According to our informants, it was even
rumoured that they proposed shortly to attack these Mazitus in force,
relying on their guns to give them the victory and open to them a new
and almost inexhaustible store of splendid human merchandise.
Meanwhile they were cleaning out certain small tribes which hitherto
had escaped them, owing to the fact that they had their residence in
bush or among difficult hills.
The track we followed was the recognised slave road. Of this we soon
became aware by the numbers of skeletons which we found lying in the
tall grass at its side, some of them with heavy slave-sticks still
upon their wrists. These, I suppose, had died from exhaustion, but
others, as their split skulls showed had been disposed of by their
captors.
On the eighth day of our march we struck the track of a slave caravan.
It had been travelling towards the coast, but for some reason or other
had turned back. This may have been because its leaders had been
warned of the approach of our party. Or perhaps they had heard that
another caravan, which was at work in a different district, was
drawing near, bringing its slaves with it, and wished to wait for its
arrival in order that they might join forces.
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