I pointed him out to the chief, and he ordered him to retire a little.  I felt anxious to avoid the effusion of blood; and though sure of being able, with my Makololo, who had been drilled by Sebituane, to drive off twice the number of our assailants, though now a large body, and well armed with spears, swords, arrows, and guns, I strove to avoid actual collision.  My men were quite unprepared for this exhibition, but behaved with admirable coolness.  The chief and counselors, by accepting my invitation to be seated, had placed themselves in a trap, for my men very quietly surrounded them, and made them feel that there was no chance of escaping their spears.  I then said that, as one thing after another had failed to satisfy them, it was evident that they wanted to fight, while we only wanted to pass peaceably through the country; that they must begin first, and bear the guilt before God:  we would not fight till they had struck the first blow.  I then sat silent for some time.  It was rather trying for me, because I knew that the Chiboque would aim at the white man first; but I was careful not to appear flurried, and, having four barrels ready for instant action, looked quietly at the savage scene around.  The Chiboque countenance, by no means handsome, is not improved by the practice which they have adopted of filing the teeth to a point.  The chief and counselors, seeing that they were in more danger than I, did not choose to follow our decision that they should begin by striking the first blow, and then see what we could do, and were perhaps influenced by seeing the air of cool preparation which some of my men displayed at the prospect of a work of blood.

The Chiboque at last put the matter before us in this way:  “You come among us in a new way, and say you are quite friendly:  how can we know it unless you give us some of your food, and you take some of ours?  If you give us an ox, we will give you whatever you may wish, and then we shall be friends.”  In accordance with the entreaties of my men, I gave an ox; and when asked what I should like in return, mentioned food as the thing which we most needed.  In the evening Njambi sent us a very small basket of meal, and two or three pounds of the flesh of our own ox! with the apology that he had no fowls, and very little of any other food.  It was impossible to avoid a laugh at the coolness of the generous creatures.  I was truly thankful, nevertheless, that, though resolved to die rather than deliver up one of our number to be a slave, we had so far gained our point as to be allowed to pass on without having shed human blood.