After shaking hands with us all round, and bestowing a friendly nod upon the servants, the two rulers over many hundreds of square miles remounted their waggon and prepared to start. Mobili had just taken the reins when King Montsua laid his left hand upon his shoulder, and with his right beckoned to me. As soon as I approached he made Mobili ask me what I had done with the “rumela,” the letter of introduction that I had brought for him from Mr. Webb. I fetched the letter at once, as well as the other addressed to Mr. Martin, which I asked might be delivered for me; at the same time I expressed my surprise that the existence of the letters should already be known at Moshaneng.
Montsua laughed, and said,—
“I knew all about the letters three days ago. While you were asleep two Barolongs came over from Molema’s Town; from them I heard of your arrival, and of the good effect your molemo had had upon Molema.”
On the afternoon of the 14th, I completed my journey to Moshaneng, the way lying through cultivated country, bounded on the east by an open plain, on the west by rocks, and on the south by wooded heights, which were the northern chain of Malau’s ridge, overlooking the town.
Malau’s ridge may be considered as the south-central portion of the Banquaketse heights, which are connected by the Lekhutsa and Makarupa hills with the western mountain groups in central South Africa.[9]
CHAPTER IX.
FROM MOSHANENG TO MOLOPOLOLE.
King Montsua and Christianity—Royal gifts—The Banquaketse highlands—Signs of tropical vegetation—Hyæna-dogs—Ruins of Mosilili’s Town—Rock-rabbits—A thari—Molopolole.
The southern part of Moshaneng belonged to Molema and his Barolongs, and (excepting the ruined church and Mr. Martin’s house) contained no buildings in the European style of architecture. The native huts were all of pure Bechuana construction, and owing to the limited space, were packed very closely together, although in the Baharutse quarter, separated by a valley and a stream, the farmsteads were much less crowded. I should estimate the population of the entire town to be about 7000; but out of this number nearly 1000 would be fluctuating, many of the inhabitants working occasionally for lengthened periods at the diamond-fields, or cultivating land at a distance.
The king’s residence stood in the western part near the river-bank, and was surrounded by a courtyard containing two huts apiece for his five wives.
Here, as with not a few of the Bechuana tribes where Christian missionaries have begun to labour, a good proportion of the young people have professed to embrace the new doctrines, while the elders have clung to their heathen institutions. It soon became evident to Montsua that, although circumcision was not uniformly discarded, the young men and young women were reluctant to take part in the accustomed marriage orgies, and that many of the established festivities were very thinly attended. Amongst these ancient ceremonials was a dance known as the reed-dance, performed through the towns by a number of men in procession, blowing with such vehemence upon reed-pipes, that nearly always one or more of them would either drop down dead during the progress, or would subsequently die from the acute emphysema of the lungs brought on by the exertion. With reference to this time-honoured performance, Montsua gave notice that he should only undertake not to interfere with the “bathu ba lehuku,”[10] on condition that they all joined in it as heretofore. The dance was ordered by authority, but the converts, instigated by Molema, Montsua’s own brother, refused to obey the king’s injunction. Molema was himself urged on by Yan, the present black Barolong Christian preacher.