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One of them begged some meat, and, when it was refused, said to my men, "You may as well give it, for we shall take all after we have killed you to-morrow." The more humbly we spoke, the more insolent the Bashinje became, till at last we were all feeling savage and sulky, but continued to speak as civilly as we could.
The Bashinje, in whose country we now are, seem to possess more of the low negro character and physiognomy than either the Balonda or Basongo; their color is generally dirty black, foreheads low and compressed, noses flat and much expanded laterally, though this is partly owing to the alae spreading over the cheeks, by the custom of inserting bits of sticks or reeds in the septum; their teeth are deformed by being filed to points; their lips are large.
The merchants contributed specimens of all their articles of trade, and a couple of donkeys, which would have a special value on account of their immunity from the bite of the tsetse. The men were made happy by the acquisition of a suit of European clothes and a gun apiece, in addition to their own purchases. In the Bashinje country he again encountered hostile demonstrations.
They were adding insult to injury, and this put us all into a fighting spirit, and, as nearly as we could judge, we expected to be obliged to cut our way through the Bashinje next morning. 3D APRIL. As soon as day dawned we were astir, and, setting off in a drizzling rain, passed close to the village. This rain probably damped the ardor of the robbers.
Leave Pungo Andongo Extent of Portuguese Power Meet Traders and Carriers Red Ants; their fierce Attack; Usefulness; Numbers Descend the Heights of Tala Mungongo Fruit-trees in the Valley of Cassange Edible Muscle Birds Cassange Village Quinine and Cathory Sickness of Captain Neves' Infant A Diviner thrashed Death of the Child Mourning Loss of Life from the Ordeal Wide-spread Superstitions The Chieftainship Charms Receive Copies of the "Times" Trading Pombeiros Present for Matiamvo Fever after westerly Winds Capabilities of Angola for producing the raw Materials of English Manufacture Trading Parties with Ivory More Fever A Hyaena's Choice Makololo Opinion of the Portuguese Cypriano's Debt A Funeral Dread of disembodied Spirits Beautiful Morning Scenes Crossing the Quango Ambakistas called "The Jews of Angola" Fashions of the Bashinje Approach the Village of Sansawe His Idea of Dignity The Pombeiros' Present Long Detention A Blow on the Beard Attacked in a Forest Sudden Conversion of a fighting Chief to Peace Principles by means of a Revolver No Blood shed in consequence Rate of Traveling Slave Women Way of addressing Slaves Their thievish Propensities Feeders of the Congo or Zaire Obliged to refuse Presents Cross the Loajima Appearance of People; Hair Fashions.
The niggardly chief sent them only a small bag of meal, and two or three pounds of the meat of their own ox. From this time they were subject to frequent attempts at extortion. The last of these was made on the banks of the River Quango, the boundary of the Portuguese possessions. A Bashinje chief, whose portrait is given by Mr.
Sansawe, the chief of a portion of the Bashinje, having sent the usual formal demand for a man, an ox, or a tusk, spoke very contemptuously of the poor things we offered him instead. We told his messengers that the tusks were Sekeletu's: every thing was gone except my instruments, which could be of no use to them whatever.
The people of this district seem to feel the craving for animal food as much as we did, for they spend much energy in digging large white larvae out of the damp soil adjacent to their streams, and use them as a relish to their vegetable diet. The Bashinje refused to sell any food for the poor old ornaments my men had now to offer.
The sight of the six mouths of that convenient implement gaping at his breast wrought an instant revolution in his martial ideas; he fell into a fit of trembling, protesting that he had just come to have a quiet talk, and wanted only peace. These Bashinje have more of the low negro character and physiognomy than any tribe encountered by Livingstone.
The worrying, of which I give only a slight sketch, had considerable influence on my own mind, and more especially as it was impossible to make any allowance for the Bashinje, such as I was willing to award to the Chiboque. They saw that we had nothing to give, nor would they be benefited in the least by enforcing the impudent order to return whence we had come.
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