark-blue, and yellow, are chiefly in demand. The Bechuanas of the Lake are fond of the chase, and almost daily parties are sent out to provide for the chief's table. But, though possessed of a great number of fire-arms, few of the men have as yet attained any proficiency in their use. By far the greater portion of animals slain are obtained by means of pit-falls dug by the Bushmen and the Bayeye along the banks of the rivers. As many as thirty to forty pit-falls may be seen extending in one continuous line. Though the finny tribe is pretty numerous in the Lake and its rivers, none of the Bechuanas take the trouble to catch them. The conquered race, the Bayeye, however, are very expert and industrious fishermen. CHAPTER XXXVI. DEPARTURE FOR LIBÈBÉ-THE CANOE-THE LAKE-REACH THE TEOGE— HIDE DISPOSITION As Lecholétébè proved true to his word, with regard to providing me with men and boats, I was able, after only a few days stay' at the Lake, to proceed on my exploring tour to the north. To the last moment, however, the chief and his people endeavoured to dissuade me from the attempt, urging, amongst other reasons, the enormous windings of the Teoge, which would prevent me from reaching my destination for many months; as, also, the great number of hippopotami, which they represented as the most savage and voracious of beasts. I did not give much credit to the story of these men, not having the least faith in their word. I told them, that with regard to the sinuosities of the stream, I hoped to overcome that difficulty by patience; and as to the sea-cows, if they really were such monsters as described, I assured them I was quite confident that my black followers (pointing to the boat men), to whom they were accustomed, would be first swallowed, which would give me time to escape. With this rude joke, which highly pleased my untutored audience, I stepped into the canoe, and waving my hand, in token of leave to my men and the chief, I launched forth on the Zouga. The canoe in which I embarked (and they are all somewhat similarly constructed) was but a miserable craft. It consisted of the trunk of a tree, about twenty feet long, pointed at both ends, and hollowed out by means of fire and a small hatchet. The natives are not at all particular as to the shape of the canoe. The after part of some that have come under my notice, would form an angle of near forty-five degrees with the stem! Nevertheless, they were propelled through the water by the Bayeye (my boatmen were of that nation) with considerable speed and skill. The appointments' of the canoe, consist of a paddle and a pole, ten to twelve feet in length. The paddle-man sits well in the stern, and attends mostly to the steering; whilst his comrade, posted at the head of the canoe, sends her along, by means of the pole, with great force and skill. The natives, however, rarely venture any distance from the shore in their frail skiffs. It was said that they had made several attempts to cross the widest part of the Lake, but had never succeeded. A party, consisting of ten or twelve canoes, hazarded the experiment a few years previous to its discovery by Europeans, but were not again heard of, from which it was concluded that they had been overtaken by a storm, and perished. After about an hour's paddling, the broad expanse of the Lake lay before me, glittering in all the beauty and softness produced by reflection of the warm rays of a tropical sun. It was, indeed, a luxury, after so much travelling in the burning desert, to be able, at last, to float upon "The glassy, cool, translucent wave;" and the pleasure was increased by my partiality to wateran element with which I became familiar in the early stages of boyhood, and on which I have spent some of my happiest days. As I felt the cool breeze fanning my cheeks, new life seemed to stir within me, and my heart beat high with joyous excitement. Our party, at starting, consisted of only three or four canoes; but, as we proceeded on the voyage, the number increased, and ultimately amounted to about a dozen. In consequence of the frail structure of our craft, and the boatmen's tenacity in keeping near the shore, we were two days in getting from the Zouga to the western extremity of the Lake, although, in reality, it is only one good day's voyage. It was not, therefore, until the third day that we reached the chief entrance of the mouth of the Teoge (for here the river spreads out into several branches), where there is a bar. The water was so low on it that although the stream was fast rising at the time (August), we were forced to draw the canoes across it by main force. It is true we might have avoided the inconvenience by proceeding a mile or two to the westward, where a channel exists that is said to be navigable at all seasons. Our voyage across the Lake was attended with no incident worth recording; but on reaching the point just mentioned, I had a little adventure with a leché, hundreds of which might be seen grazing and sporting amongst the shallows and the numerous little islets of the Teoge. I had gone in advance of my party in the hope of ADVENTURE WITH A LECHÉ. 477 obtaining a shot; but, though I met with vast numbers of animals, the openness of the ground, prevented me from getting within range. Being quite tired by my severe, but fruitless exertions, I was resting on the rifle, contemplating the novel and striking scene,-the Lake with its broad blue waters-its finely wooded shores-the varied and vast herds of animals-the Teoge with its numerous little channels and sedgy shores-when I saw, a little a-head of me, two magnificent stag lechés approaching each other, evidently with no friendly intentions. I was right in my conjecture; for in a few seconds afterwards they were engaged in combat. Taking advantage of this lucky incident, I approached, unperceived, within a dozen paces, when I quickly dropped on one knee and took a deliberate aim at the shoulder of the nearest; but, just as I pulled the trigger, he received a violent thrust from his antagonist, which made him swerve to one side, and the consequence was, that the ball, instead of piercing his heart, merely smashed one of his hind legs. The animals, nevertheless, were so intently engaged, that, notwithstanding the report of the gun, and the wounded state of one of them (he probably attributed this to his adversary), they did not observe me. Throwing aside the rifle, I drew my hunting knife, and, thus armed, rushed upon the combatants. Just, however, as I was about to bury the fatal weapon in the flank of one of the animals, they both suddenly became aware of me, and fled precipitately. The wounded beast at once made for the river, which was hard by, and though it was running very swiftly at this point-perhaps not less than four or five miles an hour-he plunged into the water. Not being then aware of the aquatic habits of this species of antelope, I was very much astonished, and for a while thought the beast would surely be carried away by the vio |