The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-09-05
CHAFTEK v.
THE MESSAGE OF MAIwA.

CHAflEh v.
THE MESSAGE OF MAIwA.
= On the following evening we once
more dined together. and Quatermain'
after some pressure, for Goods remark
still ranked in his breast, was per
suaded to continue his story:
At last (he went on) few minutes
Before sunset, the task was finished.
We had labored at it all day, stop
ping only once for dinner, for it is no
easy matter to hew out five such tusks
as those which now lay before me IN
a white and cleaning line.
y 1t was 4 dinner worth eating, too, l
can tell you, for we dined off the heart
of the great One-tusked bull, which
was so big that the man whom l sent
inside the elephant to look for his heart
had to remove it in two pieces.
We cut it into slices and fried it with
fat, and l never tasted heart to equal
it, for the meat seemed to melt in ones
mouth.
By the way, I examined the jaw of
thegselephant; it never had but one
tusk; the other had not been broken
off, moi was it present in rudimentary
form.
Well, there lay the five beauties, or
rather four of them, for Gobo and an
other man were engaged in saving the
grand one in two.
=. I had at last, with many signs, Or
dered them to do this, but not until l
= had. by practical experiment proved
that it was impossible to carry it in
any other way.
One hundred and sixty POUNDS OF
solid ivory, or rather more i'll its green
state. is TOO great a weight for two
men to carry for long across broken
country.
sat watching the job and smoking
the pipe of contentment, when sudden
~ the bush opened, and very hand
some and dignified native girl, appar-
entity about twenty years of age, stood
before me. carrying 4 basket of green
mealies upon her head.
Although | was rather surprised to
see native girl in such wild spot,
and, SO far as knew, q long way from
any kraal, the matter did not attract
my particular notice; l merely called
to one of the men and told him to bar
gain with the woman for the mealies,
and ask her if there were any more to
be had in the neighborhood.
Then I turned my head and con-
tinued to superintend the cutting Of the
tusk.
Presently a shadow fell upon me.
looked up, and saw that the girl was
standing before me, the basket of
meales still upon her head.
"Mareme, mareme," she said, gently
clapTffig her hands together.
The word mareme among these Ma
tuku though she was no MatukW an
swers to thevZulu "koos," and the clap
ping of hands is form Of salutation
very common among the tribes Of the
Basutu race.
What is it, grl!" I asked her in
Sisutu. Are those mealies for Sale?"
"No, great white hunter" she an.
swered in Zulu; II bring them as 4
gift
Good" replied. "Put them down."
"a gift for gift, white man."
"Ah"' I grumbled, "the old story
nothing for nothing in this wicked
world.
What do you want-beads?"
She nodded and 1 was about to tel
one OF the men to so and fetch some
from one of the packs, when she
checked me.
"A gift from the giver's own hanC
is twice gift" she said; and
thought that she spoke meaningly.
You mean that you want me 10 give
them to you MYSELF"
Surely" '.'>?>:H%
I rose to so with her. %
How is it that being Of the Matukr
you speak in the Zulu tongue"
asked, suspiciously.
II am not Of the Matuka," she an
swered, as soon as we were out O
hearing of the men.
dul VI lhe peopIe vi A>aid. "hos'
tribe is the Butiana tribe, and wh'
live there" and she pointed over th'
mountain.
Also 1 am one Of the wives o
Nambe," and her eyes flashed as sh
said the name.
"And how did you come here?"
con my feet" she answered, lacon
icaliy.
We reached the packs. and undoin'
one of them, l extracted handful o
beads.
Now" I said. "a gift for gift
Hand over the mealies."
She took the heads without eve
looking at them, which struck me a
curious, and putting the basket o
mealies on the ground emptied it.
At the bottom OF the basket Wer