He told Musa that all the country in front was full of Mazitu; that forty-four Arabs and their followers had been killed by them at Kasungu, and he only escaped.

Musa and all the Johanna men now declared that they would go no farther.

Musa said, "No good country that; I want to go back to Johanna to see my father and mother and son." I took him to Marenga, and asked the chief about the Mazitu.

He explained that the disturbance was caused by the Manganja finding that Jumbe brought Arabs and ammunition into the country every year, and they resented it in consequence; they would not allow more to come, because they were the sufferers, and their nation was getting destroyed.
I explained to Musa that we should avoid the Mazitu: Marenga added, "There are no Mazitu near where you are going;" but Musa's eyes _stood out_ with terror, and he said, "I no can believe that man." But I inquired, "How can you believe the Arab so easily ?" Musa answered, "I ask him to tell me true, and he say true, true," &c.
When we started, all the Johanna men walked off, leaving the goods on the ground.

They have been such inveterate thieves that I am not sorry to get rid of them; for though my party is now inconveniently small, I could not trust them with flints in their guns, nor allow them to remain behind, for their object was invariably to plunder their loads.
[Here then we have Livingstone's account of the origin of that well-told story, which at first seemed too true.