We have his words in this book, and he really endured punishment in our stead from pure love," etc.

If this fails to interest them, nothing else will succeed.
We here met with some people just arrived from the town of Matiamvo (Muata yanvo), who had been sent to announce the death of the late chieftain of that name.

Matiamvo is the hereditary title, muata meaning lord or chief.

The late Matiamvo seems, from the report of these men, to have become insane, for he is said to have sometimes indulged the whim of running a muck in the town and beheading whomsoever he met, until he had quite a heap of human heads.

Matiamvo explained this conduct by saying that his people were too many, and he wanted to diminish them.
He had absolute power of life and death.