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 ^AavHan-Y^
 
 TRAVELS 
 
 INTERIOR OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 VOL. II.
 
 LONDON: PRISTRD BT WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, ^TAMfOIlD STBEKT 
 AND CUAarNG CROSS.
 
 TRAVELS 
 
 INTERIOR OF SOUTH AFRICA, 
 
 COJrP RISING 
 
 fixfimx ^tdXB Pitnthtig mttr ^rabmg; 
 
 ^' Ob 
 
 WITH JOURNEYS ACROSS THE CONTINENT FROM NATAL TO 
 
 WALVISCH BAY, AND VISITS TO LAKE NGAMI 
 
 AND THE VICTORIA FALLS. 
 
 JAMES CHAPMAN, F.R.G.S. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS AND NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. II. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 BELL & DALDY, YOEK STEEET, COVENT GAEDEN 
 
 EDWAED STANFOED, 6, CHAEING CEOSS. 
 
 MDCCCLXVIII.
 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. II. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Journey to Kopjies — Native Forms of Grief — Leave for the Lake — Its 
 present Aspect — Native Stork — Violent Thunder-storm — Letters 
 from my Brother — Return to Koobie — An Elephant-hunt — An un- 
 expected Pleasure — Plan of future Proceedings — Mortality among 
 Dogs — Storks — Edible Gourds — Journey Northwardly — Encounter 
 with hostile Bushmen — Elephants at Sleepy Hollow — The Teouge 
 Valley — A fruitless Chase — Charge of Elephants — The Horned Snake 
 — The Ovampos — Back to Union Valley — New Year's Vley . . 1 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 At the Kopjies again — Proceed to the Botletlie River — Tree-Snakes — 
 Ostriches — the Quabie Hills — Mortality among the Dogs — Native 
 Fruits — Occupations of Natives — Native Conjurors — Move to the 
 Eastward — Native Trees — Makhato's Village — Native Turtle — 
 Eagles — Atmospheric Phenomena — Contributions to Natural His- 
 tory — Elephants again — Salt-pans — Mirage — Gradual Desiccation 
 of the Country 32 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 Large Baobab Tree — Gnus — Encounter with Rhinoceros — Palm Trees 
 ■ — Morals and Manners of the Bushmen — Advance to the Zambesi — 
 Tsagobye — The Ntwetwe Salt-pan — Roan Antelopes — Native Hunt- 
 
 1C96444
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ing pits — Formation of the Ngami Basin — Bushmen — Tree-Lizanls 
 
 — Lion-killins .. •• •• •■ •• •■ •• ..63 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Metsi-botuko — The Salt Lake and Ntwetwe Basins — Poison-shrub— 
 Puif-Adders — Watering-places in the Desert — Tsamafupa — Seringa 
 Forests — Approach to the Zambesi Basin — Daka — Interview with 
 Makalakas — The Sable Antelope — Native Customs — Final Start for 
 the " Falls "—Difficulties of Approach— First view of the " Falls " 
 —The Goal reached— Our Camp at the " Falls " 83 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Local Chief, or Head-man — Second Visit to the Falls — Scenery of 
 the Zambesi — Garden Island — Hippopotami — The Kalai Eapids — 
 Mode of Life at the Falls — The Masoe Eiver — Umboopo's Village — 
 The Makololo — Prospects of Trade — Leave the Falls — The Keyzie 
 River — Destruction of Elephants .. •• .. .. .. 125 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Eeturn to Daka — Native Honey — Adventures with Rhinoceros — Start 
 for Sinamani's — Watershed — Reach the Boana River — Makalaka 
 Singing — Native Smithj' — Makalaka Customs — Ravages of Lions — 
 Increasing Heat — White and Black Ants — Wasps — A Makalaka 
 Village — Hunting Excm-sions — Various Species of Rhinoceros — 
 Adventure with Buffaloes — Start again for the River . . . . 15.5 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Start for Sinamani's — A Whirlwind — Mazhanga — A Leopard Trap — 
 The Kakobi, or Little Zambesi — Machinge' — Geological Features — 
 The Matietsie — Reach the Zambesi again — Wankie — Camp at the 
 Zambesi — Perplexities of our Situation — The Gwai or Quagga River 
 — Meeting of the Waters — Hippopotami — Intense Heat — The Zam- 
 besi Valley — Native Plants — Population of the Zambesi Valley — 
 Reach Sinamani's — Interview with the Chief .. .. .. 177
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Eain-Doctors — Matabele Outrages — Return to the Gwai — Scenery of 
 the Gwai Valley — Geological Conditions — A Buffalo Chase — Rhi- 
 noceros — Tsetse again — The Batonga Language — Musical Perfor- 
 mances — " God Save the Queen !" — Native Cookery — Difficulties 
 with our Followers — Progress of the Boat-building — Logier Hill — 
 The Luluesi River — Mourning for the Dead — Crocodiles abundant — 
 Baboons — New Quagga — Reach the Wagons — Results accomplished 
 to the Present Time 208 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Hunting for both Establishments — Native Bees — Effects of Rain — 
 Native Insects — Fishes — Wasps' Nests — Crocodile Pond — Serious 
 Accident to one of our Followers — A Surgical Operation — Continued 
 Bad Weather — Fireflies — Lizards — Stinging Ants — Fear of the 
 Tsetse again — Carnivora of South Africa — End of the Year 1862 229 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Progress of the Boat-building — Continued Illness — Our Distressed 
 Condition — More Sickness — Knob-noses — Disasters at the Boat- 
 building Establishment — Resolve on moving the Wagons — The 
 Tsetse again — Send for Baines — Night Attack of Wolves — Meteoro- 
 logical Phenomena — 'Distant Smoke-Cloud of the " Falls " — Baines 
 arrives from the River — Abandonment of the Camp on the Zambesi 
 — Sufferings among the Men — Move to the Westward — Weather 
 Observations — Increasing Distresses — Difficulties of the return 
 Journey — Native Credulity — At Daka again . . . . . . 252 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Camp at Daka — Native Flora — Night Encounter with Lions — 
 Damara Superstitions — Makalaka Customs — Abundance of Native 
 Vegetation — Progress Westward — At Juruga — Native Fruits and 
 Insects — Characteristics of the Desert — Small-pox .. .. ., 278 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Mirage — Native Salt — Reach the Botletlie River — Ford at Sama- 
 ganga's — Makato's Village — Boat Voyage on the Botletlie — Changes 
 in the Ngami Basin — At Lechidatfebe's Town — The Author's Bro- 
 ther arrives at the Lake — His Disasters — Projects for the Future — 
 Proceed from the Lake to Otjimbcngue .. .. .. ..301
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FAGK 
 
 From Otjimbengue to Walvisch Bay — Geological Observations — Air- 
 plants — Wilson's Fountains — Limit of Sea-Fog — Hykamgoub — 
 Return to the Interior — At Otjimbengue again — Eesidence at the 
 Schwagoup- — Remove into the Hottentot Country — Interview with 
 
 - -Jan Jonker — Proceed again to the Bay — The Kaan Valley — Native 
 Politics — Engagement between Damaras and Africaners — Start 
 again for the Interior — Final Determination to leave the Country — 
 Voyage to Cape Town " .. .. .. ., .. ., 316 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Descriptive Xotes of Animals of Intektropical South Africa 333 
 
 Descriptive Notes of some of the Birds of Intertropical South 
 Africa .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 345 
 
 Index to descriptive Notes of South African Birds .. .. 429 
 
 Remarks on Insects .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 435 
 
 Notes on Trees, &c., of the Zambesi .. .. .. .. 438 
 
 The Baobab .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 441 
 
 Rough Notes on the Flora of Natal .. .. .. .. 445 
 
 Lecture on the Botany of Natal, by Rev. E, Armitage, M.A. 458 
 
 List of Natal Trees .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 464 
 
 Geological Notes on the Line of Route from the West Coast 
 
 to the Copper Mines in the interior of Damara Land .. 466 
 
 Heights BY Boiling Water .. .. .. .. .. .. 467 
 
 Distances by the Wagon Road from Walvisch Bay tj Lake 
 
 Ngami .. .. .. .. .. .. ,, .. 467 
 
 List of Heights from Colesberg, in the Cape Colony, to 
 
 Barmen, in Damara Land .. .. .. .. .. 468 
 
 Hints to Travellers .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 469 
 
 Notes ox the Damara Language .. .. .. .. .. 473
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. II. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Photography under Diffictjlties .. .. .. Frontispiece 
 
 Council of War at Lake Xgami : Mahalaki^e addressing the 
 Multitude .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 9 
 
 Deserted by my Horse .. .. .. .. .. ..22 
 
 A Bechuana Warrior (from a Drawing by Charlks Bell, Esi].) . . 49 
 lN^IDE OF Makato's Village, Botletlie Eiver : Implements, &c. 51 
 Slaying a White Ehinoceros .. .. .. .. ..69 
 
 The Victoria Waterfall from the West End, with the Leap- 
 ing Water in the Foreground .. .. .. .. ..]13 
 
 Voyaging down the Zambesi.. .. -. .. .. ..131 
 
 View looking East from the Garden Island, in the Middle 
 of the Falls.. .. .. .. .. .. ,. ,. 134 
 
 Middle of the Falls .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 152 
 
 Ehinoceros Mohugu, and Horn of the supposed Kobaoba .. 171 
 One of Wankie's Wives .. .. .. .. .. ..186 
 
 Brilliant Meteor on the Zambesi Eiver.. .. .. .. 205 
 
 The New Quagga .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 223 
 
 View near the Zambesi. — Troop of Quaggas .. .. .. 265 
 
 Walvisch Bay, with the Sand-Hllls in the. Distance .. 329
 
 ERRATA TO VOT.. 11. 
 
 Page 16 fov " M. horrldicus " read " Mimosa horrida.'' 
 73 for " Nucifera " read " Cucifera." 
 
 „ 136 hi " Crucif era" read" Cucifera." 
 
 „ 170 for " Bhin. Sinusus " read " Rhin. Simus." 
 
 „ 353 for " QJ^denamus " read " CEdicnemus." 
 
 „ 356 fov " Protincola " rend " Pratincola." 
 
 „ 407 for " Nectarina " read " Nedarinia." 
 
 „ 409 for " Hirimdo rupestrio " read " Hirundo rupestris." 
 
 ., 416 for " Tringa Squatavola" read " Tringa Squatarola." i 
 
 ., 446 for " 3Iimneops " read " Mimusops." 
 
 ,, 447 for " Foivrea prasteosa" read " Poirrea hrarteosa." 
 „ ., for " Catta" read " Calla." 
 ,, „ for " Arduicia" read " Arduina." 
 
 ,, 448 for " Aleophila " read " Alsopliila." 
 
 „ „ for " Todex" read " Todea." 
 
 „ „ for " OreodapMce " read " Oreodaphne.'' 
 
 „ 449 for " Oncolea " read '■ Oncoba.'' 
 
 „ „ for " Violaricm " read " Violariga." 
 
 ,, 450 for "Japindus" read " Sapindus." 
 
 „ ,, for " Caiai^ewrfron " read " Calodendron." 
 
 „ „ for " Myarisin " read " Myar/s." 
 
 „ 451 for " Dicrostachus " read " Vicrostachys." 
 
 „ 452 for " Lorunthus" read " Loranthus." 
 
 „ ,, for " Eugeina " read " Eugenia." 
 
 „ 453 for " Graphalium " read " Gnaplialium." 
 „ ,, for " Brehumia" read " Brelimia.'' 
 ,, „ for " Ardrima" read " Ardruina." 
 „ „ for " Mucaria " read " Uncaria." 
 ,, „ for " Scropilmlariceie" read " Scrophulariacea;." 
 „ ,, for " Supotacex " read " Sapotacex." 
 „ „ for "S'oZan'ce^" read " /SoZawaceaj." 
 
 ,, 456 for " Iparaxis " read " Sparaxis." 
 ,, „ for " Axistea" read '^ Aristea." 
 ,, „ for " ilforoca " read " ilforcea." 
 
 „ 457 for " Sycopodiums" read " Lijcopods." 
 „ „ for " L. quidiodes " read " L. gnidioides." 
 „ „ for ''Commelinocex" read " Commelinacess." 
 
 „ 464 for " Xrawssama WMJis " read " XrartssamanMS." 
 „ ,, for " Calpurnia laziogyne " read " Calpurnia lasiogyiie.'' 
 „ „ for " Chatachme " read " Chsetachme." 
 „ „ for " Dalbergia abovata " read " DaJhergia obovnta." 
 „ „ for " i?McZeM " read " ^Mcfeffl." 
 „ „ for " CrfircZmm " read " CarfZenm." 
 „ ,, for " Kigelia pinata " read " Kigelia piimata." 
 
 „ 465 for "■ Sderveroton integref alius " read " ScJerocroton integr if alius.' 
 „ „ for " Sizygyium" read ^^ Syzygium." 
 „ „ for " Sclerorya " read " Sderocarya." 
 „ „ for " Zizyphus macronafa" read " Sizyphus murrnnafus."
 
 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Journey to Koi^jies — Native Forms of Grief — 'Leave for the Lake — Its 
 present Aspect — Native Stork — Violent Thunder-storm — F-etters from 
 my Brother — Return to Koobie — An Elephant-hunt — An unexpected 
 Pleasure — Plan of future Proceedings — Mortality among Dogs — Storks 
 — Edible Gourds — Journey Northwardlj' — Encounter with hostile Bush- 
 men — Elephants at Sleepy Hollow — The Teouge A'alley — A fruitless 
 Chase — A Charge of Elephants — The Horned Snake — 'The Ovambos — 
 Back to Union Valley — New Year's Vley. 
 
 Saturday, 23rd November, 1861. — We started for the 
 Kopjies, which we reached next day, having had heavy rain 
 during the journey. On the morrow I was out on foot from 
 sum-ise till sunset, and must have walked 30 miles, but got 
 nothing in the shape of game, excepting one fennec and one 
 guinea-fowl. 
 
 It is amusing to observe the figure some of our people cut 
 in their ragged garments. ^Ye keep those about the wagons 
 respectably clothed, but the herdsmen and their wives are 
 also ambitious to figure in castaway rags. I bring my old 
 clothes from town to wear out here, after which I jrave them 
 to the head-men, who valued them highly. From them they 
 pass, and after a good deal of further wear and tear, to the 
 
 VOL. II. B
 
 2 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. i. 
 
 leaders ; and when the latter consider them worn out, they 
 hand them over to inferiors. Sometimes the women get hold 
 of them, and out of the remains of a pair of trousers make an 
 apron, their only garment, or a turban. To-day I noticed a 
 pair of Baines's old drill trousers on a man : but a very small 
 part consisted of the drill, the rest being made up by a 
 patch- work of rags most indefatigably stitched together, and 
 comprising, besides the drill, serge, flannel, gunny-bag, coffee- 
 sacking, calico, moleskin, and canvas. Both Damaras and 
 Hottentots look well in their native costume, but I was 
 shocked at the sight of a native woman in her proper dress, 
 and wearing a pair of my cast-off boots. 
 
 I asked Snyman, whom I had seen at Sekeletu's in 1853, 
 why their chief attacked Lechulatebe at that time. He says 
 it was only to obtain cattle, and amongst themselves they 
 never pretended that it was for anything else. They had 
 plundered, as he boasted to me, all the tribes round there, and 
 there was no place for them to go that was so near. They 
 were seriously planning an attack on Sekomi, in the south, 
 when Dr. Livingstone dissuaded them from so rash an enter- 
 prise, and that decided them on making this inroad on 
 Lechulatebe's territory. Lechulatebe has now killed twenty 
 of Sekeletu's men, who came to levy taxes upon people on 
 the Tamalukau. 
 
 Tliursdaij, 2Sth. — I sent John off early this morning to 
 hunt elephants. He returned at night, having seen plenty 
 of fresh spoor ; but his boy had lost himself, with the water 
 and provisions, and he \Aas obliged to return. I found water 
 five miles to the north-west, this being in the course we have 
 laid down for our expedition on leaving Quarantine vley. 
 
 The lemur is now quite lively. He is fond of milk and 
 sugar, and soft gruel. The little animal was tame from the 
 time lie wan caught. He gives his head to be scratched and 
 jumps about on onr hands and faces. He notices every
 
 CHAr. I.] A HAVOURY DISH. 3 
 
 change made in the wagon, and is then a little bewildered, 
 not eating his supper so freely ; but after putting out the 
 light I always hear him munching. 
 
 In order to give my brother time to overtake us, we will 
 meanwhile, when we have rain-water enough for the purpose, 
 endeavour to explore 300 miles of the country across the 
 desert north-west to Andersson's last point. We shall leave 
 one wao;on and most of the cattle somewhere within 50 miles 
 of this. 
 
 Monday, 2nd December. — The chief's messengers leave us. 
 Finished and mounted an axle (of motseara wood), on wliich 
 John has been long at Avork, for one of the wagons. Baines 
 ate a frog : the dish was as savoury as it was delicate, the roe 
 being considered the best part. Next day we packed the 
 wagons for a start to the lake on the morrow, but at night 
 again found three head of cattle and a calf showing symptoms 
 of lung-sickness. 
 
 Thursday, 5th December. — At the moment when the oxen 
 were brouglit up to be inspanned, old Dikkop's wife came 
 running over in deep distress, saying her husband was dying. 
 I was absent at the time, but went to see him as soon as I 
 heard of it. I have not witnessed such a distressing spectacle 
 for a long time, if ever. The women had carried him out 
 into the bushes to die, and were all squatted round him, 
 howling a most doleful and melancholy dirge, bathing and 
 chafing his hands, while he lay insensible, with his head 
 resting on his wife's lap, only giving occasional signs of life 
 by a laboured gasp. I felt much concerned for him ; he is 
 one of the most trustworthy men I have, and has charge of 
 all the cattle. He had been hurt at Elephant's Kloof, his 
 shoulder and ankle being sprained while inoculating cattle ; 
 but what the present attack is I do not know, unless there 
 be some internal hurt in the left breast, near the root of the 
 shoulder, where he has pain. Having given him chloric 
 
 B 2
 
 4 CHAPMAN\S TEA VELS. [chap. i. 
 
 ether, and had his feet warmed with hot stones, he came to, 
 and I applied a mustard poultice to the seat of pain. The 
 man had evidently been in a swoon. 
 
 This wailing and din of the Damaras round the sick man 
 reminded me of a practice I had witnessed amongst the 
 Zulus, who, having stunned a buck with their kerries, squatted 
 round it, and beat their sticks one against the other, over the 
 body of the insensible animal. It often revives, only to be 
 knocked down again, I witnessed the same practice over a 
 fowl, which I had accidentally stunned with a stone, and the 
 bird revived. The Damaras, as well as the Beach Hottentots 
 in South-western Africa, practise this rite over the dying 
 with some mysterious reference, it may be supposed, to the 
 departing spirit — not to bring it back to life again ; though 
 in such a case of suspended animation as poor Dikkop's — 
 like that of the Zulu buck and fowl — the din might serve 
 the latter purpose. 
 
 We are now drinking water that almost resembles porridge 
 in its consistency, and it will not filter. Our people, too, are 
 falling sick of fever, one after the other, five being on the 
 sick-list, and two of them seriously ill. There is no more 
 water here for the cattle, so we must make a move somewhere. 
 
 Some messengers now arrived from the lake. The chief 
 seems to be getting out of patience at our long delay, though 
 he is himself to blame for it. He requested me to stay here, 
 or we should have gone on before our people got ill, and the 
 water became so scarce. He now sends to say how his heart 
 is pained at not seeing us, and has commissioned a little 
 Bushman, famous for his flattering eloquence, to pour out 
 such a stream of sweet words that I could not hear him out, 
 being nearly choked with laughter before he got very far 
 in his speech. I gathered, however, its drift, to this effect : 
 " I am afraid you are going off to some other tribes ; pray 
 come here, and let me get what I can out of you firsts and
 
 CHAP. I.] A HONEYED MESSAGE. 5 
 
 then you may go to ." This sentiment lies at the bottom 
 
 of all his honeyed words. He says : " Who has dared to stop 
 you, my friend ? Why do you not come near me, that I may 
 see you, and hold sweet converse, as in former times ? All 
 my other white friends have left me ; you alone remain. I 
 must cherish you. I say again. Who has dared to stop you ? 
 Have you heard the lies of slaves, and believed them ? Do 
 not believe I will turn my only friend off. The country 
 belongs to you ; come ! Lung-sickness, or no lung-sickness, 
 come !" 
 
 We left the Kopjies on the 6th of December with one 
 wagon, intending to go only as far as the moana (baobab) 
 tree, 16 miles off, but when we got there next day there was 
 no water, and so we were obliged to push on, and reached 
 Masellenyani at niglit, where the wagon stuck in a sand-hill. 
 Baines and I having gone forward, we were overtaken at 9 or 
 10 o'clock at night by a tremendous storm of thunder and 
 lightning, but without much rain. We were obliged, how- 
 ever, to roll ourselves up in dry bullock-hides to save a 
 wetting, and then go back at midnight to join the wagon. If 
 the rain had left any pools we should have made our camp 
 here, a few miles from the water, but it did not, so on Sunday 
 morning we went on to the lake. I have never seen the 
 country about so dry as it is now. We were obliged to 
 travel two miles along the coast before we got any water for 
 ourselves and our thirsty cattle. The Bechuanas who accom- 
 panied us stay with us, but they sent a messenger to inform 
 the chief of our arrival. We hear that all the native cattle 
 have been driven from their stations to clear the way for us. 
 We made our beds in the tent, and at night a storm of rain 
 fell and continued several hours, and drove us out, but not 
 before we and our bedding had got thoroughly wet. The 
 little lemur is now very playful and tame. As soon as the
 
 6 CHAFMAS'S TltAVELS. [chap. i. 
 
 candle is lit at niglit he leaps about after the moths and 
 insects attracted by it. I often amuse myself by catching 
 for him those beyond his reach, and he seems perfectly to 
 enter into the spirit of the thing, and to be sensible of the 
 kiiubiess shown him. 
 
 AVe encamped near a thick spreading camel-thorn tree, 
 called the Christmas tree, with dark shade underneath. 
 Some pack-oxen were grazing near, and I sent to urge their 
 drivers to remove them out of our way. A party of Bushmen 
 and others arrived with six boats, to convey me to the town, 
 along with any goods I may have to dispose of, my wagon 
 and cattle to remain where they are. The chief sent word 
 that he could not get away, the women having "tied him up" 
 to make rain first. I sent to say, '•' I came here at his 
 entreaty to meet him half way at this place, and would not 
 separate myself from my wagons and party. My road lay 
 by his door, and I would wait until he has made the rain." 
 
 I have never seen the lake so dry before. The boatmen 
 could not find a landing, owing to the mud, and had to land 
 10 miles off. Our cattle had great difficulty in getting a 
 drink the first day. Fortunately the rain has since fallen, 
 or we would have had to send back. The Damaras now got 
 plenty of plums (morotonogoe) and motlope berries to eat. 
 
 The south banks of the lake are thickly studded with the 
 " wait-a-bit " (real) camel-thorn, another thorn with large 
 ujjright pods, mochuerie, motseara, and motlope, plums, and 
 other trees. The wait-a-bit is in full bloom, but the leaves 
 are all riddled by the number of bees and insects piercing 
 and devouring them, and making a constant buzzing. I 
 found some peculiar beetles, with claws at the point of the 
 feet, also a green fish-eating beetle. Pelicans are plentiful on 
 the water ; the insects are making a constant noise, and are 
 very troublesome at night. A kind of black and white stork 
 is strutting about in great numbers, feeding on termites.
 
 CHAP. I.] AT LAKE NGAMl AGAIN. 7 
 
 14i^A December. — Still no signs of the Daniaras sent to 
 Amraal's. As tliey have been away five weeks I am anxiously 
 awaiting tlieir return, in liopes of their bringing tidings of 
 my brother, upon whose assistance all my hopes now depend. 
 The present state of suspense is intolerable. One misfortune 
 has succeeded another to stay our advance, and now, when 
 we at last see our way clear to the passing Lechulatebe's 
 Town, lung-sickness again apjiears amongst our cattle. We 
 have slaughtered and hidden three within the last four days, 
 burning the carcases at night ; and there are four others 
 showing symptoms of the disease. If I hear nothing to- 
 morrow I will myself go to the town on foot. 
 
 The rafts used on Lake Ngami are of two sorts. The one, a 
 reed raft, is made by tying a large number of I'eeds together 
 in a bundle, sufficient to support the party. The other kind, 
 known as a rush-raft, is made by throwing bulrushes, which 
 are very buoyant, promiscuously together in the water, and 
 the lower ones, owing to their buoyancy, press upwards, and 
 so on; the more that is added the more buoyant the raft. 
 Any weight coming oir top presses it down flat, so that it 
 never sinks deep, owing to the great pressure from beneath. 
 I have crossed the lake tw^o or three times in native canoes 
 at the broadest part. The natives prefer going right across, 
 in the larger canoes, but when they see the wind coming up 
 they keep in-shore for fear of filling. 
 
 16th Decemher. — This evening, just before sunset, a few 
 clouds came from the north, and a heavy storm from the 
 south. They met, and claslied over the wagon. The 
 thunder and lightning were terrific. The first flash struck an 
 island of green reeds about a mile from us, which in an in- 
 stant was in a blaze, the flames leaping twenty and thirty feet 
 high in the air. We thought at first it was some signal made 
 by the natives, but there Avas no appearance of any people. 
 The reeds continued to burn for an hour or more.
 
 8 CHAPMAN'S TUAVELS. [chap. i. 
 
 Monday, 16th. — John shot a vulture and a grey lory. I 
 photographed the morotonogoe (plum). The Buslimen and 
 other natives press an oil from the seeds of the fruit. All 
 the people are fond of eating them. They swallow the 
 whole, except the skin, whifh is the best way of eating 
 them, if you have a good digestion. These trees have rigid 
 sharj) spines, not perfect thorns, which, increasing, throw out 
 others, and become branches themselves. There are several 
 kinds. 
 
 Tuesday, 17th. — Some messengei:s arrive to say that the 
 chief, having now made an abundance of rain, will be at 
 liberty to come, and will furnish us Avith guides to take us 
 round, &c., but we are not to come to the town. I decline, 
 however, to comply with these directions. 
 
 Dupa (pastiles) is a great " medicine" wdth these people ; 
 they believe it has awful powers. They learnt it from the Hot- 
 tentots, who had it from the Malays ; these use it as an incense. 
 The chief sent particular messages that I was not to sell 
 pastiles to anyone else, as he wishes for all I have. He wants 
 to cure a man who, they say, was bewitched by Dr. Holden's 
 man with paralysis on one side, because he stole an axe, and 
 they believe that with the aid of dupa they can do every- 
 thing, gratify any desire, conquer any love, however stubborn, 
 and triumph over any enemy, however sti'ong. These are the 
 stories told them by unprincipled people, who thus obtain 
 ivory under false pretences. Next morning, I missed a tusk 
 of ivory, which was stolen in the night by our visitors. I 
 threatened they should not go until they brought my tusk. 
 The man I suspected, with all his followers, has, however, 
 already taken his departure, so I keep his gun until the 
 tusk is restored. I sent the chief some tea. At the lake, on 
 the 19th of December, 1861 : Therm. 84^° Fahr. Water 
 boils 206-fV°. 
 
 Monday, 23rd. — The chief came A\ith a large retinue of
 
 CHAl'. I.] 
 
 CIIIUSTMAS DAY. 
 
 200 or 300 men, armed with guns and spears, a very unusual 
 proceeding ; their appearance was rather imposing. I decline 
 trading until he pays his debts, wliich he did, but clieated 
 dreadfully towards tlie end. 
 
 2^th Beeeiiiber. — The day was half spent before we were 
 aware that it was Christmas. We were packing up botanical 
 specimens for Sir William Hooker at the time, as I intend 
 sending John with one wagon-load of ivory, &c., and letters, 
 to Damara Land, while we go east, and wait. Having 
 
 COUNCIL OP WAR AT LAKE NGAMT : MA7IALAK0H ADDRESSING THIO MULTITUDE. 
 
 started two days later, he returned after a couple of hours 
 in great haste, and hardly able to speak from excitement. 
 He had met the Damaras returning from my brother with 
 letters, and brought them on to ascertain whether the con- 
 tents would alter my plans, and most fortunate it was that 
 I did not go off in the morning, as I had intended. We 
 cannot push on now that we hear my brother is on the road, 
 although at present he is prevented by the Hottentots from 
 coming on. As some of our people are ill of fever, we pro-
 
 10 VHAFMAN'IS TRAVELS. [chap. i. 
 
 pose going back to Koobie, and waiting there for my brother. 
 He must come on, although the Hottentots say that until 
 I come to answer for having brought them the lung-sickness 
 he will not be allowed to pass. By this communication, I 
 get letters from my friends at home, which make me much 
 happier ; but the surprise is almost too much for me. 
 
 The news was varied. Lamert had caught one of the 
 thieves who stole our horses, and recovered, it is said, five of 
 them ; but Gert, with the best horse, is still away, and 
 one had died. My brother sent me three horses, but one had 
 died on the road. Amongst other mournful intelligence was 
 that of the death of Dr. Holden, for whom I entertained a 
 great regard. He died of fever taken while administering 
 medical aid to the many poor Damaras who followed him. 
 Holden, I hear, had discovered that ammonia is a certain 
 cure for horse-sickness, 
 
 28//^- Becetiiber. — All the wagons now start together to 
 return to Koobie. We sleep at Masellenyani, by one trek. 
 Insects and moths are plentiful at night. The next day we 
 trek to Mamakhoowe, the moana tree, and thence to where 
 I killed the lion, and sleep there. Kext day Me trekked 
 three miles, and were stopped by rain. I sent messengers with 
 letters for my brother, keeping John back till Ave hear that 
 it will be safe for him to go down. On the 31st we struck 
 out of the road at the Kopjies, and trekked north-west, in- 
 tending to go a few days in that direction, and make a camp, 
 and go farther north with one wagon, to hunt until my 
 brother comes. 
 
 1st January, 1862. — We look for a road and water; not 
 finding any, go back on the morrow to our old road towards 
 Koobie. The sun has now great power, and it is very hot 
 when one goes out, any shade being pleasant. However, 
 since the rains have fallen, and the trees and grasses are
 
 CHAP. I.] NEW YEAirS VLEY. 11 
 
 green, m'g seldom liave the thermometer above 70°. I fancy 
 that when walking amongst trees, thongh not in the shade, 
 tlie sun's heat does not affect me so much as walking on an 
 open j^lain. I found a great many varieties of convolvuli, 
 but none were variegated ; also an insect laying two white 
 eggs, attached to each other. Can these be male and female ? 
 
 Next day we left New Year's vley, and made two treks. 
 During the first we struck our old road, and during the 
 second we were stopped by rain, just opposite the Bush- 
 man's well. Sent the cattle on to Mahalaapye, to sleep in 
 the kraal. There we breakfasted next morning, and then 
 trekked to the Observation Tree at Koobie, Avhere we were 
 met by a thunder-storm and rain. Everything was now green 
 and rank, and water plentiful. 
 
 Our first business now was to look for a place to camjj, out 
 of the thick bush, so that leo])ards and lions may not plague 
 us, and we may be able to see more than fifty yards round. 
 Shot a steinbok. In the afternoon we trekked one mile 
 north-west from Koobie, and unyoked at a pan on the edge 
 of a plain, in an old river-course. We cleared away the 
 bushes under a large mochuerie tree, and the forewheel of 
 one wagon stuck in a Bushman's grave, or, rather, in the 
 excavation made by a wolf in his endeavours to get at the 
 corpse. My people are vexed at our encamping in the 
 midst of a field of mice-holes, &c., as they fear snakes, and 
 we had a great number of them stopped. 
 
 Baines and I went A\ith one wagon in a north-west direc- 
 tion to hunt and explore. Some Bushmen follo\\ed us. We 
 travelled in two days about 17 miles, to an old river-bed, and, 
 finding it a convenient place for the purpose, sent back the 
 wagon to bring up our camp. 
 
 At noon on the following day, hearing the sound of a 
 whip, we concluded that the wagons were near at hand. 
 Going out to meet them, I saw, to my infinite surprise and
 
 12 CHAPMAN'S TRA VELS. [chap. i. 
 
 joy, my brother, accompanied by Mr. Barry, and my friend, 
 young Bell, of Cape Town. This was a pleasure which com- 
 pensated for a long term of jDainful anxiety and suspense. 
 My friends had experienced much ti'ouble and great annoy- 
 ances in their journey, enough to have disheartened older 
 men. My brother had brought up only the four end sections 
 of the two boats, which was all he could manage in the two 
 wagons, with the quantity of luggage and supplies with which 
 they were loaded. 
 
 The question now was, how were we to proceed? We 
 have great interest in Damara Land — 250 oxen to get out of 
 it as soon as we can. Fever is very bad at the lake, so that 
 we propose making a camjD with three wagons, and going 
 north-west with one, to try if there is a possibility of reach- 
 ing the Omaramba Omatako, and thus securing a road by 
 which we could be independent of the Gam Ngaka Hotten- 
 tots, who seem disposed fur the future to give travellers 
 great trouble. It seems likely that when old Amraal diys 
 they will turn out a nation of robbers. 
 
 I sent back the wagon at once to bring up the rest of my 
 party, and on the third day they arrived. In the meantime 
 we looked about for game ; but the signal guns fired for 
 Baines, after the elephant-hunt, had evidently frightened 
 those animals out of the country. We therefore moved 
 farther westward, and made a camp on an open plain in the 
 valley. Here we constructed a very formidable ambush at 
 the water ; a trench fourteen feet long, by four deep, covered 
 with poles overspread with grass and earth ; an opening was 
 left to watch and shoot from, but during three nights of 
 patient watching nothing came. 
 
 Thursday, 16th. — We left the standing camp, and, travelling 
 six and a half miles west by south, made another hole, where 
 I lay by the water with my brother ; but nothing came. My 
 brother tells me that Jonker Africaner claimed kindred
 
 c:iAP. I.] FESTILENQE AMONG THE DOGS. 13 
 
 with the Bushmen of Ovambo Land, who are a fine race, 
 speaking the Hottentot hmguage. They fled many years 
 ago from the south, in consequence of an epidemic disease 
 which carried off gi'eat numbers of people. These Bushmen 
 are perhaps the same known to the Lake people by the name 
 of Makawkow, who live north-west of the Bataoana, a very 
 independent race, and have slaves, but possess no cattle. 
 
 Saturday, 18th. — We travelled fifteen miles north-west 
 without guides, over a very dry country, finding water towards 
 evening, and some fresh spoors. A party of Bushmen over- 
 took us, who wished to conduct us south-west, asserting that 
 there is no water in any other direction. While out examining 
 the country we started an elephant, which must have come 
 along the path we were pursuing, but the dogs ranging a few 
 yards ahead, frightened him, and gave chase. We followed 
 a short distance, but as it was growing dark, and we could 
 not fetch up, we abandoned it. We all drank some milk 
 before going to bed. My brother and myself were imme- 
 diately seized with violent vomiting. I was very bad all 
 night, and thought we had been poisoned. Baines and Barry 
 also felt unwell, and two Damaras who drank of the milk 
 were also very ill. This may have arisen from some peculiar 
 plant eaten by the cows. 
 
 I had again lost seven fine dogs in a week from inflamma- 
 tion of the lungs, ending in convulsions and paralysis, and, 
 two others being found ill, I administered tartar emetic, and 
 they recovered. I have now lost upwards of forty dogs by 
 this mysterious disease. Can it have any connection with 
 the murrain in the cattle, both attacking the lungs or other 
 inflamed parts ? I shot a pretty night-hawk, and found some 
 pretty birds' nests made of cotton, with a sort of vestibule for 
 the male bird to roost in, and some other nests made of 
 spiders' webs. I also gathered a few of the cocoons of some 
 insects (I think tlie mantis), which I learn from the Damaras
 
 14 CHAPMAN'S THAVELFi. [chap. t. 
 
 are very efficacious in the cure of sore throat, or a disease in 
 the glands of the throat. It is found chiefly on the mogonono 
 trees and haakdoorn. 
 
 Monday, 20th. — We travelled four and a half miles north 
 by east, and stayed in a grove of raotseara trees at the junction 
 of two dums (Bushman for old river-beds, which the Damaras 
 call omaramba, and the Bechuanas, molapo). Here two 
 elephants had been seen by some Bushmen, who followed us 
 with the view of persuading us to turn back to their districts, 
 saying there was no Avater anywhere else. As some of these 
 Bushmen are from the west, we have to keep a sharp look-out 
 after the horses, for fear they may have come from our friend 
 Gert. Others came from the lake side, who, like Koobie, were 
 persistent in their asserted ignorance of the country to the 
 north, and tried everything in their power to take us back 
 towards the lake ; but I cannot help thinking they are acting 
 under advices from Lechulatebe, he very likely fearing that 
 I would endeavour to carry out my oft-rejDeated threat of 
 opening a road through this desert to Lebebe's. 
 
 Large flocks of black and white storks, whistling about in 
 chase of a bulky kind of grasshopper, or cricket, and termites. 
 These latter insects, and the activity of the birds, are sure signs 
 of rain. The insects are very busy laying in a store of pro- 
 vender before a shower, and these birds, as well as some 
 varieties of hawks, are very plentiful in chase of them. When 
 alarmed, or when attracted by any agreeable object in the 
 distance, the whole flock fly from or to it with such a velo- 
 city that, though the birds may be nearly out of sight, their 
 wings sound with a startling effect upon the ears, like the 
 discordant tones of untuned organs. I made every inquiry, 
 and offered handsome bribes to the Bushmen to conduct 
 us to a spring of any kind, bat without avail. My plan is to 
 pretend no ])articular anxiety about the object I have in 
 view, or if I ask them about a fountain, not to ask it in
 
 CHAP. I.] WHITE AND BLACK STORKS. 15 
 
 a pressing manner, but, if possible, draw it out in the course 
 of conversation. 
 
 As I find that several of the roots of the gourds growing 
 in this country are edible, mostly resembling yams in taste 
 and appearance, I made a collection of seeds. The flowers of 
 these plants all resemble those of melons or cucumbers, being 
 cruciform, while the leaves and plants themselves are like 
 the passion-flower, excepting the yellow aculeated gourd. 
 There are what we call the wild cucumbers — red and irreen — 
 several kinds, with very small red gourds. There is one 
 very sweet red fruit, rifled with narrow grooves. The roots of 
 all these are eatable, and, like that of the morama (Sechuana) 
 (which bears the tamani), is like a yam, and also eatable. 
 
 Wednesday, 22nd. — We trekked about due north seven and 
 a quarter miles, and reached a pan called Karroop.* Here is 
 an old river-bed. We saw a troop of wildebeests, which made 
 off, and the white and black storks ranged themselves into 
 deep ranks for fully half a mile in close order, the two tribes 
 keeping perfectly separate. I fired a ball into their midst, 
 and as they flew up two were left on the ground. We also 
 secured several other birds for stuffing. 
 
 This river-bed, which flows into the lake, is called Thannis 
 by the Bushmen. One branch flows into it from Koobie, 
 somewhere to the north-east. It is said to come a long way 
 from the north-west, and we think of following it in the hope 
 that it may turn out to have some connection with the 
 Omaramba Omatako. 
 
 I find that the Ceylon rose, which I mentioned before as 
 growing near Barmen, is, as I suspected, the other poison with 
 which the Damaras tip their arrows in war. The smell of 
 
 * A pan is a circular depression, on which generally a saline incrustation 
 remains after the evaporation or absorption of the water. The ground in 
 such places is generally impregnated with nitre, and forms "licks" for 
 the game.
 
 16 fffAPMAN'S TL'AVELS. [chap. i. 
 
 the flower is also said to be very poisonous. The flower and 
 tree are both finer than those I have seen growing in the 
 colony. The leaf and flower are larger, and the tree is not 
 so scabby. A white, stunted variety grows also near the 
 lake, in limestone country, near springs. In the afternoon we 
 travel eight or nine miles farther, passing by the junction of 
 this dum with the one we left this morning. Here it opens out 
 into a valley, probably three miles broad. We travelled up 
 the northern side of it, where the bank is more abrupt than 
 on the opposite side, and is generally a ridge of red sandstone 
 or limestone. These valleys are generally overgrown \sith 
 haakdoorn (M. horridicus) and bastard camehthorn, >vhile the 
 intervening country, if not the usual honte-veld or eland-veld — 
 open plains dotted with low bushes, chiefly viiorei\o2i {Grewia 
 Jlava), and several kinds of rank grasses, bulbs, and creepers — 
 consists of a succession of sandy bults or ridges, covered with 
 mogonono, which is the elephant's principal food, and with a 
 kind of acidulated berry, of which they are also very fond. 
 These bults are intersected with broad elephant paths, lead- 
 ing to the dums, in the bed of which a large path is generally 
 to be found, connecting the successive pools, which, owing to 
 the harder nature of the earth — a sandy, blackish loam — are 
 generally found at shorter or longer intervals. We passed 
 several of these pools, or vleys, with rain-water in them, and 
 two in limestone, which seem to have been wells at one time 
 or other. 
 
 Tliursdaij, 2Srd. — On waking this morning we found the 
 Bushmen had decamped during the night. This is very 
 mysterious behaviour, as they had just promised to take us 
 to a spring in this dum (N. 60 W.), where it is joined by 
 another. We encamjied without w^ater, and during the next 
 forenoon's trek we found none either ; and as the country was 
 so very dry, and the deepest vley we had yet seen anywhere con- 
 tained no water, we sent the cattle back to the last vley, eight
 
 CHAP. T.] THREATENED HOSTILITIES. 17 
 
 or nine miles off, and then sent several miles in advance in 
 search of some for our kettle. Both parties return in the 
 evenins:. 
 
 Friday, 24ih. — We travelled about five miles N.NW. to 
 some vleys. Here we proposed staying with the wagon until 
 the driver we had sent for came. We shot and skinned some 
 birds, among which was a long-tailed finch (king rooi bekkie). 
 The four tail feathers are quite bare, excepting at the end ; 
 the back and wings black ; breast and belly yellow creamy 
 colour ; neck white. 
 
 Scdurday, 25fh. — I sent four Damaras exploring NW.N. 
 and W. for the spring. They return after an absence of six 
 hours, having fallen in with elephants at a very large vley. 
 They came without the dogs which they took with them, and, 
 on being questioned about them, frankly confessed that when 
 they saw the elephants, although one of them had a gun and 
 ammunition, they ran away at once, leaving the dogs baying 
 or fighting with an elephant. Next day I sent some of 
 the men to dig a hole by the large vley, to which we trekked, 
 about four and three quarters miles distant. Thinking we saw 
 palm trees to the north-westward, I rode out to examine them, 
 and came upon a Bushman's hut with several occupants. 
 One of the Damaras who were with me walked up to 
 them. The Bushmen, who did not observe him until he was 
 close at hand, sprang up, and one of tliem was in the act of 
 spearing him when they saw me coming up on horseback. 
 He then relinquished his purpose, and the party, seven in 
 number, moved off a few paces and abused us, pointing to my 
 men, and saying (in Damara), " Nawa-kako" (" No good "). I 
 made signs to them, and, giving my gun to the Damara, rode 
 towards them unarmed. The Bushmen became almost frantic 
 as I approached. One aimed a deadly shaft at me, while the 
 others threatened with their spears; but seeing that I still 
 approached, they moved off. I shouted and made signs in 
 
 VOL. II. c
 
 18 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. 
 
 vain — they continued threatening to shoot me ; but as I again 
 drew nearer, they made off. If I could have spoken the 
 Hottentot language, they might perhaps have understood 
 me, and I might have induced them to foUow. However, I 
 rode on. As soon as they were out of sight I turned towards the 
 wagon to send John to speak to them and try and convince 
 them of our peaceable character. Before leaving I observed 
 that one of my Damaras had taken a piece of meat from 
 the hut, and tliis had probably given offence. I made him 
 restore the meat, and on reaching the wagon ordered him 
 two dozen lashes. 
 
 A new feature in the woods in this country is an acacia 
 very like the haakdoorn, but larger, straighter, and with a 
 thicker stem. The clumps of large green sweet gums look 
 very pretty in the plains, covered with rank sweet grass, an4 
 generally indicate the presence of vleys. To the west the 
 country looks much firmer, the soil bluish sandy loam: low 
 white-thorn bushes and others, which are generally signs 
 of springs being somewhere near. 
 
 Wednesday, 29th. — Last night, on going to the vley at sun- 
 set, I saw two elephants, and wounded one of them, when the 
 Damaras ran away with my gun, ammunition, blankets, &c., 
 leaving me in the lurch, and not coming back until I went 
 for them. Shortly after darlv a bull-elephant came down at 
 the head of a small troop of cows and calves, while another 
 brought up the rear. The first bull walked round the vley, 
 smelling the ground, and followed our spoors right up to one 
 of the skaarms, towering over us to a tremendous height. I 
 took my gun and snapped it three times at tlie elephant's 
 breast, not four paces distant, and tlien found the cap had 
 been taken off by some one. While I seized another gun the 
 bull Nvalked off to give the alarm, and I gave a large cow, or 
 young bull, standing broadside, a shot : uttering a scream 
 of pain he charged the skaarm with the rest, but, mistrusting
 
 CHAP. I.] ELEPHANT- KILLING. 19 
 
 the loose earth thrown out of the pit, the whole herd turned 
 off and fled. Shortly after this two other bulls came ; I fired 
 at the shoulder of one and broke it. The beast stumbled 
 about, and I was just going to creep up and give him another 
 shot, when, on second thoughts, as he managed to get a few 
 paces from the water, I preferred leaving him standing till 
 daylight, for the purpose of photographing him first, and 
 killing him afterwards. Next came a bull, which I shot 
 through the heart ; he shrieked, and, dashing into the forest, 
 I heard him fall, and he died a short way off. Again one 
 came, and then another. I fired as best I could, in the dark 
 drizzling night, at the distance at which they stood, and with 
 bullets three sizes less than the bore of my gun. They all 
 rushed off screaming to the shot, and then, after a time, came 
 two other bulls. They walked up to the wounded one, 
 fondled and smelt at him, and presently one of them came 
 down to the water, and stood towering close over me. I shot 
 him in the heart ; he shrieked, and, throwing his trunk aloft, 
 turned on his heels and fled, breaking down all before him. 
 Another bull came, and him also I wounded. This was the 
 eighth I shot since coming to the skaarm. Never have I seen 
 anything like their tameness. The elephants here evidently 
 do not know what a gun is, for some were standing close by 
 when I fired at the others, and they still came down to drink. 
 Next morning I found by the bullet-wound that the bull with 
 the broken shoulder, at which I fired early in the evening, 
 was the one that came back again to drink. 
 
 As day broke we got out of the ambush, and, sending for 
 my apparatus, enjoining the messenger not to bring any 
 dogs, searched for this elephant, but to my great surj^rise he 
 was gone. Soon afterwards came the Damaras, with all our 
 dogs ranging about the country. Here, then, my prospect of 
 photographing a live African elephant was nipped in its bud. 
 The dogs were not to be caught again. We could only follow 
 
 c 2
 
 20 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. i. 
 
 them to the trumpeting of the wounded elephant as they 
 assailed him, and, coming up, we put an end to him. One 
 other elephant was found close to the water ; but it was 
 impossible to get our Damaras to hunt for any of the others, 
 five in all, with such abundance of meat waiting for them. 
 Subsequently, however, the tusks of three others were brought 
 in by the Bushmen. The remainmg two they were robbed of 
 by Lechulatebe's people. 
 
 Next night my brother and I lay by the water, and heard 
 only the howling of wolves. In the evening we walked to a 
 skaarm which we had made seven miles off to the south. A 
 tiger and a wolf came. We were horribly tormented with 
 mosquitoes and ants all night, but did not get a shot at 
 anything, there being so many vley waters all over the 
 country. It seems quite a chance whether the game will 
 come to that particular pool at which you lie. 
 
 1st February, 1862. — Still at Sleepy Hollow, as we named 
 the scene of the adventure last narrated. Searched for the 
 dead elephants, but, as in this country there are so few 
 vultures, it is a difficult thing to find them ; had I not 
 known where the two first elephants dropped we should, in 
 all probability, never have found them, though they lay 
 rotting close by. The vultures were three or four days in 
 making their appearance, but one elephant (the lean one, of 
 course) they did not touch at all. The adjutants were more 
 numerous on the carcase than vultures ; they must have 
 come from a very great distance. Hawks and brown kites are 
 also numerous ; the latter only hovering over the carcase, 
 snatching up a piece occasionally. It is a very bold bird. 
 
 Proceeding (N. 60 W.) next day along the Omaramba, 
 and passing several vleys, I shot a small blue heron, which 
 measured, from tip to tip of wings, twenty-fom* inches ; 
 from tip of beak to feet, fifteen inches ; beak black, green
 
 CHAP. I.] ANOTHER ELEPHANT STORY. 21 
 
 at base (by the jaws) ; general colour, slate blue ; breast 
 and inside of thighs, cream yellow ; the feathers do^^^l 
 the throat and under-side of neck edged with pale yellow ; 
 eyes dark sherry colour. A bunch of white down on 
 breast under the other feathers, and ditto on either side 
 of rump; legs yellowish green, with olive on the front of 
 legs. I also shot another yellow finch, with long tail, and a 
 bustle at the base of it. I think, if not already named, it 
 ought to be called the Crinoline finch. 
 
 o7'd February. — I fancy we are getting nearer to the 
 Teouge, or a branch of it ; because I observe here are the 
 fish-eating beetles which I have seen nowhere else but on 
 the lake and the rivers flowing into it. It appears to me 
 that the Omaramba Omatako must be an overflow from the 
 Teouge. I suppose this, because I hear that Green one 
 year found it a running stream with abundance of fish in it, 
 and the next year he had to dig a great depth for a small 
 supply of water. Spoors of elephants continued abundant 
 during our farther course along the valley, but no animals 
 were seen until the afternoon of Wednesday (5th February), 
 when the cry of "an elephant" reached m)'- ears. Ordering 
 a horse to be saddled immediately, I ran off at once to stalk 
 the beast, and give him the first shot, which I did, but witli 
 a gun which had recently been shortened, so that the shot 
 was not deadly. The dogs soon tackled him, when he 
 charged furiously past me, trumpeting loudly. While I was 
 striving to overtake him on foot, the horses w^ere brought. 
 I mounted the best, and he dashed up bravely enough to the 
 elephant, who, seeing me when I was still 150 yards off, 
 charged past all the dogs at me. I turned my horse's head 
 and spurred him, but as soon as he heard the elephant's 
 trumpet close behind him he became perfectly paralysed, and 
 refused to move. The elephant still came on ; I renewed my 
 efforts in vain, and nearly despaired of my life ; but this was
 
 22 CHAPMAN'S TBAVELS. [chap. i. 
 
 only for a moment, for the next the danger was too imminent 
 for me to be inactive. As the elephant was within a few 
 yards of me I turned in the saddle, intending to place my 
 last trust in my rifle, and raised it to his forehead ; whether 
 the act frightened the elephant, or what else induced him, I 
 do not know, but he turned away with uplifted head into the 
 bush. I was glad to let him go ; and as I was on the plain, 
 quite unsheltered, I did not attempt to fire, but, abandoning 
 so useless and dangerous a horse, 1 took up the chase on 
 foot, as hard as I could, for a mile or more. Finding myself 
 unable to get a shot, I sent for my horse, with which I again 
 approached, intending to abandon him when near enough 
 to the elephant, but either he heard my horse's hoofs, or 
 smelt us, and before I could get his head turned to fire 
 he charged at me. The same fear again seized my horse, 
 which seemed to become so weak in his legs that I could 
 feel him tremble under me. He again refused to move, and, 
 slipping from the saddle, I fled on foot down the wind for 
 some concealment; but other objects now attracted his 
 attention, and, the bush rather impeding his progress, I got 
 safely away at every charge, having given him only one 
 other shot. By this time the dogs, like myself, were quite 
 exhausted ; he had taken us a chase of four miles. • I fol- 
 lowed the spoor once more, and fired another shot, merely 
 to encourage the dogs, but they were fairly done up. The 
 elephant never attempted to molest the horse. 
 
 I was too tired to watch by the water at night. Baines, 
 therefore, watched at one skaarm, and Bell and my brother 
 went to the other. A thunder-storm burst in the night, and 
 rain fell in torrents. Their skaarms were six inches deep 
 in water, and they spent a miserable night ; my brother 
 suffered from an attack of rheumatism. 
 
 Friday, 1th. — I hunted with the Damaras, and on returning 
 found about thirty Bushmen at the wagon ; some of those whc
 
 ;ii|l, 
 
 
 ' .•! f If
 
 CHAP. 1.] LIMIT OF NORTH-WESTERLY ADVANCE. 23 
 
 fled from us the other day were amongst the number. We 
 heard of a fountain several days north, and a vley north-west 
 by west, where elephants are plentiful. The Bushmen first said 
 the fountain was only a day from hence, now they say it is very 
 far. They evidently want to take us in the direction of their 
 own abode, so that we may kill game for them. In accord- 
 ance with a well-established Oriental custom, they had left 
 their spears and sandals a long way off when they came to 
 the wagons ; indeed, we have not seen their weapons yet. 
 They are an independent and very bold sort of people, more 
 so than any other I have yet seen. They speak a strange 
 dialect — some knowing a little Damara, but none of them 
 Sechuana. I shot here two cranes of a peculiar kind, a 
 snow-white spoonbill of the ordinary size, and a beautiful 
 little heron. 
 
 Our advance in a north-westerly direction was continued, 
 with considerable difficulty, for a couple of daj^s longer. 
 Small parties of Bushmen continue to visit us. They seem 
 frightened ; but we cannot understand them, nor they us, as 
 they speak a different language to either the Ovambo Bush- 
 men, or those of Ghanze, Koobie, or the lake. We observed 
 here a kind of dwarf aloe, with a very pretty red flower on a 
 tall branching stem. The leaf of the plant is green, with 
 transverse bars of white spots placed close together. 
 
 At the point where, on the 9th of February, we turned 
 back from the course we had been pursuing for some weeks, 
 we found water boil at 206^^^^° ; therm. 80°. The moretloa 
 berries are here of two kinds, purple and yellow. 
 
 Monday, 10th February. — We trekked back through Norton 
 Shaw valley to Wheeler vleys — names which we had agreed 
 to confer upon the localities in question, in compliment to 
 the then acting secretary and librarian of the Royal Geogra- 
 phical Society of London. At the last-named, the dogs killed 
 an egoana, which our Damaras, for a wonder, refuse to eat.
 
 24 VHAFMAN'S TEA VELS. [chap. i. 
 
 They say it is only food for women, or old men who are past 
 running. If they were to eat, or even handle it, they will 
 not be able to run any more. 
 
 Tuesday, 11th. — Last night, at about 10 o'clock, the Bush- 
 men came in a state of excitement, and told Baines there 
 were elephants down in the valley. He determined to have 
 a look at them. Some dogs followed, attacked the elephants, 
 and brought the troop charging furiously towards the ■wagon. 
 Their angry trumj)eting was truly fearful. The troop halted 
 only 80 or 100 yards from the wagon, and it was a great relief 
 to hear them at length go away. Even as it was, I was 
 obliged to get out of my bed (which I had kept all day, being 
 unwell), and with my gun, undressed as I was, prepare for 
 flight to the first bush or tree, should they really charge upon 
 the wagon, as 1 feared they would. The din was astounding, 
 men, women, and children, horses, cattle, sheep, and dogs, 
 all giving utterance to their terror in a Babel confusion of 
 tongues ; and, high above all, sounded the loud trumpets 
 of the infuriated elephants, protecting their young from the 
 attacks of our dogs, charging from their dusky ranks, and 
 again returning to form their square. The din and turmoil 
 may be compared to that of a great battle. 
 
 Baines and my brother fell in to-day with a troop of cow- 
 elephants, but they had no success with them. I rode out 
 18 miles in search of elephants, but found none. 
 
 For the last three evenings there has been a very bright 
 illumination in the west, but this evening far surpassed them. 
 It seemed long after sunset, for it was quite dark, excepting 
 in the western horizon, where the hemisphere seemed to be 
 on fire ; indeed, I could hardly persuade myself that it ^\as 
 not fire. The sky, just above the horizon, was of a fiery- 
 yellow colour, and the clouds, tinged with orange, gold, and 
 purple hues, were the most brilliant I had ever seen. I stood 
 wondering what could be the cause of this strange phenome-
 
 CHAP. I.] BETURN TO SLEEPY HOLLOW. 25 
 
 non, when I observed that the sky, excepting a small strip 
 in the west, was everywhere enveloped in very dense clouds, 
 which, I suppose, brought on a premature darkness, and the 
 brilliancy of the sunset, through the small opening in the 
 clouds, contrasting Avith the prevailing gloom, showed to such 
 great advantage. 
 
 \2th February. — Eode about 18 miles in search of 
 elephants, and saw none ; but wounded a cock ostrich and 
 chased him : he doubled, ho-w ever, in the bushes. We all £rot 
 separated, and returned after five or six hours to the ^vagon. 
 Some of the Bushmen went back to look for the ostrich. 
 
 Next day I walked out four or five miles, and shot some 
 birds. About thii'ty Bushmen appeared, but we could not 
 understand each other. I took them to the wagon, but we 
 got on there no better. I sent the Bushmen with some 
 Damaras to look for the ostrich, but the former ran away. 
 We learnt from them, by signs, that elephants and water 
 were plentiful southwards, and they are to take us in that 
 direction to-morrow. Water boils 206^° ; therm. 75°. 
 
 Pursuing our return course, we reached Adjutant vley, 
 and, afterwards. Sleepy Hollow, where we found that the 
 Bushmen had stolen all the flesh which our people had left 
 there. 
 
 The thermometer generally ranges from 90° to 96° on 
 warm days, in the shade, a very moderate and endurable 
 temperature. Before the cooling influence of rains, it was 
 generally above 100°. I expect in March it will be hot 
 again. I think October, November, and December are the 
 hottest months here. It is now hottest at sunset. 
 
 As the waters are drying up, we continue to move on 
 towards the standing camp in Union Valley. 
 
 The crop-berries flower as late as February and March, 
 and, consequently, are still moist when all other berries are 
 dried up. Having an acid taste, they are very agreeable to
 
 26 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. i. 
 
 a thirsty palate. I find that the long-tailed bird has no 
 bunch of feathers on the rump, as I had at first supposed, 
 but one or two only, broad, vertical, rudder-like feathers, and 
 two spirally-twisted filaments beneath. At Deep vley, water 
 boils 206^:^/ ; therm. 85''. 
 
 21st February. — We trek seven miles before breakfast to 
 the Round vley, when we all went out to feed on moretloa 
 berries. We passed one or two other fine vleys, but 
 with a very scanty supply of water. This vley has had but 
 very little this year. I reckon the watershed lies between 
 this vley and the one where we last slept. We yesterday 
 caught a snake in a tree which we brought up against, and 
 had to cut down. This evening Baines found a cerastes, or 
 horned snake. They are common everywhere, from the Cape 
 to Ovambo Land, on the west side of the continent. In 
 Ovambo Land particularly, my brother tells me, they are so 
 numerous that after a fall of rain, which succeeded a severe 
 and long-continued drought, the ground was covered with 
 these venomous reptiles, so that they could hardly walk 
 without treading on them. They lay coiled up in the paths, 
 with their heads in the middle, and utter a hissing noise when 
 approached or disturbed. These snakes are about fifteen 
 inches long, of a dark cream colour, with square checkered 
 spots, larger on the back and smaller on the side. They are 
 viviparous, and feed on insects and small reptiles. The 
 muzzle is blunt, the head thick, with a bony protuberance 
 over each eye, which is, however, covered with skin. The 
 fangs, which are very sharp, are exposed about a quarter of 
 an inch, and their large eyes have a vertical narrow pupil, 
 which adds to the fierceness of their appearance. 
 
 Audersson, I apprehend, is mistaken in his estimate of the 
 Ovambo cliaracter. He considers them a very loose people ; 
 but my brother, who has had a longer experience among
 
 CHAP. I.] NOVEL MODE OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. 27 
 
 tliem, says that tliey are very chaste. Adultery is a capital 
 offence, both the man and woman being put to death when 
 convicted of this crime. Their mode of inflicting capital 
 punishment is by putting a rope round the neck, which is 
 tied to the heels, and then drawn tight until the neck breaks. 
 Dr. Livingstone also is in error when he asserts, with regard 
 to certain loathsome diseases, that they do not prevail among 
 the people of pure negro race. He will alter his opinion 
 after a very short experience among the Berg-Damaras, 
 as well as the Cattle-Damaras, unless these are not con- 
 sidered negroes. I believe, however, that these people 
 were perfectly free from these diseases, as were also the 
 Bechuanas and Zulus, until they were introduced by the 
 Hottentots. 
 
 In our trek to the Karroop, which formed our next stage, 
 we saw some ostriches and gemsboks. 
 
 Saturday, 2271(1 February. — Baines and I rode after some 
 gemsboks and quaggas without success. I shot a dozen glossy 
 black and white storks, and photographed them. We find 
 these birds in large numbers, but the Avhite storks and adju- 
 tants are gone, except a few. Ostriches seem plentiful in 
 this neighbourhood. The black storks feed on the cricket 
 or corn-eater — a thick kind of grasshopper, without wings, 
 which are plentiful on tlie bushes and trunks of trees. 
 
 We now made up our minds to follow up tlie Omaramba 
 about 10 or 15 miles east, as it promised to offer us some 
 game. Rhinoceroses visited the pan last night, and their 
 spoors are to be seen to the eastward. The pan is, as usual, 
 overgrown with a sharp, prickly grass, and the banks with 
 vyn-doorn (white-thorn), intermixed with stunted aromatic 
 herbs, with which the Damaras are in the habit of perfuming 
 themselves. One in particular, which looks very much like 
 mint, has a down on the seeds, which some birds are in the 
 habit of making their nests of. Another is a trefoil with
 
 28 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. i. 
 
 pea-flower, which grows near the vleys, and has a stronger 
 odour. This the Hottentot women esteem very much as 
 a scent, and with them goes by the name of buchu, the smell 
 of which it somewhat resembles- The white (Ceylon ?) rose 
 also grows here, and also the other white and yellow stem 
 flowers which we found at Koobie are here only now in 
 blossom. The rains are so partial that vegetation, in some 
 parts, is not now so much advanced as we found it elsewhere 
 in November. 
 
 The country to the west of the pan opens out into a broad 
 valley or plain, bounded on either side witli a bult or ridge 
 about fifty feet high. These ridges are overgrown with 
 mogonono, seringa, motseara, and other large trees, but the 
 plain between them is sprinkled with low bushes bearing 
 moretloa berries, which just now are very abundant. We 
 made a very good imitation of cider of some of these berries 
 by pouring hot water on them, and allowing them to fer- 
 ment for three or four days. The country is very level, 
 being, according to my observations, at our farthest point 
 west, only 150 feet above the level of the lake, and these 
 valleys or undulations are so numerous, and their courses 
 (excepting the larger ones) so capricious, that it is difficult 
 to ascertain their direction. It seems, however, certain that 
 this valley, in which we now are, tends to the lake, while 
 those at our farthest point west went in an opposite direc- 
 tion, and, according to the reports of Bushmen, inclined 
 afterwards to the north. On reaching the pan, we again 
 meet with the camel-thorn and motseara, which we had lost 
 sight of in our way up — large sweet gums and bastard camel- 
 thorns taking their places. The melons and gom-ds are much 
 larger, and very plentiful, in this latitude, but ue find no 
 cucumbers. 
 
 Sundmj, '2drd February. — We moved on to the water, 
 which Johnny reported to be visited by rhinoceroses. After
 
 CHAP. I.] 
 
 METE ORG L 0010 A L OB SEE VA TIONS. 
 
 29 
 
 passing the pan, which is about two miles long, and proceed- 
 ing for about an hour down the valley, it opened out into a 
 broad and level plain, overgrown in the hollow with low 
 white thorns, and the plain on the sides with rank grass 
 waving like corn-fields. Here and there a picturesque group 
 of wagt-een-beetjes indicate the presence of a vley. The 
 bult, which on the northern side of the valley is more abrupt 
 than the one on the south, is composed of limestone and a 
 hard red sandstone. We kept down the southern side, and 
 found some fine large vleys at about eight miles' distance from 
 the Karroop, where a lesser valley from the south seemed to 
 join the one we had passed. The soil at the head of the 
 valley is a saline kind of compact bluish earth or clay. 
 
 We observed here a haw'k, which, to us, is an entire 
 stranger. I have never seen anything to equal its activity 
 and velocity. It took a cunning advantage of the other 
 birds by flying constantly alongside of the wagon, and as 
 the crouching and terrified birds were just up by it the hawks 
 pounced upon them with the speed of an arrow. 
 
 In the afternoon, my brother and I rode out south-east 
 eight miles along an elephant path, to examine the country 
 for spoors of game. The path turned out of the valley 
 (which is here very broad) through a very thick forest of 
 motseara and underwood, such as are found on the banks of 
 tlie lake. 
 
 The following observations were made during this portion 
 of our journey : — 
 
 Thermometer 
 
 Water boils at tlie Turnback 206 2%° 80? 
 
 Wheeler Vlcy 
 Sleepy Hollow 
 Deep Vley . . 
 Karroop 
 Adjutant Vley 
 » 
 
 Head of the Omaramba 
 
 2063^"^ 
 
 75° 
 
 206^° 
 
 73° 
 
 206^V 
 
 85° 
 
 206^V 
 
 8:^° 
 
 206,-%° 
 
 76° 
 
 20fiii° 
 
 94° 
 
 206ii° 
 
 94° 
 
 206;%° 
 
 73°
 
 30 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. i. 
 
 The milk of our cows has of late a very nauseous taste, 
 owing to their eating a peculiar creeping plant, with narrow 
 leaves and small white flower. In some other parts of the 
 country the cattle find a bulb tasting like garlic, their 
 feeding on the leaves of which imparts to the milk a very 
 disagreeable taste, 
 
 I found a fine insect of the order Cantharidee. Its odour 
 is so powerful, and at the same time so pleasant, that one of 
 these insects put into a bottle of spirits of wine makes it a 
 most delicdous scent. 
 
 21tli February. — We start for the standing camp (in 
 Union Valley), Baines and myself on horseback. On the 
 way thither we fell in with three fine male elephants, which 
 we chased for some hours, but ultimately lost them, and, 
 losing sight of one another, arrived at the camp by different 
 routes. 
 
 Tuesday, 5th Marcli. — We left the standing camp and 
 moved towards New Year's vley, Baines and I riding ahead. 
 We saw fresh elephant spoors, and also a giraffe, to which I 
 gave chase, but, my horse knocking up, it escaped with only 
 a bullet-wound. This was vexing, but my horse took fright 
 at him. We afterwards fell in with some quaggas and a 
 gemsbok ; I gave chase to the latter, and killed it at the 
 third shot. Next day observing a beautiful bee-eater while 
 walking ahead, I stopped the wagons and sent my brother 
 to shoot it. It is a very pretty bird; another of a very 
 brilliant violet colour I did not get. It looks like a flame 
 of fire. I have only once seen it. 
 
 On the 6th we made about ten miles, and lost sight of one 
 wagon, which did not even arrive at night. Found only a 
 little water for ourselves. My brother and I rode out in 
 search of some for the cattle. We saw two elephant bulls. 
 My gun missed fire three times, and, to my great mortifica- 
 tion, we lost them.
 
 CHAP. I.] AT QUABANTINE VLEY. 31 
 
 1th March. — We trekked on to New Year's vley, which we 
 struck without any other assistance than our observations 
 and compasses, much to the surprise of our Damaras. We 
 found water, but it was rather scarce, as the elephants had 
 stirred into mud all the pools, which they ceased to frequent 
 when the water was nearly exhausted. We met here some 
 Bushmen with whom we can converse, as they speak Sechuana 
 fluently. We learnt from them that large game of all sorts 
 is plentiful at the other side of Quarantine vley. We 
 propose, therefore, to keep the wagons and cattle here, for 
 fear of driving them away, and hunt from thence while there 
 is anything to be found. Next day we accordingly made a 
 skaarm at Quarantine vley, and my brother and myself lay 
 there. Two elephant bulls and two cows came to drink after 
 the moon set, but they saw the skaarm, and were running off, 
 when I gave one bull a shot. An hour afterwards a small 
 troop of cows and calves came at a smart pace ; but, although 
 it was very dark, they either observed where spars had 
 been cut for the skaarm, or saw our heads, and were galloping 
 off when I gave one a shot which sent her on trumpeting, 
 and we thought, from her repeated groans, that she would 
 die. Before morning, and long after sunrise, other troops of 
 elephants made a frightful noise to the eastward, either 
 in playfulness or rage, or lamentation, perhaps, over the dead 
 cow ; but we were too fatigued with the night's watching to 
 go after them.
 
 32 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ii. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 At the Kopjies again — Proceed to the Botletlie Eiver — Tree-snakes — 
 Ostriches — the Quabie Hills — Mortality among the Dogs — Xative 
 Fruits —Occupations of Natives — Native Conjurers — Move to the East- 
 ward — Native Trees — Makato's Village — Native Turtle — Eagles — At- 
 mospheric Phenomena — Contributions to Natural History — Elephants 
 again — Salt-pans — Mirage — Gradual Desiccation of the Country. 
 
 We now determined to shape our course eastwardly for 
 the Botlethe river, passing along a route lying 20 or 30 
 miles to the south of the lake. In an early stage of this 
 route I shot a white rhinoceros cow, very fat, and a fine 
 elephant bull (my fiftieth) 11 ft. 8 in. in height. Adjutant- 
 birds were found in thousands, though not so large as the 
 Indian species is said to be ; some white storks and ibises 
 also. I also shot a beautiful white-headed black vulture; 
 neck and cheek bare, and skin pale violet ; breast and neck 
 white down covered with loose black feathers ; legs dull rose 
 colour, beak duller ; bill bluish grey at base ; eyes black ; 
 expanse of wings, 6 ft. 5 in. ; bill to end of tail, 3 ft. 1 in, ; 
 bill to end of toes, 3 ft. 2 in. Thick white down under the 
 wings ; inner quill feathers under the wings, white, gradually 
 getting darker towards the end. 
 
 We shot four varieties of vultures. The largest is a dark 
 brown or dull black, the thighs covered with thick white 
 down, head and neck bare, purple skin, cheeks slate colour, 
 pale greyish blue legs, and very powerful broad, thick, horny- 
 coloured mandibles ; breast covered with thick whitish down.
 
 CHAP. II.] MESSAGE FROM LECHVLATEBE. 33 
 
 over whicli are long narrow brown feathers ; bristles under 
 tliroat, and a few hairs over the eyes and head ; expanse of 
 wings, 8ft.; beak to tail, 3 ft. lOin. ; beak to toe, 3ft. 10 in. 
 One of the dark brown vultures (a male), wings, oft.; back 
 of neck and crown of head covered with bro\vnish dov\Ti, 
 underneath bare flesh-colour skin ; breast, white down un- 
 derneath ; legs, white down with sprinkling of coarse black 
 feathers ; long slender mandibles, grey flesh-colour at base. 
 
 15^A March. — Some of us w^ent in search of game. My 
 brother ascended one of the Kopjie hills and saw the waters 
 of Lake Ngami from their summit, and some buffaloes in the 
 distance, and descended in search of them, but could not 
 find them. In the evening a Bushman arrived from the 
 lake with a message. The chief afiects to be angry, and 
 says he is at war with us because I took a gun away from 
 his servant, who stole a tusk of ivory, and also on account of 
 our entering his country with lung-sick cattle. At the same 
 time he sends word tliat he has sent out a commando to 
 assist a tribe of Barolongs, on the Botletlie, against Chapo, 
 chief of the Bakurutsie ; he therefore wants guns and 
 powder, and I must bring him plenty. He says he has 
 recovered all the things his people pilfered from me, and I 
 must come and get them. 
 
 As the elephants had all suddenly and mysteriously dis- 
 appeared, we resolved to move forward, in order to economise 
 distance, and keep away a little longer from the malaria of 
 the Lake country : we determine, therefore, on making as 
 straight a course as we can for Pelani's village on the 
 Boltetlie river, travelling parallel with the south coast of 
 the lake to the Quebe hills, which lie somewhere south of the 
 town, about the same distance from it as these hills are from 
 the lake. We can then, when opposite the town, halt a 
 day or two for trade, and we shall, by this means, also keep 
 clear of their cattle, althougli there cannot be the slightest 
 
 VOL. II. B
 
 34 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ii. 
 
 danger, as we have now not had a case of lung-sickness for 
 many months. Accordingly, next day, we started for Sese, 
 keeping clear of the hills and to the south of them, and 
 steered east about six miles. After passing some old dry cattle 
 pits of Taoani's time, we came to a fine large vley. In the 
 afternoon we travelled without any path, and slept at another 
 vley, opposite the Lubelo hills, about six and a half miles 
 farther on in the same direction, where we found the remains 
 of a buffalo recently killed by lions. On the morrow we held 
 a little more south. After three miles we came to a vley, 
 Sebubumpie, in a broad flat, or valley, coming from beyond 
 Quarantine vley, and also a fine deep vley of water, called 
 Little Molenyani. 
 
 At this season of the year a kind of hybiscus begins to 
 ripen its seeds. The plant has a grey-purple flower, and the 
 leaves yield a strong musk-like odour. This plant is covered 
 with short hairs, or thorns, which are often scattered by the 
 wind, and driven into our wagons and blankets, causing us 
 dreadful torture. They very much resemble those of the 
 prickly pear. Besides this nuisance, there are here a great 
 variety of pests, different kinds of thorns (dubbeltjis) and 
 grapplers, burrs, and other bearded grass seeds, which, 
 whenever you move from the wagon, attach themselves so 
 firmly to your clothes that you are obliged to change them. 
 These nuisances appear to prove the fertility of the soil. 
 
 We killed two snakes to-day. One of the green tree- 
 climbing snakes, five feet long, which the Bushmen inform 
 me are very venomous, and that, when attacked, they spit 
 their poisonous and blinding saliva into your eyes. A small • 
 kind of adder, with a shield on its nose, I also discovered by 
 the peculiar noise it made as it inflated itself in rage, while I 
 was stepping over it. It is about nine inches long, rather 
 thick, marked black under the throat, and a broad patch on 
 back of head and neck, followed by several succeeding trans-
 
 CHAP. II.] THE PABADISE FINCH. 35 
 
 verse stripes, gradually diminisliing in size to about the 
 middle of the body, and then continuing in spots. 
 
 We came to a stand here, owing to the doubts of our 
 Bushman guide whether our wagons could travel through the 
 thick elephant jungle ahead. He had not been here since 
 childhood, and wished us to see for ourselves first ; so we 
 sent the Damaras forward for the purpose. 
 
 We at last succeeded in shooting one of the paradise 
 finches ; but it has evidently nearly changed its plumage, for 
 the two long tail-feathers were gone ; on the back, above 
 the short tail-feathers, it has two of those broad, rudder-like, 
 vertical feathers, instead of one, as I supposed. These it can 
 erect at will. It is something like those we shot at Sleepy 
 Hollow, but the breast is of a very rich brown; the bill 
 and feet black ; the throat black, and belly yellow ; neck 
 ditto ; crown of head black ; length of body to end of true 
 tail, six inches ; two long tail-feathers, thirteen inches, and 
 two broad ones, four and a half inches, and, including the 
 tails attached, seven and a quarter inches. The two latter 
 are placed between the two long ones, which are also ver- 
 tically placed, and strongly indented down the inside and 
 raised on the outside, giving it a very massive appearance. 
 The feathers are further barred transversely, like watered 
 silk. It has also two thread-like filaments, like twisted silk, 
 under the rudder-like feathers. 
 
 18^7i March. — We trekked about east, by a small footpath, 
 until we entered a valley studded thickly with thorn trees, 
 and kept along it for five miles, when we fell in with a larger 
 patli, which the Bushmen inform me leads straight from Koobie, 
 via Mahalaapye to Quebe. This we followed five miles farther, 
 and, having outspanned opposite a small conical hill, sent the 
 cattle in search of water to the north, where, the Bushmen 
 said, vleys are plentiful ; and the grass being here green, and 
 birds abundant, I have no doubt they will find water. 
 
 D 2
 
 36 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ii. 
 
 My brother fired at one of a pair of ostriches ; the cock 
 was very tame, and every now and then turned to conceal 
 himself by lying down in the grass. At the same instant I 
 saw a black and white eagle fly from the ground, and a 
 number of kites hovering over. I went to see what it had 
 caught, and found it had killed a young ostrich, by inserting 
 its beak alongside the breast and piercing the heart, leaving 
 a very small wound visible. I shot a peculiar little butcher- 
 bird of a cinereous colour ; rich brown on back ; from cheek, 
 and round the eyes, and passing round the forehead, black ; 
 upper tail-feathers black, tipped with white ; under tail- 
 feathers white half way up from the roots, rest black ; breast, 
 belly, and throat, dull white or yellow, with slight tinge of 
 purple ; eyes black. 
 
 Next morning we trekked at sunrise through thorny 
 bushes, and consequently made slow progress. We had to 
 chop down trees to clear the road, and sent some of the 
 people forward to seek an exit from the bush. Passed a 
 troop of fifteen or twenty camels, a pretty sight, in com- 
 bination with four travelling wagons, horses, and people, on 
 the plain. Got the female of the red-headed woodpecker. 
 It is smaller, and marked with black on the crown ; there 
 are three kinds. Also one of the white-headed chatterers. 
 The cheeks being marked with black indicates the sex to 
 be female ; the male has the head and neck quite white. 
 Also a red shrike ; a few white speckles on the rump 
 indicate the sex to be female. At night we heard that a 
 span of oxen were missing. Two Damaras went off after 
 them and did not return all night ; probably the cattle have 
 run off with a herd of buffaloes. The bush is so dreadfully 
 dense that we shall be brought to a stand till we find a road. 
 
 Next day my brother and I rode ahead to the vley, keep- 
 ing south of the Quebe hills ; the wagons arrived about noon. 
 Harry and some Bushmen were sent to the lake to apprise
 
 CHAP. II.] SOUTH AFRICAN BIRDS. 37 
 
 the chief of our being in his neighbourhood, and another 
 Bushman went back to fetch the tusks of a bull-elephant 
 left at Sleepy Hollow, which they found, together with those 
 of a cow I had wounded. This makes five elephants already 
 found out of seven fired at at Sleepy Hollow. 
 
 There are few birds that actually drink water, although 
 there are many hawks and other birds of prey generally 
 found at the pools and wells, which they visit for the purpose 
 of preying on the smaller birds ; Namaqua partridges and 
 turtle-doves are nearly the only regular visitors. The birds 
 of this country are more numerous than we should at first 
 imagine, and it is only by comparison that the difference of 
 species is discovered, as many look so much alike. They 
 have not here the beautiful birds of Natal and the Knysna, 
 but a few have very brilliant plumage. The female of the 
 crinoline, or widah finch, is of a grey colour. Again one of 
 my best dogs has died, and another is sick ; I cannot make 
 out what it can be that kills them. The Bushmen on seeinsr 
 it at once exclaim : " You have been into the ' khow !' " On 
 asking what that was, they inform me that it is a plant that 
 grows in the parts that we come from, bears an edible red- 
 coloured fruit, two inches long, and that this is poisonous to 
 cattle if they eat it, and also to dogs if they come in contact 
 with it, or jump over the bush. I asked a second Bushman, 
 from another part, about this incredible story, and he confirms 
 it. There may be something in it. We lost one ox from 
 poison of some sort ; one horse was nearly dying, and several 
 dogs are dead of inflamed lungs. They say the Bushmen 
 can keep no dogs, and that when they have soaked a string in 
 the juice of this fruit and tied it on the legs of the dogs, they 
 may travel in the khow-fields, the sanrl-hills to the north- 
 west of Koobie, with impunity. 
 
 22nd March. — To-day I got the female of the crinoline, or 
 widah finch. In the action it is very like the male, flying
 
 38 CHAPMAN'S TRA VEL8. [chap. ii. 
 
 very high for so small a bird, and evidently with some 
 difficulty ; in descending again, they seem to let them- 
 selves fall head foremost, suddenly checking their descent 
 at intervals. The hen is a dark brownish-grey, very much 
 speckled all over, the middle of the feathers being dark 
 brown or faded, and a black feather on the centre of each 
 wing ; crown of the head black, parted in the middle by a 
 pale stripe, which recurves from the back of the head on 
 either side, and passes over the eyes to the base of the bill ; 
 breast dull white, speckled, and having a few rufous feathers 
 visible ; belly white ; tail brown. 
 
 My brother brought some fruit from the Quebe hills very 
 like a lime in appearance, of a pleasant acid taste, and thick 
 rind like a lime ; large nut inside with three or four eyes ; heart- 
 like leaf. Elephants are very fond of it, and so are all the 
 native tribes, who make a strong intoxicating drink of it by 
 fermenting it. The wood is very useful, as combining softness 
 with closeness of grain and durability. The natives make 
 wooden vessels, troughs, &c., out of it. The trunk of the 
 tree is generally several feet thick, and straight for about 
 twenty or thirty feet, when it branches out into a beautiful 
 crown. I think the Bechuanas call it mopura, the Bushmen 
 taa, and the Ovambo onganga. 
 
 2'^rd March. — Messengers arrived from the lake. It 
 appears that the chief sent to look for us at Koobie and 
 invite us to the town, but we were gone : hearing from my 
 messenger that we were at Quebe, he sent hither at once, his 
 messages overflowing with kindness. Of course all that we 
 had previously heard about the war with Chapo is false. 
 He says he cannot bear to see his friends staying so far in 
 the bush : we must come ; the country belongs to us, and 
 so on. He sends to beg coffee, sugar, tea, flour, &c. 
 
 The quails here are of two different kinds, large and small, 
 and different to those in the colony. The smaller kind
 
 CHAP. II.] QUAILS. 39 
 
 measures ten inches from tip to tip, and six inches from 
 point of beak to point of tail ; bill and feet j)ale bluish-grey ; 
 toes three ; eyes yellow, breast rich brown down the middle, 
 bounded on either side with a row of whitish feathers slightly 
 fringed with black, and painted with large black spots in 
 their centre ; throat and belly yellowish-white ; side of neck, 
 whitish, feathers fringed with black, and black spot in the 
 middle ; the crown and back of head parted with a row of 
 rich brown, black, and white feathers, in which the latter 
 preponderates in the middle. On either side of this white 
 stripe run three longitudinal rows of brown, white, and 
 black feathers, in which the former preponderates ; whiskers 
 covering the ears ; the feathers of the back reddish chestnut- 
 brown, fringed with grey, and barred transversely with black 
 marks ; the brown is again bounded Avith a longitudinal stripe 
 of black on either side ; quill feathers grey, edged on outside 
 with white ; greater coverts bright reddish-brown, barred with 
 black, and edged with white near the base, but otherwise 
 whitish feathers with large patches of black and rich reddish- 
 brown ; shoulders grey, with a tinge of brown. This is the 
 male. The female is known by the absence of brown on the 
 breast, and is of a paler colour. I shot some river doves ; 
 the back and first half of wings are dark ash-colour, tipped 
 and sometimes barred with white ; the quill feathers reddish- 
 brown, outer edges black ; greater wing-coverts dark grey 
 tipped with white, and a spot of glossy green on the two 
 inner ones ; rump grey, barred across with black ; tail dark 
 grey tipped with black, and the underneath feathers edged 
 with white on the outside ; belly pale ash-colour ; bill black ; 
 eyes ditto ; feet dark dull purple. 
 
 2Uh March. — Walked over the hills, which here crop out 
 of the plain. They are a kind of granite or greenstone, a 
 dark, speckled, sonorous rock, the same which Dr. Livingstone 
 calls basalt at Bamanwato. There are also quartz and sand-
 
 40 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ii. 
 
 stone around tlie base. I sent back the messengers with 
 instructions to tell the chief that I could not come to the 
 lake, but intended striking the Botletlie some 15 miles below 
 — intimating at the same time my determination not to 
 trade until the property stolen from me had been restored, 
 and assurances given for the security of my goods in future. 
 Meanwhile we pursued our way in a north-east direction. 
 
 At the Quebe hills water boils 206 -^° ; therm. 84°. 
 
 On the 29th I rode ahead after sunrise, and reached the 
 Botletlie river at 9 o'clock. The wagons came up at 3 in 
 the afternoon, having struck the river a few miles farther 
 to the westward at Lechulatebe's old place, and I did not find 
 them until evening. In the meantime a Makoba chief had 
 entertained me with three boiled fishes and some goat's milk, 
 which were very welcome, though eaten without bread or salt. 
 A Makoba messenger to another part passed me : he was 
 very much excited, and was holding forth to the inhabitants 
 of the village against the Baroa, some of whom had made 
 free with his sheej) and goats, taking two of them. This 
 they say they will not stand ; they will rather fly to Sekeletu 
 than submit longer to this system of robbeiy. It has always 
 been permitted the Baroas, when sent on an errand any- 
 where, to empty all the fishing-nets and creels which they 
 pass on their road, and the Makobas are everywhere sup- 
 posed to supply, by way of a tax, food to people sent by the 
 chief; but since the Makobas have commenced to collect 
 sheep and goats, the Baroa think they are entitled to take 
 them also ; but this will drive the Makobas out of their 
 territory. 
 
 The medlars, which grow here on the banks of the river, 
 and of which we found abundance at the hills, are very 
 similar to our own, though not so sweet. We did not know 
 the proper way to eat them until the Bushmen advised us to 
 stew them. This we did, stirring them into a porridge, and,
 
 CHAP, II.] AFRICAN AGRICULTURE. 41 
 
 with the addition of a little sugar and some cream, they 
 made an excellent desert. The mosentsila is another ex- 
 cellent fruit, as also the wild loquat (motsuri). The mokuchon 
 is one of the finest trees in the land, and the fruit, also a 
 medlar, when dried becomes, excepting the seeds, one crystal- 
 line mass of sugar. I found a miniature kind of purple fig 
 growing on a bush ; it is sweet, but the natives do not eat it. 
 
 31st March. — The chief visits us, pretends to be very 
 penitent for his past offences, and persuades us to go to his 
 town with our wagon. I promised to go there to-morrow, 
 only because I want to photograph him. We learn from 
 Lechulatebe that, according to the latest news from the 
 Makololo, Sekeletu is so ill of a disease, which they say is 
 common on the Shesheke, and which eats away the toes 
 and fingers — probably leprosy — that he is obliged to be 
 carried about on a litter. 
 
 1st April. — We left the camp at 11 o'clock, and travelled 
 with much greater comfort on the open grassy banks of the 
 Botletlie river than we had done for a long time in the bush. 
 The distance to the town proved 13^ miles, per trochameter : 
 during the half of this distance we travelled alongside of 
 corn-fields and gardens, and it was a pleasing sight to see 
 the busy groups of people plucking, or carrying on their 
 heads, loads of the Holcus sorghum, and chewing, or, as 
 they say, drinking, the sweet reeds (Holcus sacharatus), their 
 occupation all day. Look when you will, you see men, 
 women, and children, tearing away with their teeth at a long 
 cane, which they hold in their right hand, while the left arm 
 clasps a bundle of the same against the side. Water-melons, 
 pumpkins, calabashes, beans, maize, and sorghum, are abun- 
 dant this year, and the gardens are everywhere surrounded 
 by huts, where the servants sleep to keep away the game 
 during the night, the birds by day, and wherein to occupy 
 themselves in basket-making, &c. We were stopped by one
 
 42 CHAPMAN'S TRA VELS. [chap. ii. 
 
 party of women on the road, who forced water-melous, beans, 
 maize, and corn upon us, for a trifle of beads. Tliey have 
 abundance to spare this year, and the chief has given them 
 permission to sell us food, without which permission they dare 
 not, or we might have been already supplied by the Makobas. 
 
 It was an interesting study to observe the number of women 
 striving to beat one another down, and struggling with might 
 and main, with baskets high over the heads, and vying with 
 each other for precedence, bestowing the most honeyed com- 
 pliments and flattering wiles upon the purchaser, accompanied 
 by such epithets as sweetheart (neatsi), &c. The industry 
 of the people here is a pleasing contrast to what one sees 
 among the Hottentots in Damara Land. 
 
 The chief yesterday changed our "guard," leaving only 
 one spy in place of the three we had before, but his vigilance 
 makes up for the former number. Besides subjecting us to 
 this nuisance, under the plea of guides, assistants, &c., he is 
 unmannerly enough to take away our servants on the sly to 
 pump them ; there is nothing that one can say or do but 
 he must know of it. In trading he is excessively mean, and 
 takes every little advantage. I hear his intention is to be 
 very good for the future. He says he will take my advice, 
 which is good, and he has severely punished the Makoba 
 who stole the adze. He has sent us water-melons, canes, 
 and porridge, which indeed is saying a great deal for him. 
 
 I observe that the people here are altering their old plan 
 of planting in the sand on the banks, and are now planting 
 in ground which will be under water in August. Those who 
 have done so have an abundant crop, others will get little 
 or nothing. The great corn-fields, however, are on the north 
 side of the river, and along the south bank of the lake, where 
 for many miles there is one continuous garden. 
 
 I never knew until now that Bechuanas adopt any per- 
 manent external mode of exhibiting their grief by mourning,
 
 CHAP. II.] TRADE WITH NATIVES AT THE LAKE. 43 
 
 but Mahutii, the chiefs uncle, has died since I was here last, 
 and one of his young wives, his brother's daughter, who used 
 to be always very gaily decorated with beads and ornaments 
 of the liveliest colours, I found in such a wretched condition 
 that she looked like a poor Bushwoman, though always con- 
 sidered one of the belles here. Slie had not an ornament of 
 any kind on her, and seems to have greatly neglected herself. 
 I inquired the cause of the change, and was told her husband 
 had died, and she had buried all her ornaments with him, 
 and put on mourning. 
 
 I told the chief I was rather in a hurry, and wished to 
 buy corn : should be happy to supply him with anything I 
 could spare. He said the women would overwhelm us next 
 day, and after we had done with their affairs he would be 
 prepared to transact business of more importance ; signifying 
 that corn, beans, melons, &c., are things that women deal in, 
 but men and soldiers like to talk about fire-arms, horses, &c. 
 Next day, at an early hour, we were indeed overwhelmed 
 with the noise of squabbling men and women pushing each 
 other, crowding and holding their dish of corn or maize over- 
 head in one hand, each striving to the utmost for priority. 
 The trader becomes bewildered. Sometimes he gets his corn 
 very cheap, but more often horribly cheated. Alternately 
 pinched and pulled about, abused and flattered, he is at 
 length in such an endless perj)lexity that he would fain fly. 
 At length the appearance of the chief and his retinue in the 
 distance is the signal for the crowd to disperse, and he finds 
 relief. 
 
 The natives say that they have killed a Namani-tona- 
 Tlou this year, which literally means a great bull-elephant 
 calf, but in this present case signifies a glorious harvest. 
 The sugar-leaves {H. sacliaratus) are plentiful, and pleasant 
 " drinking " (chewing), but this year are rather diseased by 
 an insect or grub which penetrates the canes, discolours it
 
 44 CHAPMAN' ti TEA VELS. [chap. ii. 
 
 red, and rots the inside. Pumpkins and water-melons, beans 
 and maize, are also plentiful. Of all the seeds I gave them 
 I can only find that they have succeeded with the large sweet 
 pumpkin and some beans. Our various gourds (pump- 
 kins, &c.) soon deteriorate when grown near those of the 
 natives, and so does their best corn, the Holcus sorghum, 
 when grown near the sugar-canes. This, I believe, is owing 
 to the inoculation of bees and other insects carrying the 
 pollen about from flower to flower. 
 
 We met here a personage I had often wished to see, a 
 native conjurer. Report had long made us familiar with the 
 marvellous performances of this man, but we were glad of an 
 opportunity of having ocular demonstration. This person 
 was a remarkably fine specimen of a Bayeye (Makoba, or 
 boatman), and by the careful manner in which his toilet 
 was made and his body anointed, he evidently had some pre- 
 tensions among his countrymen to being a dandy. He had 
 no ears ; but, with a smiling and pleasant expression of coun- 
 tenance, he possessed all the robust proportions, activity, and 
 muscular development of his tribe. As he could not perform 
 any of his prodigies during the daylight, we invited him for 
 the evening, when he punctually appeared. He was evi- 
 dently under some apprehensions that his secrets were known 
 and could be exposed by the white man ; but we gave him a 
 fair chance, though scrutinizing his actions during his per- 
 formance very severely, and we must do him the justice to 
 say that his tricks, which were all sleight-of-hand, were, for an 
 ignorant savage, remarkably clever, an;! equal to what I have 
 seen performed by celebrated wizards. One of his tricks was 
 burning a bunch of beads tied in a bundle of grass in the 
 midst of our little circle, and making them appear again un- 
 injured ; also pounding certain things to pieces and restoring 
 them to their shapes. All his tricks are performed after 
 invoking Morimo (God) by holding his hands up in a suppli-
 
 CHAP. II.] A NATIVE CONJVEER. 45 
 
 eating attitude. He attributes everything to his influence 
 with God, and is quite stubborn on that point. His ears, he 
 told us, also were with God, but we shortly after learnt a very 
 different story, which was that the chief had taken them off, 
 in order to try and cure him of an unconquerable love of 
 displaying his ingenuity upon sundry little properties of the 
 chief, which, by his sleight-of-hand, were conveyed from the 
 chief's residence to his own. The Makobas are great and 
 expert thieves, and it is no doubt owing to a knowledge of 
 sleight-of-hand that their expertness is to be attributed. 
 Our friend the wizard was next day caught with some beads 
 secreted about his dress. He was not seen taking them or 
 concealing them, but the beads mysteriously disappeared 
 while he was standing near, so we instituted a compulsory 
 examination of his person, and found them. 
 
 After these performances for our amusement and his profit, 
 our friend invited us to the town to see some of his witch- 
 doctoring. They give him credit here for being a very clever 
 surgeon, cutting into the belly, drawing out the intestines, 
 removing the disease, and replacing all again immediately as if 
 nothing had been done to it ; and many other remarkable things 
 of a like kind. On this occasion I was not able to go to the 
 meeting, but the rest of our party went, and it appears that 
 our friend, after scarifying the seat of the disease of the sick 
 man, sucked at the wound, and then, being supposed to have 
 inhaled the disease, he went off into convulsions, from which 
 it required all the energies of the bystanders to relieve him ; 
 after this he extracted from his mouth, on the point of a 
 knife, a lump of some substance which was supposed to be 
 the disease. A great many people are generally present 
 on these occasions, squatting around in a circle, singing- 
 some wild song, and keeping time by clapping their hands 
 at short intervals, to cheer the wonders performed by the 
 operator. Some animal must also be slaughtered, an ox or
 
 46 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ii. 
 
 a sheep, according to the means of the sick man, and feasting 
 and rejoicing terminates the evening. I think the per- 
 formance of this man, on the whole, to be very clever, con- 
 sidering that he is so unencumbered with dress or other 
 conveniences for concealment. 
 
 Sundaij, 13th April, 1862. — Some messengers arrive from 
 the town. The chief is very sorry that I am taking my goods 
 away with me. He says I ought to leave all my ammunition, 
 at least, with him until my return, when he will buy it. 
 He also wishes to buy a horse, and sends a tusk for beads, 
 which I civilly declined. From all that I hear, I expect 
 to find the country eastward, which I had the honour of 
 oj)ening up a few years ago, very much changed in every 
 respect. The fountains and wells are said to be dried up, 
 and most of my old friends, the Makalaka chief Kaesa and 
 others, have been murdered, either by the Bamauwato or by 
 Moselikatze's people. This is owing chiefly to the war 
 between Machin and Sekomi, the former of whom is said to 
 have obtained the aid of the Trans- Vaal Boers. The Makololo 
 are at present quiet : the death of their chief Sekeletu, from 
 leprosy, is just reported. 
 
 The natives here call me Pelu-telele, or long heart — an 
 expression which they frequently make use of when they see 
 me busy with my photography. In so far as I can under- 
 stand, it seems to mean indefatigable, persevering, searching, 
 which is certainly flattering. 
 
 The Batawana in making their karosses or mantles cut them 
 so that the mantle afterwards shall have the appearance of 
 the skin of an animal, the heads and tails, &c., being placed 
 in their respective positions. 
 
 16th April. — My brother shot here a young bull-elephant, 
 a very small one, the tusks 6 lbs. or 7 lbs. weight. He wounded 
 two coM'S. I photographed the dead elephant, which for- 
 tunately fell in a good position to show the formation of the
 
 CHAP. II.] VEGETATION OF THE BOTLETLIE VALLEY. 47 
 
 limbs and size of the ears, so different from the Asiatic species. 
 Next day we trekked as far as Mosetla trees (four and a half 
 miles) and again nearly four miles, when we stuck. The road, 
 where it turns away from the river at Khosi, is so overgrown 
 that we can hardly find it. We have therefore to cut our way 
 through the bush, and it took us a whole day to accomplish 
 half a mile, breaking the wagons, and outspanning, in the 
 greatest possible confusion, long after dark. 
 
 Baines was taken very ill of fever, and Anthony has also 
 been seized with the same complaint. I shot a beautiful 
 eagle (peteke), which preys on steinboks and other small 
 antelopes, guinea-fowls, pheasants, hares, &c. 
 
 The mosetla, which abounds on the banks of the river 
 Botletlie, is a most magnificent tree, ranking in size next the 
 anna-boom of Damara Land, which it somewhat resembles. 
 It is the finest of the acacias — the seed-pods and leaves are 
 larger. The elephant, apparently, is very fond of the 
 younger branches, which, as far as they can be reached by 
 an elephant, about twenty-five feet, are everywhere twisted 
 off. The mokuchoil trees just now are in full bearing, but 
 the fruit is green, and will be ripe at the close of the 
 winter ; it is an evergreen. The female alone bears fruit, 
 but only when it grows near the male. Many of the old 
 motchuerie trees just here are completely choked to death 
 with the profusion of vines and creepers and parasites, 
 weighing their lofty crowns to the earth ; some of them, 
 since I was last here, are no more, but their white ashes 
 measure their length and form on the ground where they 
 fell, and were burned by the annual fires. The motsouri, 
 or loquat, is as dark and umbrageous as ever, and the 
 moana as bare as it was in winter. The melo and other 
 medlars have yielded their fruit and retire into insignificant 
 nakedness, while the moka, musha (bastard camel-thorn), 
 niozotlo (mokala), the mosentsila, the mopora, moporotla,
 
 48 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ii. 
 
 and mopura, and a variety of other trees, afford a grateful 
 shade to the traveller. The mokhotzi, with its long, sharp, 
 round, grooved leaves, impedes his way as usual. Other 
 magnificent trees, of many kinds and great age, adorn the 
 banks of the river ; their dark shades being here and there 
 relieved by a tall conical hill or nest of the white ant 
 (termites), fifteen or twenty feet high. These hills are 
 sometimes capped with dense creeping plants, forming an 
 umbrella-like shade upon it; at other times these nests are 
 run up around the stem of some giant tree to a great height, 
 being at once a temporary support and a certain destruction 
 within. The treacherous pitfalls lurk concealed between 
 the trees. The Botletlie is marked by the same appearance 
 on the opposite side, running sometimes between white cliffs, 
 at other times between sloping banks ; with its reedy margin, 
 its lotus leaves and flowers, on which run many stilt-legs ; 
 its ravenous crocodiles; croaking, screeching, and clamorous 
 flocks of birds : here " the white-winged plover wings his 
 sounding flight," and the cormorant sits on some log with 
 exemplary patience, drying his outspread wings in the wind. 
 The fish-eagle, on the loftiest tree, eyes askant the finny 
 tribes, and darting down with a sounding swoop, rises again 
 triumphant in the air bearing his prey in his talons, and 
 with a loud voice sings, " Ow-ow-owlie," while the white 
 limestone cliffs echo from beneath, " owlie." 
 
 21st Aiwil. — Baines is still very bad, and we are only 
 getting into a more hopeless predicament, as more and more 
 of the people are getting ill. We have to-day travelled 
 about four miles farther, to a more suitable place for sick 
 men. Here we will remain imtil we see a decided change 
 for the better. 
 
 Some one, I forget who, lias said that the only thing a 
 Bechuana could make square was a game pit. Now, the 
 game pits here are exclusively the work of Makobas and
 
 >,!'i'''Jii<ii,-ii 
 
 mmwU/^-Mt'^'^^^^f^^^^ 
 
 A BECHUANA WARRIOR. 
 
 Vor, II., p. 49.
 
 CHAP, ir.] THE TAMALUKAN BIVER. 49 
 
 Bushmen, as it is in some otlier parts of the Bakalihari, 
 but the Bechuanas are not so ignorant of the square, as any- 
 one may judge for themselves by examining the karosses 
 which they make. Every skin is cut into an obhjng square, 
 the smaller patches often into exact squares, and the smallest 
 circular, but the latter owing only to the convenience of 
 sewing. The Batawana work beads very tastefully, and 
 often decorate their aprons with squares of variegated beads. 
 Their beer-pots they also paint very tastefully, like chequers, 
 all round, and I have seen very fine square baskets also 
 made by them. 
 
 The sickness in our camp still continues. The natives 
 say that this year and last the fever has been unusually 
 bad, carrying off most of their old men, and that only the 
 youngsters are left. The river here has a much larger body 
 of water, and it is running very fast. The weather has been 
 unusually dry : no rain has fallen of any consequence for two 
 months past. 
 
 On the 25th messengers came from Lechulatebe, nominally 
 to see how we were, but actually to beg a number of things. 
 Report fever very bad at the town. Our sick people im- 
 proving. Water boils 206^^/ ; 2825 ft. app. ; therm. 80°. 
 
 Knowing that there are good leeches near the junction of 
 the Tamalukan river, I sent to look for some as specimens ; 
 they are very good ones. I sat up till j)ast midnight and 
 took two stars, and found the latitude 20° 9" south. 
 
 2%th April. — Sent two more Damaras with letters to my 
 brother for Cape Town. We span in, after breakfast, as 
 Edward and Baines are better, and move on. Make only four 
 miles to the junction of the Tamalukan. The Makoba name 
 for this river is Zilhanie : the Baroas, or Batawana, call it 
 Noka-ea-Lingalo. We outspan here to wait for the other 
 wagon. Next day a Bushwoman belonging to one of our 
 Damaras was taken ill, and about to be confined. Knowing 
 
 VOL. II. E
 
 50 (JHA PMA N\^ TRA VEL S. [< ■ u a v. n. 
 
 lliat tliey think nothing of these matters, and wonkl come 
 on immediately after the affair was over, we never thonght 
 of inquiring whether, anyborly liad stopped with her; but 
 towards evening I heard that she had been left alone to get 
 on the best way she conld, so sent people to see after her. 
 We trek eight miles in the morning. I shot some six oi 
 seven pelicans, two cormorants, three stilt-legs, and a muscovy* 
 I went over into the north-w'est angle of the confluence to 
 look for a 'ngurungo, a beautifully-spotted antelope, of which 
 I shot one in 1854, but had no success. To-day I shot one 
 of the little owlets which I had a long chase after once 
 before. It is only six to seven inches long. They utter a 
 loud whistling noise when chasing each other, and are more 
 active than owls generally ; flight undulating. 
 
 30th April. — Treklvcd 12 miles to Makato's villaije, pass- 
 ing the site of his old residence about half way. Met some 
 of Makato's people going to fetch the flesh of a giraffe which 
 had fallen into a gravel pit. Makato is one of tlie most 
 successful and persevering hunters by pitfalls in this country. 
 Wherever he camps for a little while the neighbourhood for 
 300 or 400 yards round is plentifully strewn with horns, and 
 the altar tree is hung with innumerable horns, tails, and 
 other trophies with which to propitiate their " Wodin." 
 
 Being in advance of the wagon, I halted at a village 
 belonging to jMakato. The people offered me some boiled 
 lebelebele (millet), which made me ilL It is very good when 
 boiled, and is used by the Batawana in the cure of dysentery ; 
 it is very free from acidity. They say it makes good beer. 
 The grain is almost as small as sago. 
 
 The Makobas are very fond of working in wood ; they are 
 constantly making bowls and dishes, funnels, &c. At every 
 village there is generally a small model canoe. I saw a very 
 nice one here made out of the wood of tlie motsebe, which, 
 as the tree is poisonous, they do not keep any food in, but
 
 CHAP. II.] 
 
 MA KA T (7S I '//. J. AG K. 
 
 51 
 
 prepare such things as tlie moklioe-le-khaele, u fine red tan, 
 the bark of a mimosa root found here. 
 
 1st May. — We repaired damages to wagon. I also delay to 
 photograph. The only varnish wliich I have left spoils all 
 my photographs, but I have hopes of being able to wash it off 
 again with spirits of wine. Damaras return from my brother. 
 I transported all my materials across the river, to take a 
 photograph of the village and the people at work. There \A'as 
 a fine display of tools, miplements, &c., hoes, spades, hammers, 
 
 INSIDE OF MAKATu'S VII.r.AGR, laiTl.l.TMr. V.WVW : IMrl^KMENTS, KTC. 
 
 adzes, hatchets, mortars, &c. : and of their employments — 
 cooking, one pot placed over another, stamping corn, dressing 
 and tanning hides, mending their nets, making a dish ; women 
 threading beads, &e. 
 
 Next day we trekked eight miles in the forenoon, and saw 
 a few fresh spoors of buffaloes. On the whole we are very un- 
 fortunate ; just when all are getting well again, so that one 
 might without anxiety leave the wagons, the rains drive 
 away all the game into the desert. AVe had some vovy 
 
 E 2
 
 r>2 CI/AFMAN'S rnAVJ'JLS. [ciiA]'. II. 
 
 delicate fish for breakfast. The barbel is not so nice, 
 as it feeds in the mud. The carp is very goo;l, and so is a' 
 small variety of pike. In the afternoon trek seven miles, 
 the road being pretty good all day. The country opposite is 
 called Kliaile. The grass has sprung up NA^onderfully quick 
 since the last rain, and is quite green. All this year s seeds 
 seem to have germinated. Tlie trees are budding forth again, 
 but before they can yield flower or fruit the frost will, no 
 doubt, kill them. The Makoba women are dressing the 
 ground preparatory to the coming flood, which will inundate 
 the gardens, and after it has receded they will plant their 
 seeds. 
 
 Some Makobas came to me from Makato's. I got from 
 them a turtle, or water-tortoise. The shell of the belly is 
 divided into two parts : the front part is movable (on a strong 
 cartilaginous substance) at the will of the reptile ; he can shut 
 himself up and open his door as he pleases. The muscles 
 which regulate this machinery must be very strong, as a power- 
 ful man could not force it open with an axe previously in- 
 serted. A finger inadvertently thrust in would probably be 
 crushed to pieces. This turtle differs from those generally 
 found in pools, and the one we got to-day is only ten inches 
 long, four thick, and five and a half broad, but they are said 
 to attain sometimes double that size. 
 
 On the 4th Baines and I crossed the river, and had a long 
 walk to Pelani's, at the east end of a large island two or three 
 miles long. We did not meet with buffaloes, although their 
 spoor was plentiful. We saw a troop of koodoos, and fired 
 at and wounded some on an island. We also saw several 
 leche, of which I shot one. 
 
 At Pelani's old village (Kala Mahite) we found the 
 wagons encamped. We saw here some palm trees (doom 
 palm) ; the leaves on the larger trees are recurved backward ; 
 when young they are perfectly straight. The fruit hangs in
 
 CHAP. II.] SNAKES AND FUFFADDERS. 53 
 
 large grape-like clusters, the size of an orange. This morn- 
 ing we killed a large snake, nine or ten feet long, and very 
 active. When first alarmed by our dogs it stood erect to the 
 height of five feet, and, making several successive bounds, 
 ascended a tree. It was as thick as a strong man's wrist, and 
 evidently a tree-climber. We have killed a great many 
 snakes this last few months — cobras, puff-adders, green tree- 
 climbers, &c. To-day the Bushmen offered us the skin of a 
 python seventeen feet long. 
 
 5^/i May. — As we were strongly recommended to get out 
 of the neighbourhood of the pitfalls, we proceeded a few miles 
 to Dorokarra. Here we learnt that four of my brother's 
 oxen had fallen into game pits. Saw many fresh spoors of 
 buifaloes, and killed a large puff-adder, and was astonished 
 at its activity when excited. Slothful as this reptile looks, 1 
 only discovered to-day how active it really is, snapping side- 
 ways, and fairly jumping several feet. I observed a kind 
 of short reed-like grass growing on the margin of the river. 
 It is covered Avith small downy prickles, like those on 
 the prickly pear, and imparts a very irritating sensation 
 when it attaches itself to the body. There is a large kind of 
 owl in this country, of very beautiful plumage : raw sienna 
 and grey, with white spots edged with dark grey, and dark 
 grey spots ; black eyes. It is a kind of barn-owl. We found six 
 young ones, measuring 2 ft. 8 in. across the wings. In the 
 afternoon travelled eight and a half ' miles to Tala's village. 
 Saw two very large crocodiles. Shot a beautiful crane 
 (demozelle), and two others — slate-blue, white heads, and long 
 black wing-plumes sweeping the ground, while the tail is 
 very short ; it has wart-like excrescences on the cheeks : also 
 a fish-eagle, a hawk, an owl, &c. Saw three large snakes, ten 
 to twelve feet long, and procured some fish. 
 
 Qith Maij. — We travelled about three miles, and struck the 
 river at Khamma's ford. There I ^\ aited for the wagons, and
 
 54 (JHAPMAN'IS TBAVELS. [chap.h. 
 
 having found Bushmen, and obtained all the information 
 necessary as to crossing the river, we accomplished it success- 
 fully. The bottom is a hard, flinty sandstone, worn into a very 
 worm-eaten appearance by the action of the water ; it is full 
 of cavities, detached pieces having a loud metallic sound. 
 We travelled about three miles farther down the river and 
 slept near it. Next day we journeyed about five miles, and, 
 seeing plenty of buffalo spoor, we made a camp in order to try 
 and get a buffalo hide to make riems. We saw three kinds 
 of eagle, among which was the golden eagle. We secured a 
 female of the peteke. The brown feathers of her back and 
 tail are not so rich as in the male, being a pale, dull, and 
 dusty brown. I noticed here two varieties of vulture which I 
 have not yet procm-ed — a jet black one and a large brown 
 one. Guinea-fowls are very plentiful. Walking ahead, we 
 killed a brace witli a stick from the trees where the doss had 
 cliased them. We might have killed many, but we could find 
 only one little piece of stick. After they liave flown once they 
 are winded, and can be easily secured with the aid of doges. 
 
 Since we have had the last rains everything is green 
 and fresh, and all the plants that had already flowered and 
 faded are again in blossom. How this circumstance will 
 afiect tlie climate or the verdure I cannot say. One would 
 suppose, however, that an atmosphere already surcharged 
 with a superabundance of noxious vapours of decomposing 
 vegetation will be rendered still more unbearable, and that 
 the fever may be expected to be very bad after the next dry- 
 ing up of the river. I do not remember having ever noticed 
 this plienomenon before. The usual rains came eai'ly and 
 ceased early ; the country became very dry, but just at the 
 setting in of the winter a heavy farewell shower cooled the 
 atmosphere, made the grass spring, the trees to bud and 
 blossom, and very probably dispelled the fever, for since the 
 rain we hav^e had no more of it.
 
 CHAP. II.] NEW SPECIES OF OTTEB. 55 
 
 I found to-day a very peculiar, small, rodent animal, whicli 
 Baines sketclied. It lias a pink skin, and rich, dark brownish- 
 grey fur, with a large white spot on crown of head, very 
 formidable teeth for eating roots, and in its actions resembles 
 a guinea-pig or hedgehog. It is about three and a half inches 
 long, with very blunt face, and the large teeth occupying 
 nearly the whole front. A pretty yellow mouse is very 
 plentiful. Many of the young ones are found drowned after 
 a shower. 
 
 We found in a bird's nest a family of small animals some- 
 thing between the squirrel and the lemur, probably tlie dor- 
 mouse. It sits erect like a monkey or a lemur, has large 
 ears, a long, ruffled, bushy tail, and is covered with a soft and 
 delicate fur. They soon become tame, and eat from the 
 hand. Otters of two kinds are very plentiful in this river ; 
 the colour of the larger is ashy-grey, with white. The fur 
 of the smaller, however, is the prettiest, being of a rich, dark 
 velvety brown, approaching black, with a few snow-white 
 spots under the throat and breast. When fishing they may 
 easily be mistaken for large snakes. I have often observed 
 and admired their activity on those occasions. The natives 
 of the lake had always a very strong prejudice against the 
 skin of this animal, and would not handle it. I have at 
 length succeeded in persuading some of them to make karosses 
 of them, and very pretty they are. Mr. Layard does not 
 know this otter, and believes it to be new to science. 
 
 I rode out in search of buffaloes, and, soon falling in with a 
 troop of about 200, I fired six shots, at the distance of sixty 
 yards, without hitting them. This was with a small fowling- 
 piece, my own gun being a long way behind. I got my gun 
 at length, and in three shots wounded two buffaloes ; but, 
 being greedy, and desirous of shooting more, went on and got 
 nothing. After a little rest I returned to spoor the nearest 
 of the wounded ones, which we did till sunset, without
 
 56 CHAPMAN'S TBAVELS. [chap. ii. 
 
 success. A large buffalo-calf had fallen to the share of the 
 dogs early in the day, and this was all we got, though I had 
 wounded another in the evening, and Ave had seen 200 or 
 more buffaloes, some of which came past the wagons pursued 
 by the dogs, giving the people there also a chance of firing. 
 
 10th May. — We left Dzouga at daylight, and, passing 
 Magalie's, outspanned. The Botletlie here turns to the south. 
 The north bank has an abrupt white cliffy ascent, forty feet 
 high, with large camel-thorns on it. The opposite bank is 
 a low and open plain a quarter of a mile broad, bounded by 
 a forest. Troops of leche (luchees), varying from 50 to 100, 
 their warm colours heightened by the sinking sun, contrasted 
 with the green carpet as they grazed peacefully on within 
 300 yards of me. 
 
 After dusk I heard a troop of buffaloes butting each other, 
 but refrained from molesting them for fear of driving away 
 any elephants that might be in the neighbourhood. The 
 buffaloes and rhinoceroses quarrelled all night. Whenever 
 the rhinoceros heard the buffalo, he puffed and snorted and 
 dashed at everything. At midnight elephants came, but 
 from a different quarter to where they generally come from. 
 I let them go to the water. Three or four large bulls passed 
 on fearlessly, but the females stopped on my spoor, now eight 
 hours old, and smelt and examined it. At length, seeing 
 that the males were all right, they also ventured down, and 
 then they drank and gamboled and bathed themselves for 
 fully half an hour, during which time I sat patiently waiting 
 for them, having stalked to within fifteen paces of where they 
 had come down. At length the males left the water, and pro- 
 ceeded straight to where the females had examined the spoor, 
 and the largest one followed it up step by step, smelling 
 it out with his trunk. As my situation was rather exposed, he 
 saw me, and threw his ears and trunk aloft : I fired, when 
 he turned and fled, and the rest with him. Amongst them
 
 CHAP. II.] THE BOTLETLIE VALLEY. 57 
 
 I also fired a shot ; a groan responded, and they dashed 
 away, breaking down the trees before them. A troop of 200 
 buffaloes, besides smaller parties, had been drinking, but I 
 Avould not fire at them, believing the elephants were near, and 
 I was right. It was a striking spectacle that ensued — buffalo 
 following buffalo in a long unbroken line ; when they come 
 to the steep bank they run down full trot and dash into the 
 water, where they stand side by side, up to their flanks, 
 to drink. The long file of elephants, as they approached, 
 reminded me of a grand Indian military procession. Day- 
 light at length drawing near, all hopes of more elephants 
 vanished. I killed a solitary buffalo-bull that had ventured 
 within thirty yards of where I sat. This I did with two 
 shots. 
 
 I had wounded a fine male leche, and was following him, 
 when the Makoba who carried my spare gun walked just 
 inside the belt of bushes up the bank, in order to keep out 
 of sight of our game. Two buffaloes that were lying within 
 a few yards of where we passed charged the Makoba with 
 such perseverance that, had he not thrown my gun, and him- 
 self also, into a thick bush, he would very likely have been 
 impaled on the horns of one or other of them. One of the 
 elephants which I had wounded I had hit with a poisoned 
 bullet, and I followed five or six miles on the spoor without 
 success. Lions were roaming about all night round the 
 skaarm, but they did not venture down. 
 
 A plant, called by the natives tantanyani, very like if not 
 the same as that called in the colony kat-doorn, is a fine- 
 leaved, thorny bush, bearing bright red berries. It is some- 
 thing like asparagus (?) The roots of this bush are heated in 
 the hot ashes for a few seconds, and then twisted over a 
 pot containing the dried paste of poisoned grubs, and the juice 
 squeezed out for the purpose of softening or diluting the 
 paste.
 
 58 CHAPMAN'S TBAVELS. [chap. ii. 
 
 l^th May. — Some Baroas arrived from the east by the 
 patli we have to go. They told us that there was no water 
 in the desert. They have been everywhere in our way, and 
 have probably been sent for that purpose, as they have no 
 business there at other times. After leaving tlie river all 
 the pits and fountains eastward belong to Sekomi. On the 
 ridge, about fifty feet above the river, water boils 207 -^° ; 
 therm. 70°. Nest day, having learned that the springs east 
 have dried up, and that a vley of rain-water a long way 
 north-east has still a little water, we started for it, as if we 
 can get one drink there it will serve us until we can strike 
 my old Sebetoane route, somewhere about Zoutharra. The 
 Baroas, althougli they swear there is no water, have still 
 the flesh of a newly-killed rhinoceros, so that there must 
 be water somewhere. 
 
 We travelled two miles to opposite the muru-mahutu, tree 
 of legs, a motchuerie, which had been standing on ten very 
 thick roots several feet out of the ground, the earth having 
 no doubt been washed away beneath. We outspanned about 
 two miles farther down to water the cattle, and, leaving the 
 river, travelled in an old river-bed about north-east again 
 four miles through dense elephant bush, lions' spoor being 
 plentiful. Again outspanned late, and feared an attack from 
 lions, but the noise and confusion of our camping no doubt 
 kept them away ; and, fortunately, the moon appearing an 
 hour or two after insured us a little rest. 
 
 We travelled from the river through dense forests of 
 mogonono and other bushes and trees for about five miles, 
 and in what appears to be an old river-course, now nearly 
 filled up with sand. At about 12 or 13 miles from the river, 
 north-east, we came to a pit called Grhanna, which seems 
 capable of yielding abundance of water if it were enlarged, 
 A mile farther on we came to a vley full of camel spoors, and 
 another mile brought us to a white limestone vley. At five
 
 CHAiMi.j DAMARA SURGERY. 59 
 
 miles from the river the country opens out into an extensive 
 phiin, sometimes covered with low bushes and white ant-hills, 
 in other places with grass only. This is the commencement 
 of a tract called Lulupepe, and contains, to the southward and 
 eastward, many small springs in limestone beds, and abounds 
 in large herds of small game, such as springboks, quaggas, 
 gnus, pallahs, &c. It seems strange to find oneself on a 
 plain, with an horizon distant some miles, and is rather a 
 contrast to being cooped up, as we had been, between high 
 trees and underwood, where one can scarce see above a few 
 hundred yards from the camp. 
 
 We lost the road, and kept a little to the north-east, and, 
 by a lucky accident, found a large vley with a little muddy 
 water, barely sufficient for the cattle for once. We had also 
 outspanned at another vley, where we also procured a little 
 water for the trek-oxen. The country here is open, with 
 grass and dwarf palms and young camel-thorns. 
 
 18^/i Maij. — I rode ahead to try and find the road, while 
 the wagons steered another course. I saw a troop of giraffes, 
 and shot a steinbok, which my Damara skinned with a sharp 
 stone. An edged stone is not a bad substitute for a knife ; 
 indeed, as a proof how skilfully are these sometimes em- 
 ployed, I may mention that a Damara doctor does not 
 scruple to open an artery with a sharp piece of flint for a 
 lancet. 
 
 19^^ Mmj. — I lost my best dog, Caesar. He had seized a 
 large puff-adder by the tail, and shook it. When the snak 
 was released it darted at the dog's face, and, having fixed its 
 fangs in his cheeks, stuck there like a bulldog until it was 
 killed ; the dog only survived ten minutes. 
 
 Mirage is a phenomenon of frequent occurrence here. To- 
 day the thirsty dogs had a most ludicrous chase after the 
 fancied water, which retreated farther and farther from them. 
 Their eyes, like those of the men and cattle, smart and run
 
 GO dHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ii. 
 
 from the effects of the salt dust, which, being blown into their 
 months, also increases their thirst. 
 
 This pan, of which we have not ascertained the name,* 
 seems to be about eiglit miles from east to west, and to extend 
 farther south, being probably an offshoot of the Ntwetwe. 
 It is dotted all over with small islands or mounds, studded 
 with groups of baobabs and very dense little forests of soro- 
 kaan (sterculia?) and various other plants. The effect of 
 the mirage is very pretty, and the interest of the scene would 
 no doubt be much enhanced Avhen the pan is covered with 
 water, as it is during the rainy season, when all the trees and 
 plants would be green. The Ntwetwe pan, which lies about 
 90 or 100 miles east from hence, is from 15 to 20 miles broad, 
 showing sometimes a clear horizon, without a vestige of 
 verdure. I have often tried, for experiment's sake, to take a 
 latitude on one of those pans, as I have no doubt the horizon 
 would answer on an emergency, though it is just as likely the 
 mirage may elevate it. 
 
 Next day I was fortunate in finding water about five miles 
 on, and, having shot there a quagga, returned with the good 
 news. I had so often been deceived by the mirage that 
 to-day I was very nearly turning away from real water in the 
 belief that it w'as again a delusion, nor did I find out my mis- 
 take until a wounded gnu led me to within a few yards of it. 
 Game is plentiful at the water. I saw a few hundred gnus 
 and springboks, and some quaggas, and I was fortynate in 
 finding some Bushmen, with whom I established a good 
 understanding, and learnt from them all that we Avanted to 
 know with reference to our position. 
 
 I employed all the spare hands to-day in collecting salt, 
 which I yesterday observed in abundance on the pan. It is 
 not found in such a thick crust (two and a half to three 
 
 * The Bushmen say there are several pans in this group, called respec- 
 tively Gooinaw, Sabatho, and Karoo.
 
 CHAP. II.] SALT-PANS. 61 
 
 inches) as on the south side of the Botletlie river, in the 
 salt-pans I discovered in 1 852 ; but, b'ke tliat, it is white as 
 the driven snow. When at that time I took a quantity to 
 make presents of to my lady acquaintances in the Trans- Vaal, 
 it was pronounced to be the prettiest of all the curiosities 
 I had collected. The pans on the south yield considerably 
 more than any on the north, and we might have gathered 
 several thousand tons if we could have trans})orted it. The 
 underlying mud of these pans is an unctuous, tenacious sub- 
 stance, very like cement, and a hard greenish honeycombed 
 cavemulous or vermiculated sandstone (?) lies scattered at 
 intervals. In some of tlie smaller outside pans a hard white 
 crust of limestone has formed on the surface of the soil, which, 
 having been broken by the hoofs of game, lies scattered 
 around like fiat pieces of ivory. 
 
 The springs on the north side of these pans have generally 
 a bank of tufa, wdiile those south of the Botletlie, when they 
 have a distinct bank, have it on the south side. Some of the 
 springs are no more than little pits dug out of the bottom of 
 sloping limestone hollows or ponds, by the aid of a Bushman 
 spade, a sharpened stick. Some of these ponds are broad and 
 shallow, without any bank, and the surface is covered with 
 loose shingle, while others are an irregular, or, more often, a 
 rounded fissure in limestone tufa, with two or three successive 
 layers or watermarks in the bank underneath. The pits or 
 wells are generally filled Avith small rounded shingle, while 
 one side is more generally a slope by which men and animals 
 descend to the water. I do not think that the game has 
 broken the banks down to that extent, but they would natur- 
 ally approach the Avater on the most accessible side. When 
 I first entered this country I found many of those ponds with 
 an abrupt bank all round, and the water then, as was usual, 
 nearly up to the top ; but even in ten years a wonderful 
 cliange has taken place ; the water has gradually diminished,
 
 (52 r//A/'MAX'S TJLll'ELS. [ni.w. u. 
 
 owing no doubt to tlie general desiccation going on ; and in 
 places where formerly I could swim we have now to go un- 
 derground for a supply of water. Whenever late and heavy 
 rains fall the natives say that things are very much better, 
 though never as it used to be of old. They say the country is 
 dead. 
 
 Water boils here at 206-^2,/ ; therm. 84^.
 
 CHAP. III.] GIG AN no BAOBAB. 63 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Lai'ffe Baobab Tree — Gnus — Encounter with Rhinoceros — Pahn Trees — 
 Morals and Manners of the Bushmen — Advance to the Zambesi — 
 Tsap;obye — The Ntwetwe ISalt-pan — Hoan Antelopes — Native Hunting- 
 pits — Formation of the Ngami Basin — Bushmen — Tree-Lizards — Lion- 
 killing. 
 
 21 S7' May, 1862. — We took the wagons a few miles in a 
 north-east direction, with a dense narrow forest on one side 
 and a pan on the other, to some water, where we made a 
 camp, devoting the day to shooting, of which we made bad 
 work, only bagging one springbok and a gnu, the Bushmen 
 no doubt laughing at our ill success. Yesterday I was also 
 unsuccessful, wounding, like to-day, several animals ; and to- 
 day I found two gnus, which had died during the night of 
 their wounds, and had been partially devoured by beasts and 
 birds of prey. I do not remember ever having such bad luck 
 since my boyish days ; but I have this excuse in my favour, 
 that I have been firing with a gun minus a front sight, which 
 was knocked off through the carelessness of one of my men. 
 
 The north bank of the salt-pan, which forms our present 
 station, runs in a line about 6" south by compass, and a 
 branch of it turns from the east end and extends north. We 
 are now encamped at the north-east end of the forest along 
 which we came, and which divides the pan from a large palm to 
 the north of it. South of us stands a gigantic baobab tree, one 
 limb of which has by some means been torn to the ground in 
 spite of its long roots. The semi-diameter of the prostrate 
 portion of the trunk measures twenty-seven feet, and that
 
 C4 CHAPMAN'S TEA VELS. [chap. hi. 
 
 portion stanrliiig measures 101 feet iu circumference ! The 
 prostrate log has been hollowed out by some means or other, 
 and the wooden caves are now full of bats, owls (barn-owl), 
 and ^^ild cats. The Bushmen here call all this country of 
 pans and plains, the Karoo. 
 
 The fire-smoke at Chajjo's is to-day visible about SW.S., 
 and also at the large vley, 20 miles this side the river. The 
 Bushmen point — 60 miles to Kamma-Kamma; 90 miles to 
 Gdam Kerril ; 100 miles to Zoutharra. 
 
 This country, with all its pans, has the appearance of hav- 
 ing been a lake of immense size, the supply of water which 
 filled it in former days having no doubt been stopped far 
 away to the north of Lebebes by some volcanic action, which 
 has sent the water formerly coming hither in another direc- 
 tion. Dr. Livingstone thinks the Victoria Falls have drained 
 it. Is it not rather more probable that some gradual pressure 
 from within has been slowly at work, which would account 
 for the general desiccation of the country ? Within the life- 
 time of some of the Lake people and Makobas the Ngami has 
 gradually receded a mile or more all round, and within the 
 knowledge of white men still living fountains have every- 
 where been dryiug up. I have had abundant opportunity of 
 noticing the same thing going on gradually during the last ten 
 years. The natives coming from Lebebe also insist that one 
 branch of the Teouge (or Okavango) diverges towards the west 
 coast, just in the same manner as the Tugela is said to diverge 
 from the Orange river. 
 
 Some of my companions and our people have been suffering 
 from time to time from attacks of fever ever since w^e left 
 Koobie. It is rather late now for so much of it. Two JMaii- 
 watos have just passed on their road to iSekomi's from Seke- 
 letu's ; they are the survivors of four sent on an embassy by 
 Sekomi a few months ago, two having died of fever. 
 
 The water is very salt here, and produces diarrhoea. We
 
 CHAP. 111.] BIliDS NUMElWUti. 65 
 
 would move to a vley on the east side of the plains, but there 
 must evidently be a great scarcity of wood, as the Bushmen 
 carry it from hence. We boiled a large quantity of salt for 
 the purpose of purifying it. A sufficient quantity of water to 
 cover the salt is gradually boiled away, and the lime, &c., is 
 deposited as sediment in a crust at the bottom of the pot. 
 A puff-adder was killed, 4 ft. 4 in. long and 9 in. in cir- 
 cumference ; it was exceedingly fat. It may be observed 
 that the nictitating film, or perhaps the true covering over 
 the albumen of the puff-adder's eye, is shed with the skin, 
 and is of a harder texture and transparent. On Friday, when 
 I killed the gnu, the Bushmen had observed in silence my 
 adjusting the camera to photograph the troop, and when the 
 gnus ran, and I fired and brouglit down the game at long 
 range, the Bushmen, instead of running off at once, took me 
 by the button-hole, and asked whether God (Morimo) was in 
 there — j)ointing to the camera. 
 
 I shot a most magnificent bird here, called by the Bushmen 
 koilzara. It is evidently a kind of crapu. I notice the high- 
 flying eagle often soaring over guinea-fowls and pheasants, 
 but they keep out of range. A small and pretty warm-brown 
 hawk hovereil all day long about over the mice-holes which 
 are here so numerous ; but I found it impossible to get even 
 within 100 yards of it. The grey pheasants abound here. 
 Peewits, plovers, and a few small gulls, ducks, and geese, are 
 still sporting in the vleys, of which I found five or six con- 
 taining water on the east side of the plain or pan. I saw here 
 also the mocking-bird, or kochelaar of the Boers ; it is not 
 found farther west. 
 
 Iltli May. — This morning a keen, cold, cutting wind, with 
 a fog, blew across the plain, so that the fire is the centre of 
 attraction, and all hands crowd around it. The dogs lay 
 coiled up shivering, and the cattle, instead of grazing, stand 
 with hair erect huddled up under the lee of trees and bushes. 
 
 VOL. II. F
 
 6G CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. iii. 
 
 On these plains the wind blows almost continually, often with 
 great violence, and uproots even the giant baobab (which, 
 owing to its bulk, offers such great resistance to the storm), 
 of which several may be seen prostrated, in spite of their 
 stupenf^lous bulk and very extensive roots. About 11 o'clock 
 a cold fog succeeded. The wind continued very unpleasant 
 all day, so that there is no chance of photographing. 
 
 28^/i May. — We have been here now a week, as well to 
 allow time for the sick people's recovery as to try and get a 
 good photograph of the mirage on the salt-pans, and the giant 
 baobab tree ; but although I have spent a deal of time and 
 patience already, I fear I shall have to give it up altogether, 
 as wind and weather are against me. To-day the sick people 
 say they would be able to walk a little distance, but the wind, 
 accompanied by fog, is so cold and cutting that it would be 
 cruelty to suffer them to do so unless a lull takes place. The 
 game is driven about for shelter, and men and beasts also. 
 
 In the afternoon we start across the plain to Tsametko, a 
 well near which stood a Bushman village. The head-man 
 speaks Sechuana tolerably well, and, on the promise of a few 
 beads and some tobacco, he undertook to conduct us through 
 to Kowgnarra by a more southernly route. 
 
 The Bushmen begged the offal of a springbok which I 
 shot here. The stomach they filled full of blood and fat, and 
 baked it in the hot earth. The lower joints of the animals 
 they also got, and from these they extracted and swallowed 
 the marrow raw. The blood of some animals they also 
 eat raw. 
 
 ?,Oth May. — The wagons reach Thanyo, or Kanyo, a spring- 
 vley in tufa, on a plain (about nine miles farther on). I had a 
 chase after and wounded a fine male giraffe. Saw some gems- 
 boks, and plenty of game spoor, such as elands, rhinoceroses, 
 &c. ; made skaarms, and lay by the water. At night eight 
 rhinoceroses came to drink, but never within reach of me.
 
 CHAP. III.] WHITE RHINOCEROSES. 67 
 
 John fired at one. The rliiuoceroses, all of which were white, 
 occupied each twelve minutes to drink their fill, after which 
 they wallow in the mud, or else go to their regular sleeping- 
 places. At these their dung is found accumulated, some- 
 times to the amount of a ton or more. They like the warmth 
 of the manure to lay in. The sounds emitted by these 
 animals is something like the coughing of a horse, and 
 A\ hen in distress, a stifled asthmatic cry ; when in pain they 
 squeal like a storm-whistle. The white rhinoceros likes the 
 open plains, where there is just enough bush to shelter him 
 from sun and wind. The borele likes the jungle of thorns 
 (haakdoorn), and the most secluded and retired spots. 
 The khoetla, or large black rhinoceros, is more an inhabitant 
 of rocky hills. 
 
 I noticed last night a fine meteor at about 10 o'clock, 
 ascending like a rocket. This is the second of the kind that 
 we have seen this trip. 
 
 Yesterday afternoon, while going to the spring, I nearly 
 trod on a yellow cobra, which lay in the path. It raised its 
 expanded head high above the ground, and in another instant 
 would have bitten me had I not quite involuntarily started 
 eight or ten paces off. 
 
 The plains last travelled over by us are very beautifully 
 diversified with dwarf palms and downy acacias dotted over 
 them. We are evidently travelling parallel with the Ntwetwe 
 pan, lying some miles south of us. 
 
 Zlst May. — We lay by the water to shoot, and were hardly 
 seated in the skaarm when we heard the approach of giraffes 
 awkwardly stumbling over the loose stones near the water. 
 One male was in advance ; he came opposite me, and I 
 might have dropped him on the spot, but I let him pass 
 on to Baines's skaarm, while the remaining giraffes (about 
 twenty in all) stood 200 yards off, spread apart, and tapering 
 gradually away in the distance, while their male companion 
 
 ¥ 2 ■
 
 68 ' ClfAF31AN\S TBAVELS. [ciiat-. in. 
 
 came to reconnoitre the ground, which he did by going 
 round the pond, and bending his neck into a seraicircle to 
 smell the earth. At length the others came up, and, 
 selecting one, I fired, but with blank powder, having omitted 
 to put in a bullet in the afternoon. After firing at some 
 quaggas I quickly seized another gun, and wounded the 
 animal, which made great strides to get away, but I was 
 able to get up to him, dark as it was, and give him another 
 shot. Five rhinoceroses drank at intervals during the night, 
 at two of which I fired, but as it was very cloudy and dark 
 neither of the shots were immediately mortal. 
 
 Next morning I rode out in hopes of falling in with 
 vultures somewhere, which would direct me to some dead 
 animal, as w-e could not succeed in keeping the blood spoors ; 
 but without success. I saw some gemsboks, but they were so 
 wild I could not near them, and our dogs fell in with a troop 
 of elands, and caught two young ones (about 300 lbs. 
 each), which the Damaras speared. I shot here the white 
 ibis (Ihis religiosa ?), and the little silvery widgeon, or duiker, 
 which I have mentioned before at the Zambesi and in 
 Walvisch Bay. How these birds and others, such as coots, 
 rails, ^c, travel from the rivers, I do not know, as they do 
 not fly, only skimming over the surface of the water, from 
 which they seem to obtain aid or support by flapping the 
 points of their wings on it as they proceed, and never rise 
 above it. Young ducks and geese I have found miles away 
 from a dried-up pool, where they were hatched, marching 
 along tlie foot-path or game-path, under the guidance of 
 their dam, to another pool or river. 
 
 Baines, Barry, and myself lay by the water to kill game. 
 A large male white rhinoceros came to my skaarm, a hole in 
 the ground two feet deep — so large indeed that I mistook him 
 for an elephant. My first attempt failed, from the cap snap- 
 ping, but, seizing another gun, I fired as he was in the act of
 
 CHAP. III.] 
 
 1 1 in TE EH IN VER OS KK 
 
 09 
 
 flying-, and the shot was not immediately mortal. By an 1 
 by two others came, and, by arrangement, I fired at tlie 
 foremost and Barry at the other. Mine fell with a broken 
 shonlder, and, struggling off a little way, I crept out of the 
 skaarm, and with one more shot killed her. Presently some- 
 thing approached the dead rhinoceros, which we made out 
 to be, first' one, then two, three, four, six, and lastly eight 
 rhinoceroses — a whole troop! The cry was, "No, they are 
 elephants !" They came head-on, and not until one pro- 
 
 SLAYIXG A WHITE RHIKOCEROS. 
 
 truded her horn over the edge of the skaarm was the illusion 
 dispelled. At that moment I fired into her breast, when, 
 with a terrible puffing, sniffing, and distressful squealing 
 and charging hither and thither round us, the cow dropped, 
 and died by the side of the other, while the remainder, ten 
 in all (including two young ones), closed around her, utter- 
 ing cries of mingled rage and distress. At this moment 
 1 crept out and followed them, wounding successively three 
 others, and then, deeming it unsafe to expose myself any
 
 70 (J I [A I'M A N 'S Til A VELS. [chap. hi. 
 
 more, retired to my skaarm, I thought all this firing 
 would drive everything out of the country ; but I had not 
 long settled myself for sleep when another approached, 
 smelling at the dead ones more warily than usual. I, how- 
 ever, succeeded in giving him a shot, which drove him off 
 M'ith the usual pufiing and squealing, and after this Baines, 
 at liis look-out, also got a sliot at one ; then I went to 
 sleep with a good inclination, after three nights' constant 
 watching. 
 
 2nd June. — I photographed the two rhinoceroses (females), 
 one of which is the so-called kobaba and the other the 
 mohogu, but I believe them to be only varieties. I rode 
 out to kill one of the wounded ones vvhich stood close by, but 
 wishing to see how the dogs behaved, and give them a little 
 training, I waited till they roused him, looking on within 
 thirty yards : to my surprise, the rhinoceros proved more 
 active than I could have believed, and gave my horse great 
 trouble to overtake him, and when he had done so my gun 
 missed fire three times, and, after a gallop of about five miles, 
 I lost sight of him, dogs and all, to my great mortification, in 
 a field of mopani bush. 
 
 I saw numbers of vultures alighting far in the south, but 
 I was too distant from camp to attend to them. On reaching 
 the spring, the Bushmen said they had seen a rhinoceros 
 near where I started the other one ; so, having first finished 
 my photography, I rode thither and perceived one, a bull, 
 standing in the long grass on the plain. This time I had 
 taken the precaution to leave the dogs, and dismounting 
 from my horse I crept to within forty paces, and gave him a 
 deliberate shot behind the shoulder, which set him galloping 
 off. Quickly reloading and overtaking him, I gave him 
 another shot, and then another, apparently Avithout any other 
 effect than to excite his curiosity and bring him trotting 
 towards me, when I gave him two more shots. The dogs
 
 CHAP. III.] VARIETIES OF THE RHINOCEROS TRIBE. 71 
 
 now came up and were charged ; I followed to give him 
 another shot, and a young Bushboy, leading my horse, incau- 
 tiously did the like. When pursued, I fled past my horse, 
 but the Bushboy, afraid to abandon him, notwithstand- 
 ing that I told him to do so as I passed, stood shaking my 
 whip at the approaching beast. I felt alarmed, and halted 
 with the intention of firing at the animal's head if it came 
 near the boy, but, fortunately, the dogs worrying him, he 
 turned away, and ran into a bush to rub off a Bushman's 
 spear which stood planted in his back : there the poor animal 
 remained for ten minutes, when he staggered, fell, and died. 
 
 I killed a snake near the wagon : it measured 4 ft. 5 in. in 
 length and 3 in. in circumference. It has a black stripe 
 down the back, half an inch wide, as ground colour, on 
 which oblong scales lay close together. A central row, being 
 of a lighter colour, looks like a pale streak down the middle 
 of the back ; a line of half an inch on either side, light 
 brownish-grey ; eyes hazel. Found creeping on the ground 
 near the \a agon : looks like a tree-climber. 
 
 Notwithstanding an opinion to the contrary which is en- 
 tertained by many travellers, I do not believe that the 
 so-called kobaba is really a distinct species. The Bushmen 
 say kobaba in some dialects for a white rhinoceros (or the 
 long-horned variety, which tlie white rhinoceros actually is) : 
 hence probably the mistake. In countries where guns are 
 not yet introduced, the rhinoceros is suffered to attain a 
 greater age; their horns consequently grow longer, and in 
 the course of time begin to straighten, and eventually, owing 
 to the friction of the under-side against the ground, maturity 
 of age, &c., incline downwards. Some change like this is, 
 I believe, perceptible in all animals in extreme or mature 
 age, or at a certain time, which is, perhaps, often their prime ; 
 filing or friction on one side of the horn also would incline 
 its growth in that direction. I believe that wherever guns
 
 72 CHAPMAN'S TBAVELS. [chap. m. 
 
 are to be found at present the white rhinoceros is not allowed 
 to reach its prime, and will soon be extinct. In newly- 
 opened countries we always find long-horned rhinoceroses at 
 first. These are picked upon, chosen, and even trailed and 
 shot, by every new comer, for their long horns. I have never 
 found a person yet who could conscientiously say he had 
 seen a young or middle-aged kobaba distinguishable from a 
 mohoo;u — not even a Bechuana or Bushman. 
 
 4th June. — While the wagons and sick people were being 
 moved to more comfortable quarters, in an isolated thicket 
 half a mile north-east of the water, I walked over to the 
 Bushmen's bivouac. It was pleasing to see the progress the 
 four men had made. All the flesh of the rhinoceros I had 
 given them was cut up and neatly hung on stages, forming 
 a square, in long festoons, under the shade of which they 
 were cutting uj) the feet and the hide into thongs with which 
 to tie up the meat into bundles. The bones were cleaned 
 and picked, ready to be chopped up and the fat boiled out. 
 The blood had been collected and hung up in gut-bags, some 
 of which were converted into water-vessels. This was rather 
 a contrast to our Damara encampment. The heads of the 
 two rhinoceroses which I had wished to photograph w^ere 
 being stripped by a hundred vultures. Parts of the ver- 
 tebree had been picked clean, large junks of flesh lay scattered 
 in all directions, some in the sand, some in the dung, and a 
 few pieces hung on the neighbouring trees, Axhile all the 
 way to the river the ground was strewn with patches of hide 
 and pieces of meat, which had been dragged hither and 
 thither by wolves and jackals during the night. Added to 
 this confusion of things, there was nothing but quaiTelling 
 going on day and night, each envying some bit tliat an- 
 other had. 
 
 I found one of the golden lizards which I mentioned in 
 my journal of 1853, on my way to Sekeletu's. It is four and
 
 CHAP, m.] PALM TREES. 73 
 
 a half inches long, has a small, neat head, very small legs, 
 feet, and toes, a thick tail, and the colour is as near a re- 
 presentation of shining gold as one can find in any living 
 creature. 
 
 Sunday, 8th June. — After remaining here ten days, wait- 
 ing the recovery particularly of our sick people, we made a 
 short trek to-day of seven miles to a cluster of palms. 
 These palm trees (Nucifera Thebaica) are visible to the 
 naked eye at a great distance. Across the pans I have seen 
 the tops 20 miles off. These otherwise naked plains are 
 studded here and there with solitary or small groups of tall 
 palm trees, or young ones. Having been riding a long 
 distance to-day, and feeling thirsty, I oflP-saddled near a group 
 and sliot down some bunches of tlieir rich brown fruits, 
 severing the stems with a bullet. Knowing these nuts, of 
 the size of an orange, to contain a milky fluid like the cocoa- 
 nut, and boi-ing with a knife into one of the eyes, in general 
 just opposite the stem, I got a sufficient and pleasant drink 
 from about twenty of them. They are miniature cocoa-nuts, 
 but so hard that I have never been able to break them with 
 stones. The rind is esteemed very good eating, resembling 
 somewhat in flavour ginger-nuts ; hence it is known as the 
 ginger-bread tree. Those which I got to-day were not ripe, 
 in which state they are eaten boiled — pulp, rind, and all. 
 One finds the young palms so far removed from the large 
 bearing trees, sometimes 20 or 30 or more miles, that 
 one naturally wonders how they came there; but on in- 
 quiry from the Bushmen I find that the fruit, being eatable, 
 is conveyed all over the country, and the kernel being 
 thrown away it germinates readily. These trees are a very 
 pretty sight when they form groups; they have a large, 
 radiating, fan-shaped, recurved leaf, on a compressed stem 
 six feet long, the latter having brown-hooked thorns an inch 
 or two apart on either side. Some of the leaves, especially
 
 74 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. iii. 
 
 on the large trees, are curled up into a circle, which adds to 
 the beauty of the tree. They stand from about forty to 
 sixty feet high, the trunk being only from twelve to eighteen 
 inches in diameter, often less, and generally thicker in the 
 middle or near the top than at the bottom. 
 
 I procured some of the root with which, many years ago, I 
 saw the Bushmen cure themselves of snake -bite. They call 
 it eokam. This creeping tendrilous plant has a leaf like 
 an obtuse rhomb, rather downy, and having a chilli-shaped 
 aculeated pod, full of a long silky fibre adhering to the seeds. 
 We see so many snakes of late that I think it necessary to 
 have some of this plant in case of accident. About eight or 
 ten grains, either eaten or taken as a decoction, act as an 
 emetic. The dose is repeated about three times, \Ahen the 
 patient is cured. They also tattoo and scarify their botlies, 
 and make an incision near the wound, which they suck with 
 some of the root, chewed, in their mouths. This is evidently 
 to prevent the poison acting upon the gums in case of 
 bleeding. The sucking out of the poison is not necessary, 
 but it is done by way of precaution. Bushmen haviug a bit 
 of this on their necks laugh at snake-bites. I shall gather a 
 lot and take it to Cape Town \\iih. me. I mean to try the 
 tsetse poison with it, and the poison-grub also. 
 
 I have had the good fortune to fall in with some of my old 
 friends, the Bushmen whom I had about me in 1852-53. 
 They are much more agreeable and willing fellows than 
 those we have lately had to do with. Old Pele, a Sechuana, 
 has been our guide from the Baol)ab pan. He is about fifty 
 years old, has lost one eye, and is very communicative : he 
 does not speak Sechuana according to the most approved 
 style, but in rather a comical one of his own. When he 
 means to say, " We will sleep " (rohala) in such and such a 
 place, he says, " We will break clown " {robega), and for " AVe 
 will pass" (phieta) he says "We will hide" (pitia). How-
 
 CHAP. III.] LIFE IN THE DESERT. 75 
 
 ever incorrect and ungrammatical their imitation of Sechuana 
 may be, the style has become universal in these parts, and 
 quite intelligible to those who have dealings with them. 
 
 This is the first time that Bushwomen have visited our 
 wagon since we left Walvisch Bay. Here they and their 
 children come fearlessly to see us, to dance and sing, or 
 to examine the wagon and oxen ; but west of the lake no 
 female ever showed herself, excepting near Riet Fontein, 
 where they are already become quite Hottentotized and dis- 
 solute. The Bushmen generally are less corrupt in their 
 morals than any of the larger congregated tribes, excepting 
 when they have long been in close contact with them. They 
 live comparatively chaste lives, and their women are not 
 at all flattered by the attentions of their Bechuana lords. 
 Instead of an honour, they would look upon intercourse 
 with any one out of the tribe, no matter how superior, as a 
 degradation. 
 
 On the whole the Bushman seems to be the happiest of 
 mortals in their simple state, and in their parched wilds, 
 which "just gives what life requires, but gives no more." 
 The wide desert, with its life of comparative freedom, imparts 
 even to the civilized white man a degree of, not exactly 
 happiness, but freedom from care and anxiety, which it is 
 hardly possible to obtain in a civilized state of society. 
 
 Wi June. — After a few miles we passed a sandy hillock 
 on our left, where were large troops of gnus and quaggas, some 
 gemsboks and hartebeests. In another five or six miles we 
 left the prairie, when the grass was as high as my horse's 
 withers, and sometimes two or three feet higher. This is 
 the tambookie grass, which has a very acrid taste, and emits 
 a strong resinous odour. We then entered a country where 
 the golden mopani encircled ^\ith its bright foliage the grey 
 trunks of motchueries and granite-like trunks of the giant 
 baobabs : where these trees fall, a number of tall saplings
 
 76 C II AT MAN'S TRAVELS. [chap.iii. 
 
 soon spring up ft'om the upper surface of the now horizontal 
 trunk, and grow into trees. This tree is a bauhinia. The 
 leaves look like a rhomboid divided into two; the texture 
 strong, and petiole reddish. The core of the wood resembles 
 mahogany. 
 
 The whole distance to Kowgnarra is about 18 miles. 
 Here we struck into my old paths of 1853-4-5. The water 
 at Kowgnarra was very low indeed, but still abundant for 
 our purposes, and hundreds of quaggas and gnus are drink- 
 ing at it. The Bushmen recognised me at once, though it is 
 seven years since they saw me last. A wagon from Sechelli's 
 has just passed on to Sekeletu's, but the waters have been 
 so scarce that they were obliged to send their oxen from 
 Karama-Ivamma to drink here before starting afresh. Several 
 of my favourite fountains have dried up, but fortunately I 
 hear that the late rains have fallen abundantly to the east- 
 ward. 
 
 The glare of the sun is so great that one can hardly open 
 his eyes to look upon the extensive plains covered with ripe 
 grass : to me it is painful. The haze conceals miles of the 
 level country from our view during the day, and the horizon 
 appears only about a mile distant all round ; but in the 
 evening, when the sun has set, one can see, standing on the 
 wagon-box, 10 or 12 miles in every direction. To-day we 
 had an unusual wind from the westward. It was so dry 
 that I felt in a constant fever, I think this is owing to 
 there having been so little rain in the Lake country and 
 westward this year ; for the winds from the south and south- 
 west bring a cooling freshness, if not a perfect fog, with it, and 
 in the south-west and south I hear they have had abundant 
 late rains. The thermometer was 82° in the coolest part ; 
 lately it has seldom been much above 70° at mid-day. 
 
 The Bamahwato seek, by various pretences, to delay our 
 progress, wishing me to kill game for them ; but we con-
 
 CHAiMu.] ADVANCE EASTWAUD. 77 
 
 tinue our advance to the eastward, uuder the guidance of 
 our friendly Bushmen. Leaving Kowgnarra, we came to 
 Odeakoe, another fine spring in sandstone tufa. This was 
 the residence of Sekomi after he had been conquered and 
 plundered by the Matabele on the south-east of the great 
 salt-pau. 
 
 While walking ahead of the wagons I saw several snakes, 
 which I disturbed as they lay sleeping in the path. These 
 frequent meetings with them made me quite nervous at last, 
 especially when one sprang tliree feet into the air before me ; 
 I could not help leaping away several yards. But the 
 snake's great leap was induced by nothing more than fear. 
 It was asleep, and was startled, which lent it for a moment 
 such involuntary strength. This particular snake is a thin 
 striped one, called by the Bamauwato mashneme. They 
 have a superstitious belief with regard to it that, Avlien one 
 meets it in the course of the day while he is hunting 
 elephants, or whatever he may be in pursuit of, fortune ^aIII 
 favour him. 
 
 Our Bamailwato friend, Moreymele, tried very hard to 
 dissuade me from going north, and advised me rather to go 
 south. Besides the lying story about my brother, he now, 
 on learning our intention of going via Chapatani's to the 
 Zambesi and the east coast, assured us that Chapatani's tribe 
 had been lately destroyed and scattered by Moselikatze, 
 affecting to be astonished at my ignorance of the fact. 
 Finding that no device of his would make me alter my 
 course, he -begged for everything, and, getting nothing, said 
 he would accompany us. I would have paid him something 
 handsome to be rid of him, but dared not let him know it. 
 
 11th June. — Leaving Odeakoe yesterday, we rattled over 
 six miles of country to a spring in tufa, called Gnasani, 
 passing mid-way a dry pan, which, like many otliers, had
 
 78 CHAPMAN'S TEA VELS. [chap. hi. 
 
 been a living spring when I was here a few years since. 
 This morning I sent the people, with the clogs, to follow the 
 spoor of a rhinoceros which John had wounded during the 
 night. We lost the best of our dogs in consequence ; he 
 seized the rhinoceros by the nose, when the enraged beast 
 impaled him on his horn, and then crushed him with his 
 ponderous foot. This rhinoceros was a magnificent one, 
 standing 6ft. Sin. high at the shoulder. We took the best 
 of the meat, and left the remainder to Moreymele and his 
 people. 
 
 In the afternoon we travelled on to Kagopslie pits, about 
 six miles, through groves of beautiful mopani, with a field of 
 soft sweet grass of uniform height, growing on the perfectly 
 level surface beneath, Avithout any weeds or underwood. 
 The soil seems of that bluish, clayey, tenacious consistency 
 we find in the bed of the pans, or is partially covered with a 
 sprinkling of white sand and reddish gravel ; in some parts 
 large tracts of this level ground are strewn with shingle. 
 The mopani leaves have a pleasant aromatic odour, some- 
 thing like the orange. I frequently crush a handful, and 
 find the odour very invigorating. There is also a small 
 bulb called tao, used by the Bamahwato ladies as a perfume, 
 which emits a really pleasant and refreshing odour. This, I 
 find, grows bet\^een the limestones near the springs, as also 
 a kind of portulaca, with scarlet flower, which, crushed in the 
 hand, is very fragrant and refreshing. 
 
 Vlth June. — After an early breakfast we started for Tsa- 
 goobyana and Tsagoobye, about four or five miles distant. I 
 rode ahead to-day, being tired of walking, and having been 
 obliged for some time jDast to give up my wagon to two sick 
 Damaras. My Bushman guide observing the spoor of a rhino- 
 ceros, took me on it, instead of following our proper course ; 
 his design did not escape me; but as the spoor was fresh, 
 and there seemed a good chance of our overtaking the animal.
 
 CHAP. III.] ALONG THE AUTEOIi'S FORMER TRACK. 79 
 
 I pretended not to see the trick, and after two miles we came 
 upon him lying near a field of stunted mopani. His friends 
 the khala birds warned him, and us too at the same time. He 
 made a movement as if he were going to get up, which satis- 
 fied the birds for the time, but, changing his mood (laziness, 
 as usual, getting the better of him), he still lay quiet. I had 
 sprung from my horse and stalked him, and now I fired, and 
 I did not expect to see him rise again, but in an instant he 
 was on his legs, and rushing through our ranks with blind 
 fury. I had not time to mount my horse, so took shelter 
 behind him, and when he came near us lie turned awav aoain 
 and fled. He ran half a mile, but I would not waste more 
 powder and lead upon him, seeing that he was dying. The 
 Bushman and my Damara servant seemed to take particular 
 delight in torturing him with their spears, while he was 
 trying to support himself by pressing his chin, which is 
 always near the earth, against it, curling his tail over his 
 rump. 
 
 Pursuing our course, we halted at Tsagoobye, and sent the 
 oxen to drink at some pools of rain-water on the margin 
 of the Ntwetwe salt-pan, which is still parallel with our 
 course from about south-east of Kanyo. We are now, how- 
 ever, within a mile or two of its margin, and on my track of 
 1852-4. At Tsagoobye we found water for ourselves, and, 
 in case of necessity, might have dug for some for the cattle, 
 as also at Tsagoobyana. I photographed one of the baobabs 
 under which we outspanned. A large bee-hive was situated 
 about forty feet from the bottom ; and along this, the straight 
 side of the tree, were two rows of pegs driven into the soft 
 wood to answer the purpose of a ladder, by which to 
 scale the hive at its giddy height. By the marks of several 
 successive sets of pegs, I should say this bee-hive must 
 have been here a great many years ; I think I noticed it ten 
 years ago.
 
 80 CHAPMAN'S TBAVELS. [chap. in. 
 
 To-day we saw abundance of game, troops of from 500 to 
 1000 quaggas, and the like of gnus. Smaller herds of the 
 graceful and warm-coloured pallahs add their attractions 
 to the natural parks of bright-leaved mopani, and in the open 
 plains troops of springboks roam peaceably about, like flocks 
 of slieep. I might have shot game here to my heart's content, 
 but we had enough, and ammunition was growing scarce. 
 Water boils at 207^ ; therm. 73^°. 
 
 I shot here a brace, male and female, of the roan antelope, 
 and photographed them. The Boers call them bastard-gems- 
 bok, or bastard-eland ; the Bechuanas call them qualata. 
 They resemble greatly the black buck in form and action. 
 This antelope, unlike the true gemsbok, visits the water 
 regularly to drink. It inhabits the elevated regions from the 
 north of the Trans- Vaal to the Zambesi, but extends its range 
 into the sandy desert as long as the rain-water lasts. 
 
 The Bushmen lay to watch in a skaarm adjacent to the 
 telle-kello fences, in which during the day-time they have 
 made a large fire of hard wood. In the evening they cover 
 up the burning embers, and a gentle warmth is imparted 
 to the atmosphere around for a certain distance within its 
 influence. During the day they also shape several large 
 clubs out of touchwood, generally of some decayed baobab, 
 and when at night the game have poured down to the water 
 they rush out on either side, extending themselves towards 
 either end of the fuunel-shaj)ed fences. At the entrance 
 they throw the clubs, which they have previously ignited, 
 at the panic-stricken animals as they try on all sides to 
 avoid entering between the two fences. The burning brands, 
 flying about like meteors, cause them to change their 
 course, and the startled animals rush thundering between 
 the fences, which gradually narrow as they advance, increasing 
 at the same time in heicrht and strength. The demoniac
 
 ( iiAi'. 111.] BUSHMEN MODE OF CAPTURING GAME. 81 
 
 yells and blazing firebrands of their pursuers add to the 
 terror and consequent speed with which the hindermost are 
 impelled onwards. At length, when their terror is at its 
 height, between the highest part of the fences an escape 
 seems at hand by the apparent opening in front. Men 
 on either side guard the fences, so that they do not break 
 through, and with one terrific bound they leap the low square 
 fence fronting the pit, and are swallowed up by the trea- 
 cherous and yawning abyss into which they are precipitated 
 one upon another, until the whole presents an indescribable 
 chaos of writhing, smothering, and torturing agonies. The 
 pit is filled with probably from 50 to 100 head of game, 
 and the living make their escape by trampling over the 
 dying, while the delighted Bushmen rush in, spear in hand, 
 and slay the uppermost while they are struggling to escape. 
 
 In the evening I went to the v>ater, shot two gnus before 
 dark in the neighbourhood of tlie fountain, returning to which 
 I observed a pan- of roan antelopes, which I could just distin- 
 guish to be such. I followed them up, shot one and wounded 
 the other, and covered the former with bushes from the vul- 
 tures. At midnight I shot a fine male by the water ; another, 
 and a borele : thousands of thirsty gnus stood around, but were 
 afraid to come down ; several rhinoceroses likewise. Next 
 night the game came again in great numbers, but were afraid 
 to venture down. A fine male lion drank near me, but just 
 as I had made him. out and raised my gun to fire at him, the 
 noise of the people at the wagons startled him, and he slunk 
 away. I killed a gnu and a steinbok. 
 
 In my former journal I mentioned our being surrounded 
 by ten lions one night, near the Shua, and that we had 
 nearly expended all our ammunition U[ton them without their 
 even flinching, till at length I hit a lioness near me, and she 
 bounded into the air with a growl, and went off followed 
 by the rest. To-day I accidentally heard from Morogonyani 
 
 VOL. II. G
 
 82 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. iir. 
 
 that after our wagon left that place next clay, his brother 
 found the lioness dead ; she was a very large and fat one, 
 and they ate her. This makes only seven lions killed by me 
 during twelve years of experience of African travel, so much 
 less numerous are these animals than is supposed by many 
 persons.
 
 CHAP. IV.] THE GREAT SALT LAKE. 83 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Metsi-butluko — The Salt Lake and Ntwetwe Basins — roison-slivub — 
 Pufi- Adders — Watering-places in tlie Desert — Tsamafupa — Seringa 
 Forests — Approach to the Zambesi Basin — Daka — Interview with Maka- 
 lakas — The Sable Antelope — Native Customs — Final Start for the 
 Falls — Difficulties of Approach — First View of the Falls — The Goal 
 reached — Our Camp at the Falls. 
 
 On the lotli of June we started for Metsi-botliiko (" the 
 bitter water"), which we reached next evening. This was my 
 farthest east in 1852, at which time the country had never 
 been visited by a white man. In 1854 I advanced to the 
 south of this point, and opened up the country north-east to 
 near the Madumumbela mountains, in Moselikatze's country, 
 much to the annoyance of the Bamanwato chief, Sekomi. 
 It is satisfactory to find the positions I gave to the Great Salt- 
 pan and the Ntwetwe turn out so very nearly correct, con- 
 sidering that I had no sextant at the time, my map being 
 made from compass-bearings worked all the way up from 
 Natal in the first place, and from Kuniman afterwards. 
 From my survey of the ground all round the Great Salt 
 Lake, and the various evidences referred to in 1854, I felt 
 satisfied, in spite of all contrary opinions, of there being no 
 outlet eastward from the lake, but, on the contrary, that there 
 is a flowiug-in of the Nata and the Shua (a periodical river), 
 and several other rivulets from the east, inundating the lake 
 every summer, and sometimes bringing fish into it. Indeed, 
 no other account can be obtained from the inhabitants on the 
 spot than that which I first gave ; namely, that the Salt Lake 
 
 g2
 
 84 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELH. [chap. iv. 
 
 was formed by the confluence of the Botletlie from the west, 
 and the Shua and several others from the east. The waters 
 thus meeting from opposite sides overflow a vast level plain 
 of bluish unctuous clay, covered with a white saline eiSores- 
 cence, and often salt in parts, after the evaporation of the 
 water. 
 
 The Ntwetwe, on the other hand, is an overflow of the 
 Botletlie alone, and has no connection with the Great Salt 
 Lake, but comes out of the Botletlie river at Chapo's marsh, 
 and becomes inundated when that river overflows, as well 
 as during the rainy season. Tlie Bushmen say that the 
 Botletlie continues to run towards the Shua, but when that 
 river brings down its mountain-torrents with thundering- 
 noise, the latter, preponderating, scatters the waters across 
 the plain, and then pursues its course up the bed of the 
 Botletlie for some distance back again. 
 
 I had walked ahead to Metsi-botluko. It was excessively 
 hot, and one of the Bushmen got a sun-stroke. On an open 
 plain, the heat, even in winter, is unbearable here. The 
 natives often get sun-strokes, which I have never known to 
 liappen where the plain is bushy. 
 
 I found at one water the spoor of rhinoceroses, giraffes, 
 quaggas, &c., and a mile and a half or two miles farther, the 
 fresh spoor of lions, rhinoceroses, elephants, &c. ; one of the 
 last-named animals had evidently bled a good deal as he stood 
 drinking. On looking about I observed the track of four 
 or five wagons about a month old, so that some one is in 
 advance of us on this line. 
 
 A great number of Bushmen are following us, some fat 
 and plump, others the most pitiable objects imaginable — 
 men, women, and children, shrivelled with hunger. At meal- 
 times there seems really little difference between these poor 
 famished wretches and the dogs ; they devour food much 
 more greedily than any white man's dog. Give them a
 
 CHAP. IV.] EDIBLE LIZARDS. 85 
 
 lump of meat, and they cram themselves in a most disgusting- 
 manner. 
 
 I learnt here from the Bushmen that there are bu'ds which 
 accompany the gnu, and that every large animal, the hippo- 
 potamus included, has a distinct bird, with the exception of 
 the elephant. On inquiring of the Bushmen, who have only 
 water to drink, how they come to be so fat, I hear it is from 
 eating gopanis (egoana), which they stew nicely, stamp it 
 fine, and mix with the fat and eggs of the reptile, which 
 makes a delicious and nourishing dish. Gopanis are plenti- 
 ful in this neighbourhood ; the Bushmen find by the spoor 
 the hole they inhabit, and dig them out. These huge land 
 lizards are from three to four feet long, and another larger 
 kind about six. They are quite distinct from the aquatic 
 kind, which are of a darker and lighter colour, and have the 
 tail laterally compressed, like the crocodile, to aid them in 
 steering under the water. They are a pale, raw sienna 
 ground-colour, irregularly marked down the back with brown 
 lozenge-shaped patches, with small spots between. When 
 irritated they will not only defend themselves, but attack 
 and give chase to man, when they erect their tails and 
 expand their cheeks, which are painted with pale cobalt blue. 
 They dart their forked tongues out with great rapidity, like 
 a snake, and inflict severe blows with their tails, or bite, but 
 are not venomous. They ascend and descend trees with 
 great rapidity. 
 
 The Bechuanas have a tradition respecting this reptile — 
 that when God naade the crocodile and the egoana, before 
 giving them tongues, he placed two tongues at a distance, 
 and bade them run a race to see which would take both, and 
 that the egoana won the race ; therefore they believe croco- 
 diles have none at all, because it is difiScult to detect them. 
 
 II th June. — At Metsi-botluko water boils at 207-fiy° ; 
 therm, at 77^. This I believe has been the standing camp
 
 86 CHAPMAN'S TBA VELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 of the Messrs. Green during- a whole season, and the game 
 show by their wariness how well they recollect it, for we fired 
 only one gun on the day of our arrival, and of all the many 
 rhinoceroses, elephants, and troops of smaller game which 
 had been 'Irinking the night before not a single one made 
 its appearance during the first night of our stay. 
 
 On the following afternoon, while Baines's dinner and his 
 blankets were lying in readiness for him at the skaarm, with- 
 out anybody to look after them, a wolf (hyena) made free 
 with his sketch-book and one of the blankets, which it tore 
 and partially devoured, ate off the horn handle of a table- 
 knife, and crunched a teapot, but could not appreciate our 
 style of cookery, for it left the cooked viands untouched. 
 
 The game here is exceedingly cautious, which shows that 
 there must have been a deal of shooting since I was last here. 
 Killed a snake yesterday, and one to-drfy. 
 
 2Qtli June. — At 12 o'clock we left Metsi-botluko and steered 
 about north-cast, having crossed a broad valley running north 
 and south, and again another valley winding towards the 
 latter from the east to the north-east. Walking ahead of 
 the wagons I saw some quaggas and a gnu, but they ^\ere so 
 shy 1 could not get a shot. 
 
 As I was looking out for a sleeping-place for our camp, 
 my attention was attracted by the sight of a small shrub, 
 wnich, from the description that had been given me, looked 
 very like the magow, said to be so poisonous to cattle, goats, 
 and sheep. Plucking some of it, I ran forward to question 
 my Bushman guide, who pretended to be taking us clear of 
 this pest. He looked at me in great alarm, declaring that 
 he was not aware of its existence here, and urged that we 
 should get through it before we halted. This we just suc- 
 ceeded in accomplishing before dark, and encamped on a 
 high sandy belt of mopani some 10 miles from Metsi-botluko. 
 1 had sunt back at once to urge the people across the deadly
 
 CHAP. IV.] PUFF-ADDERS. 87 
 
 plain with the loose cattle and our flock of sheep and goats, 
 feeling nervous at the thought of losing any more after the 
 ravages already niarle by the lung-sichness. 
 
 Tv^'o large puff-adders were brought in at midnight (male 
 and female), having found their way into the bed of a 
 Damara. The male measured 3 ft. 8 in. in length, and 7 in, 
 in circumference; the female 2ft. 11 in., and Tin. in cir- 
 cumference. The head is as broad as it is long, very obtuse, 
 muzzle like a bulldog, round nostrils, eyes situated close to the 
 muzzle, only a quarter of an inch back of nostrils. Female, 
 ground-colour, dirty white ; male, pale yellow. Both marked 
 with large triangular or conical- shaped streaks, deep sepia 
 brown in female, and dirty brown in male. Irregularly 
 placed spots up and down the sides, and alternate spots on 
 either side under the abdomen. Female has the tail much 
 shorter than the male. 
 
 In stuffing this reptile it should be borne in mind that the 
 vertebrae are forced to the outside of every bend in the body, 
 and are not seen in the middle of the skin of the back. The 
 opposite, or inside, has consequently a corresponding depres- 
 sion. In casting its skin, that of the eyes, a pearly, trans- 
 parent scale, is also included. The name puff-adder has 
 been given to it by the colonists from its habit of inflating 
 itself when irritated, and making a loud puffing noise. Its 
 bite is most deadly. The fangs are half an inch long, and 
 when at rest are incased in a coat or lining. Pupil of the 
 eye, a vertical narrow, sinister streak. The rows of teeth 
 are very formidable. The great breadth of the head is owing 
 to the large, powerful, and elastic muscles at the hinge 
 of the jaws, which enable it to distend its mouth and throat 
 to such an enormous size when seizing its prey. The skin, 
 therefore, stretches from the distended cheeks to the muzzle 
 in a diagonal manner, and looks like the edge of the lower 
 jaw ; but this is far on the outside of the position of the jaws,
 
 88 CHAPMAN'S TliA VELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 which are found to occupy a narrow space in the middle of 
 tlie month, immediately under its rows of sharp teeth. 
 
 2\st June — Five and a half miles through rather heavy 
 san 1, undermined by innumerable mouse-holes, and covered 
 with dense mogonono and camel-thorns, with a sprinkling of 
 seringas and abundance of sickle-thorns, brought us to 
 Thamaseitjie, the second of a series of springs in a sandy 
 liolloAV called Motlomogonyani. Here I found a village of 
 Bushmen under an old chief, Molamo, who recognised me at 
 once, and reminded me of my having once shot i'or them a 
 quugga and gnu at Kamkerrie. At Thamaseitjie, water boils 
 206 -^° ; therm. 81°. The Bushmen here speak Sechuana 
 very well. 
 
 We are now making gradually a more northerly course 
 every day. On Sunday, the 22nd of June, we travelled about 
 five or six miles to a spring called Garuga, in a sandy hollow. 
 Here, although it is a never-failing spring, the water only 
 percolates as fast as it is cleared away by Ibe animals. This 
 spring lies in a broad valley, thickly studded with picturesque 
 mokala trees, all in youth and vigour and full foliage, which 
 is now quite green and downy. The wagons passed two or 
 three other springs of the same kind before reaching this. 
 Here we have the choice of either going round by a line of 
 fountains to the eastward of us, or by going straight through 
 by Tsaniafupa and Gum Kabie, as I had done in my previous 
 journey. Thougb the former was more desirable on account 
 of water, we took the latter, in order to get out of the magow 
 country, and to advance quicker. We are at a loss to see 
 wiiy we have been brought here at all, and become suspicious 
 of our guide's honesty, as he has brought us by a round- 
 about road into the magow, while recent wagons went straight 
 through. He has the impudence to advise me to make a 
 camp here in the midst of it for my wagons and people, and
 
 CHAP. IV.] AT JURUOA. 89 
 
 then to hunt on foot to the other neighbourhoods. In the 
 fifternoon we steered across the acacia valley, and then over 
 a thick and heavy sand belt, thickly overgrown Avith large 
 and beautiful trees of various kinds, such as mokala, seringa, 
 ingaw, a large, straight, and knotted acacia, another still 
 larger acacia, growing from sixty to eighty feet high, and 
 fully inhabited by monkeys ; also those large dark-looking 
 trees, the kushe, which I have already mentioned as contain- 
 ing, in a very dry season, water in their decayed cavities. 
 This belt is about three or four miles broad. 
 
 After passing through it, with a deal of labour we emerged 
 on an open plain and by a large dry vley, near which stood a 
 most graceful mopani tree, a little to the soutli-east. We struck 
 into the wagon tracks which we passed at Metsi-botluko, 
 and followed them to the end of the plain, some two or 
 three miles farther, where we slept. Xext day we travelled 
 through an elephant forest, striking into an old river-bed or 
 valley, and continued by it to some pits called Gum Kabie. 
 Here we crossed some very heavy sands, quite undermined 
 by mice, who nibble down whole fields of grass at their roots 
 in order to get at the seeds, Avhicli they store up. Shortly 
 after this we crossed another dense elephant forest, to get 
 into a valley beyond it, by following which we arrived in the 
 evening at Juruga, two large spring-vleys. Some giraffes 
 were seen during the trek, which was to-day some 16 miles. 
 
 Baines and John occujjied skaarms at night, as elephants, 
 rhinoceroses, and several other animals drink there. Skulls 
 of elephants, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, and giraffes were plentiful 
 about the water, which accounts for the game being so shy 
 in these parts. There has evidently been great destruction 
 e:oino- on amou2-st them, 
 
 24^/i June. — At Juruga, water boils 206 -^° ; therm. 79°. 
 
 The Damara cattle do not appear to be so hardy as colonial 
 oxen when water is scarce. They become dreadfully thii-sty
 
 90 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 an hour or two after their usual time for drinking, and though 
 they drank yesterday forenoon, it was ridiculous to hear them 
 bellowing, and to see them scampering at full speed, with 
 tails up, like so many panic-stricken buffaloes, to the water 
 when they smelt it. Here v^ere upwards of 100 head of 
 cattle in the rush, and 200 sheep and goats, many of which 
 unfortunate creatures, being the weaker, were knocked, down 
 and jumped over, and so trodden or nearly squeezed to death 
 in the crush. When the cattle reach the water it generally 
 happens that, greedy and over-nice as they are, the foremost 
 at once dash into the middle, and then the hindermost try to 
 pass them, not satisfied with the water that has been dis- 
 turbed and rendered muddy by the foremost. Thus the rear 
 rank takes front rank in regular skirmishing order, until they 
 have gone right through, and then the stupid animals come 
 back to look for that which they formerly discarded, but 
 which they now find is still more muddy. They continue 
 walking round and round in the middle of it very disconso- 
 lately for an hour, sipping an occasional but reluctant mouth- 
 ful, while the sheep and horses have long ago taken their 
 drink very peacefully on the very margin of the pool, and 
 are now grazing contentedly. 
 
 I saw rather an amusing sight to-day. Some of my^Damaras 
 have each a pack-ox allowed them to carry meat for them, 
 but generally they are made to carry their impedimenta, con- 
 sisting of all sorts of rubbish and hides. The oxen are often 
 very unwilling to be caught for the purpose of being loaded, 
 fearing that they are to be overburthened, as is often the case. 
 There is nothing to be done in such cases but to run them 
 dowUj at Avhich the Damaras are generally A'eiy expert. I 
 have often seen a Damara run after and catch a wild ox 
 by the tail, and with a very dexterous jerk to one side throw 
 him to the earth, or, failing in this, seize him by the horns, 
 bend his head round, and thus render him helpless. To-
 
 CHAP. IV.] THE BODODO. 91 
 
 day, however, the whole troop of men failed, and, the women 
 rushing out in chase, one young damsel soon caught the 
 animal by the tail, and after being violently swung about for 
 awhile, she brought him in with triumph, amidst the cheers 
 of all the women at the men. 
 
 2Qth June. — We reach the Leteba, or pit- water, near Tsam- 
 afupa, half a mile south of it, about six miles from Juruga. 
 Tsamafupa has two fine springs. These waters, percolating 
 through the sand, evidently come from some branch of the 
 Zambesi, as they never fail. The limestone springs westward 
 appear to be more dependent upon rain for their supplies 
 than these are. 
 
 I notice among the plants here my old and delicious 
 acquaintances, the shesha and the bododo {Anona squamosa). 
 The latter is a shrub grov\'ing about two feet high ;* the leaves 
 are three and a half to four inches long, oblong, smooth on 
 the upper side, and very strongly reticulated beneath, with a 
 downy stem. The skin of the fruit is like that of a pine- 
 apple, and, like it, marked off into square sections. The 
 fruit is of the size of a large apple, with the colour of a ripe 
 pine, and has a sweet powerful odour. AYheu green their 
 fruit is stewed with meat by the Bushmen, as a vegetable. It 
 deserves to be transplanted from the Bushmen domains into 
 more cultivated regions, where it would form a truly royal 
 dish. It is out of season now, nor can I find any of the 
 seeds on the ground. I have had them growing in Cape 
 Town, but they were destroyed by cold and insects. This 
 time I shall take a few plants. t The plant is found in 
 beds like the shesha. 
 
 About five or six miles to the eastward of this place lies 
 another fountain called Mazhulie, where people go to waylay 
 
 * Dr. Brown thinks this must be a dwarf kind. 
 
 t See iurther particulars of this choice fruit iu the author's former 
 journey, vol. i. p. 284.
 
 92 CHAPMAN'S TBAVELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 elephants, &c. We had some idea of doing likewise, but, 
 seeing how extremely shy the game were wherever they smelt 
 the footsteps of man, we feared it would be only losing time. 
 We occupied the skaarms here but one night, and lions only 
 came, but they also departed without drinking when they 
 discovered fresh traces of man. Elephants have been here 
 very recently, and rhinoceroses and various other large 
 game every night before our arrival, but nothing since we 
 came. 
 
 The elephants in this part seem now quite to understand 
 what a " skaarm " (screen or ambush) is, and I observe at 
 every watering-place we come to the old skaarms have gene- 
 rally been destroyed by the elephants, who have scattered 
 the logs about, and trampled the holes full of earth again. 
 
 21th June. — About six miles farther and we come to 
 Tsamasetchie, a series of springs, lying, for the most part, in 
 a sandy valley, or old river-bed, perhaps branching out of 
 the Zambesi. 
 
 The road to this place is again heavy sand, rather more so 
 than the previous six miles, though the bush is not so dense. 
 Our road lay against the western side of a sandy valley full 
 of mateba (sucking waters), and here I discovered that I 
 had been in this country before (from Chenamba), by recog- 
 nising a vley at which I had slept, I did not know, however, 
 at that time that these vleys were permanent waters. 
 
 Elephants, and numerous rhinoceroses, buffaloes, and 
 quaggas, had drunk the previous night : rebuilding a skaarm, 
 which the elephants had demolished, I lay by the water, but 
 only one rhinoceros drank, and he Avas out of my reach. At 
 Tsamasetchie \a ater boiled 206 -,\,° ; therm. G0°. 
 
 It is quite a delightiul ride for me through an unbroken 
 forest of many miles of tall straight seringa trees, growing 
 close to each other, like the forests of fir trees near Cape 
 Town. They are just now changing into the "sere and
 
 CHAP. IV.] DEPREDATIONS BY WOLVES. 93 
 
 yellow leaf," but so briglit and rich are tlieir colours, that on 
 a distant approach to a forest undergoing this transformation 
 one may be easily led into mistalving their rich golden colour 
 for masses of yellow blossoms. There have been times when 
 I have not so much admired tlie density and exuberance of 
 these forests, but that was when I had to cut a road through 
 them before my wagons could pass. Here and there these 
 forests are intersected with a large cluster of dark um- 
 brageous trees called kuslie, under which the elephants 
 love to stand during the heat of the day. Another magni- 
 ficent tree is the fruit-bearing tree called sheshebie, a bau- 
 hinia, bearing a scarlet bean, also mentioned before. I 
 brought away about a quarter of a pound of wild cotton, 
 which I found in abundance on one bush. It is rather a short 
 staple, but is plentiful. 
 
 My object in riding westward was to ascertain the nature 
 of the country, as in case of sending back to meet my brother 
 it would be desirable to do so by a shorter route. I think of 
 cutting across here to Kamma-Kamma, and from there to the 
 Botletlie. I found Avater five miles off, south-west. At 
 about ten miles observed quagga and buffalo spoors going 
 west, so that, if not a spring, there must still be rain-water. 
 
 At midnight John fired a couple of shots, and after that 
 wolves prowled about the wagons, and were constantly 
 chasing and retreating from our dogs. At last they carried 
 off my two beautiful roan antelope skins which I had taken 
 so much pains with, intending them for the South African 
 Museum. Then the lions commenced roaring close by, and 
 a dog was carried away from where he lay coiled up with the 
 Damara children, round our fire. He never even uttered a 
 sound, and next morning we learned a lion had actually put 
 his head into the skaarm, where the boys lay, but they did 
 not fire, they said, for fear of offending me. 
 
 On the 1st of July we left Tsamasetchie, and for the next
 
 94 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap, iv 
 
 three days continued our course, for the most part through a 
 forest country, in which the kushe and seringa trees prevailed, 
 finding rain-\\'ater in a large vley. Spoors of rhinoceroses, 
 giraffes, and other animals were abundant, but I did not get 
 a shot. I gathered some seed-pods of a kind of lotus, with an 
 edible tuber, found in these vleys and mentioned before. It 
 is enclosed in a kind of fibrous shell, and looks like a kidney 
 potato, and is very delicious eating, 
 
 I found here two very powerfully scented mints, used by 
 the Bush ladies as a perfume ; and also observed a pretty 
 parasitical plant, growing out of the decayed cavity of a 
 large mopani tree, and hanging pendent in large drooping 
 clusters of very wavy oblong leaves.* We have now come 
 into some of those valleys with tall gTass wherein I formerly 
 hunted the elephant. Some of the stalks of this grass are 
 twelve feet high, and some still longer. The joints are two 
 feet apart, but the stalks are not hollow. Tlie valleys here 
 are very fertile, and I have no doubt all kinds of cereals 
 might be grown to advantage without irrigation. 
 
 A few of my goats have died from the effects of magow, or, 
 rather, we killed most of them before it took effect. Two 
 puppies died, evidently from having eaten of the flesh, and 
 two more were lost ; probably they died in the bush from the 
 same cause ; so that perhaps what I heard from the Bamaii- 
 wato on this subject may not be without some foundation 
 after all. 
 
 From Tsamafupa, thus far, we have been evidently making 
 a gradual ascent, but my boiler and thermometer have, by 
 some mistake, been put out of reach for the present. In 
 the afternoon we trekked on again, passing several fine vleys 
 of clear water, after emerging from a large forest on a plain 
 
 * Tliis plant, I have a slrong notion, is the antidote communicated to me 
 by the Bushmen in former years for the tsetse in dogs, and which I desired 
 so much should be tried on cattle.
 
 CHAP. IV.] WATERSHED OF ZAMBESI AND SALT LAKE. 95 
 
 wliicli I tliink is tho highest part of the country. The air has 
 been quite fresh and bracing all day. I fancy this must be 
 a very healthy place to lay by for a season. 
 
 Here I found, to my agreeable surprise, some old friends, 
 five or six trees of the protea (sugar-bush), about seven feet 
 high, the same species that grows at the foot of Table Mountain, 
 and which I have never met with anywhere else. I plucked 
 a branch and a seed-pod, or cone, but the former was thrown 
 away by my servant, who has his own peculiar ideas of the 
 value of botanical specimens, &c. 
 
 After passing this place we gradually descended through 
 immense kushe forests, catching an occasional glimpse of 
 blue and purple in the distant horizon, which indicated our 
 approach to another and more hilly region. At length, 
 emerging from another forest, we stood on the brink of 
 a ridge 100 feet high or more, overlooking a tract of 
 open country, dotted with here and there a bluff-like moun- 
 tain in the distance, for the space of 70 or 80 miles in 
 every direction before us. This spectacle, so novel to us, 
 was perfectly thrilling. We have not seen such a wide 
 extent of country at one glance for upwards of two years; 
 and, what was more, we knew we were now descending 
 towards the Zambesi, which our eyes would fain make us 
 believe we couM see already through the blue haze, Hoating 
 over and blending with the distant horizon. Away to our 
 right, some 80 miles off, lay Shapatani, or Wankie's, and 
 the long wished-for Daka was now, as it were, at our feet ; 
 but we could not reach it before nightfall, and we encamped 
 in a detached grove of mopani saplings. 
 
 We had evidently crossed a continuation of the ridge 
 which I formerly found existing to the east and north-east 
 of the Great Salt Lake, observing that while the Shua river 
 was coming from the north, the Quagga or Gwai river was 
 flowing to that quarter of the compass.
 
 96 CHAFMAN'S TliAVELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 I have noticed latterly several covies of a kind of partridge 
 or francoline hitherto quite new to me. It is smaller 
 than either the grey or redwing of the colony, and differs, 
 moreover, from them in the superior richness of its colour, 
 a warm sienna, barred transversely ; belly, wings, and tail, 
 dark brown, so far as I could distinguish ; and I fancy the bill 
 and legs are orange. Several new birds came into view to- 
 day, and others seemed to disappear altogether. 
 
 4//i July. — A trek of eight miles this morning, over an 
 undulating country, brought us to Daka, where several little 
 rivulets, uniting, flow eastward to the Luluesie, which again 
 flows into the Zambesi at Molamo-a-tolo. 
 
 It is remarkable that for a distance of upwards of 90 miles 
 we liad not seen a living soul. No doubt this is in conse- 
 quence of the " Great Lion," Moselikatze, having let his ter- 
 rors be felt lately on this side of the country. Here, also, no 
 human being was visible, and great were the conjectures as to 
 what had been the fate of the Daka people. Some of us 
 were searching tlie ashes of deserted stations for any vestiges 
 of what might have happened. However, I soon set the point 
 at rest by making a little target practice, which brought 
 three Makalakas, black as night, but respectful in their 
 behaviour, to our camp. Setting down their sandals and 
 spears at a distance, they drew near, looking round with an 
 air of disappointment. They said that, hearing guns, tliey 
 thought we had killed game, but I informed them the guns 
 were fired for the purpose of calling them to tell me the news. 
 This, after a hearty laugh, they proceeded to give as follows : — 
 " Elephants are plentiful to the eastward, and buffaloes also." 
 " But what has become of the white people that were in here ?" 
 — " Oh ! the white man is dead, and his wagon has returned, 
 and Rapiet has also returned, they having both received 
 assistance by a wagon from Sechelli's, which brought their 
 oxen through the desert by way of Kamma-Ivamma, but
 
 (jHAP. IV.] AT DAK A. 97 
 
 Kapiet is still in the neighbourhood if you wish to see him, for 
 we have just come from him." As this man is a Kuruman, and 
 was formerly my servant, I sent John and Dokkie on pack- 
 oxen to ask him to come over to me. He was staying about 20 
 miles off. Two other wagons were staying a few miles farther 
 on, without danger of the " fly." From thence the owners were 
 hunting elephants on foot, and have already killed six, and 
 probably scared away the remainder. There are buffaloes 
 hereabouts, but in the " fly " to the east of us. 
 
 In the country which we have passed since crossing the 
 ridge, a few quaggas, qualata, and tsesebis, are to be found, 
 but the ground, like that I mentioned before, near the Madu- 
 mumbela Mountains, is a loose, black, vegetable mould, so 
 intersected with deep sun-cracks and fissures after every rain, 
 that one can scarcely walk on foot, much less gallop a horse 
 through it. The grysbok* of the Cape is an inhabitant of 
 these regions ; also the reitbuck, but the specimens I saw or 
 shot are much smaller than those in Natal. 
 
 The country here reminds me very much of Natal, except 
 as regards the absence of mimosas. I have not observed one, 
 as far as I can remember, since the descent to these plains 
 commenced. The only thorn-tree that I have as yet noticed 
 is the magow, having a knotted bark, and the knots being 
 pointed at the apex with a thorn. 
 
 At Daka water boils at 208^° ; therm. 70°. 
 
 Molefie, otherwise Eapiet, came on my invitation. He 
 complained of having no oxen, and not being able to get 
 home. I lent him ten, and gave him two cows. He has been 
 locked in here for fifteen months, and has, he says, killed 
 thirty-eight elephants, seven only of which were bulls. The 
 elephant killed by him six years ago on the Teouge, and which 
 attracted notice from the singularity of its having no less than 
 
 * My friend Mr. Layard tells me those I sent him are quite new to him. 
 They differ from the Caj)e species altogether in size and colour. 
 
 VOL, II. H
 
 98 CHAPMAN'S TEA VELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 nine perfect tusks, was, lie tells me, a male. The tusks were 
 ranged five on one side and four on the other. I purchased 
 some of the tusks at the time, but they had been mixed up 
 with many others, and when I heard of the peculiarity they 
 could not be identified. I got Molefie to describe the afiair 
 over again, and Baines made a sketch from his description. 
 
 Arrived at Daka, our greatest difficulties still lie before us. 
 In the first place we must visit the gi'eat falls of the Zambesi, 
 and to effect this we have to trudge with our packs of chemicals 
 and cameras on our backs, probably over 60 miles of country, 
 unless we can find some intermediate spot to which we can 
 take the wagons. Then, after all, we shall have to put our- 
 selves in the power, only, I hope, for a short period, of that 
 miserable little despot, Sekeletu, as I understand the best 
 views are to be had from the north side of the river. From 
 the " Falls " we must retrace our steps to Daka, and then 
 convey our traps and tools, weighing some tons, as far as 
 Sinamaui's, as I cannot find that it is possible to aj)proach the 
 river with cattle any nearer than this place. I would willingly 
 try what chance there is farther down, but at present there is 
 great danger of being led astray, either through the Bushmen's 
 real ignorance of the country, or the deceits they practise to 
 detain hunters, and get abundant supplies of flesh. 
 
 In this way two or three different parties have been locked 
 up for nearly two years, having lost all their cattle. One of 
 these I have just had the satisfaction of releasing and putting 
 liim on his way home. Another, a party of Boers, left this a 
 day or two before our arrival, after losing one of their com- 
 pany, who died here ten days ago of fever. The party had 
 been to the river, which fell several feet while tliey were upon 
 it. I cannot help thinking that the delays causing our pro- 
 tracted journey from the lake hitherto have been in a manner 
 providential. The tribes which dwelt here under Wankie, a 
 Banabya chief, and Dabatu, a Makalaka, with others who
 
 CHAP. IV,] NATIVE POLITICS. 99 
 
 have hitherto received strangers in a friendly way, and from 
 whom I expected some assistance, were, about two months 
 ago, entirely broken up and dispersed by the invasion of the 
 Matabele warriors under Moselikatze. We have thus fortu- 
 nately escaped witnessing many revolting scenes of bloodshed. 
 
 The Matabele killed Dabatu, massacred hundreds of unfor- 
 tunate people, and earned off all the children into caj^tivity. 
 Molefie tells us we shall find them scattered all over the 
 country ; in some places two or three women with forty or 
 fifty men, in other parts two or three men, with twenty or 
 thirty women ; but no children anywhere. These people, 
 not possessing cattle, are plundered and murdered solely for 
 the sake of their children, and the few trifles and trinkets 
 which they have obtained from the white men. We hear 
 nothing favourable from Sekeletu's side. The chief practises 
 the same cunning trickery to entice traders across the river, 
 and when once there, compels them to sell their goods on his 
 own terms, or refuses to put them back on the south side : 
 so that for those who have seen both, there is little to choose 
 between the craft and rapacity of the Makololo and the open 
 violence of the Matabele. Hitherto the wliite man has 
 suffered most from the former. 
 
 It now appeared that Sekeletu was not dead, as had been 
 reported, but was still lingering under the ravages of his 
 seemingly incurable disorder. I understand from some of 
 Sechelli's people, who are here hunting, that some of that 
 chief's men, with one wagon, had just passed on to Sekeletu's 
 with the view of making a demand respecting the property 
 of the unfortunate missionary families who died at Linyanti. 
 Sechelli seems to have taken this affair into his own hands, 
 and, we learn, demands full restitution of all the property, 
 including wagon, oxen, clothing, &c., or two loads of ivory in 
 lieu thereof; and threatens, in default, to let them hear 
 of him. However praiseworthy Sechelli's zeal may be, I 
 
 H 2
 
 J 00 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 fear his demands happen rather inopportunely for us and the 
 object we have in view. 
 
 In a few days, Baines and I intend to start, on foot, for the 
 " Falls," where we hear Sekeletu has, since Dr. Livingstone's 
 last visit, left some Makololo, who had been with the Doctor, 
 and who can distinguish between Englishmen and Boers, and 
 report them to the chief. Englislimen are to be received 
 favourably ; Boers, to whom, for some reason or another, they 
 have taken a great dislike, are to be put to death. 
 
 Sechelli, who embraced Christianity, has given one of his 
 daughters in marriage to Lechulatebe ; from which it ap- 
 pears that old native customs cannot entirely be dispensed 
 with. This makes Lechulatebe's seventh wife now living. 
 
 That singular insect, the caddis-worm, abounds in this 
 country in a variety of forms. They make their houses 
 either of sticks, glued together, or of pebbles, sand, and 
 prickly grasses. The inside is lined with a silky web. 
 Wherever they go they drag their houses with them. The 
 sort encased in prickly grasses are poisonous to cattle when 
 eaten by them. 
 
 ^th July. — As five men and three women were still absent 
 after an ox, and the forty sick sheep and goats left behind 
 at Tsamasetchie, I rode out in a north-east direction with 
 a party of Makalakas, in order, in the first place, to shoot 
 something for my dogs and my people, and, in the next, 
 to see and learn more of the country before trusting our- 
 selves nearer to the river, and perhaps getting into the " fly " 
 when choosing a place to make a standing camp. I crossed 
 the valley and river of Daka, and another stream running 
 into it from the west, skirting a ridge which appears to 
 run east and west. This ridge, which is high, and seems 
 healthy, I at length crossed, and reached a wagon of Se- 
 chelli's people, and encamped on the Chovve, another small
 
 CHAP. IV.] NATIVE FOOD-PLANTS. 101 
 
 running stream. The country everywhere is undulating and 
 full of little streams, which remind me very much of the less 
 mountainous parts of Natal. The Babylonian willow grows 
 on the river-banks, and on the highest hills <ns well. I 
 observe a kind of thornless acacia, bearing a pod three feet 
 long, and full of seeds, placed transversely. It is called by 
 the Makalakas, mashashanyama : the leaflets are oval. 
 
 A sand-hill which I crossed, on a level with the highest 
 part of the rise, contained the ruins of native villages and 
 gardens which had been cultivated by the Makalakas, and 
 on which lebelebele, pumpkins, and thunka had been planted 
 in abundance last year, but the stubble was all that was left 
 by the Matabele. The tunka, or ground-nuts, are hoed up 
 by them like potatoes with us. At present, the Makalakas 
 have almost entirely to subsist on a root called magoolie, 
 a pink-flowered convolvulus. This root somewhat resembles 
 the lerush, but is not quite so large. It is more agreeable 
 eating ; but I observe that the natives are particularly care- 
 ful not to eat the skin, which, I believe, excoriates the mouth. 
 The plant grows rather bushy, like a vine, and then creeps up 
 the trunks of trees ; its flowers are dark pink or lilac. These 
 tubers, like the lerush, are found growing in stony ground: 
 I suppose the rocks must be a protection to their juice 
 against evaporation, for it could certainly not retain its mois- 
 ture for a whole season in the hot sands, at almost any depth. 
 
 The magoolie is a milky plant, with rhomboidal reeds. 
 The manner in which this root is found is very peculiar and 
 difficult, and a stranger might starve in the midst of an 
 abundance of this root, which is both food and drink to 
 the natives. On approaching within six feet of the plant, or 
 about the area where the seeds have generally fallen, they 
 percuss the ground with a stick, and a liquid or hollow sound 
 proclaims the exact locality. I have been amazed at the 
 wonderful accuracy with which they can detect these sounds,
 
 102 CHAPMAN'S TRA VELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 in which there is, to our ears, no perceptible difference, and 
 as the roots are often not larger than our ordinary potato, it 
 may be very easily imagined how slight the difference of 
 sound must be, as they are found a foot at least below the 
 surface. At the one end of their spear-shaft is inserted a 
 piece of iron, with which they dig it up. 
 
 I found a number of rude dwellings of Makalakas and 
 Mashapatani, near the Bakwain wagon. They were con- 
 structed with scarcely more taste and comfort than the Bush- 
 men huts. Several of them were entdosed with a circular 
 fence, or kraal, in which, since the attack of the Matabele, they 
 lie at night round large fires, mixed together without distinc- 
 tion of sex. There were only about ten women with sixty or 
 seventy men. They had congregated round the wagons of 
 this hunting party for the sake of the offal and surplus meats, 
 for which they fight with each other like so many hungry 
 dogs. They seem not to have the courage necessary even to 
 concert measures for their own protection, but to have aban- 
 doned themselves to despair ; and, instead of seeking an 
 alliance with their friends, rob and plunder those parties that 
 are weaker than their own ; giving their young children away 
 to Boers and Bakwains, or selling them for a trifle, and 
 keeping only some of the elder ones, because these are able 
 to seek food for them. Still, their conduct towards the 
 white man is scrupulously honest, and any man carrying 
 a gun, be he white or black, can command, bully, and thrash 
 any number of them ; they are, moreover, exceedingly light- 
 hearted and merry under the unfortunate circumstances in 
 which we find them. 
 
 Having come about 12 miles to the Cho^^e river, which 
 joins the Daka, I rested there for the night, and next morn- 
 ing, having ascertained that there was no " fly " near, I rode 
 out in search of buffaloes, towards another tabular ridge, about 
 eight miles off, whose abrupt side faced northward.
 
 CHAP. IV.] ANOTHER SABLE ANTELOPE. 103 
 
 Having shot a beautifully-marked quagga near the hill, I 
 sent the Makalakas on to the water to ascertain whether the 
 buffaloes, which had been seen a ievf days ago, were still in 
 the neighbourhood, but they were gone. The quagga is of 
 shorter stature and, I think, smaller in every way than those 
 I shot lately on the road, and the Bushmen and Bakwains, to 
 whom I pointed out the difference, declared they are quite 
 different in the south, where they are only striped to above 
 the knees. Besides the broad band of black near the tip of 
 the ear, there are three transverse lines crossing a longitudi- 
 nal one at the base. The yellow, or rich brown, on back, sides, 
 and rump, of those I shot before, is exceedingly dull in this. 
 The head and ears small and equine ; sex, male ; age, about 
 seven years. 
 
 Eeturning from a fruitless search after buffaloes, I observed 
 on the top of another, and about 300 yards off, a large jet- 
 black object under the shade of a tree. For an instant I felt 
 puzzled to make out what it was, but the next moment the 
 animal turned its head into the sunlight towards me, and 
 I recognised it at once by the white marks of its face and its 
 large, graceful, sweeping, scimitar-shaped horns, as an old 
 acquaintance, the sable antelope, one of which I had before 
 shot, far to the south. Another moment, and it had fled. 
 For no other animal would I have run any risk over rugged 
 rocks, deep ravines, and the deep cracks and fissures in the 
 turf, hidden by the long grass ; but I could not resist the 
 opportunity of securing a specimen of this most magnificent 
 antelope for the South African Museum. Putting spurs to 
 my horse, and giving him the whip, away I went in full 
 pursuit, scattering stones and pebbles at my heels. Thinking 
 to round the hill over which the antelope had disappeared, I 
 steered across a seemingly level valley, in which the grass, as 
 usual, stood six or seven feet high, the favourite resort of 
 lions, when I came so suddenly upon a dry ravine that my
 
 104 CH AMMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 horse could not check himself, but down went his forefoot 
 into the middle, sending me out of the saddle and nearly 
 over his ears. However, I scrambled out, and, my horse re- 
 gaining his feet, we soon overtook a small herd of these 
 antelopes, and some quaggas. Observing, to my regret, that 
 the old buck was not among them, I picked out the finest 
 hide and fired : down came the lovely animal upon its knees, 
 but after whirling once round, it dashed after the troop, and 
 was out of sight before I could reload. I soon took up the 
 chase, endeavouring to cut their usual course of running in a 
 half-circle ; but in this I was disappointed, as some dogs had 
 been at their heels, and the quaggas had taken the lead. I 
 stumbled on, over protruding sandstones and quartz rocks, 
 and my disappointment was at once dispelled by the sight of 
 a magnificent old buck, probably the one I had first seen, 
 running at an angle from me. Again I plied whip and spur ; 
 another little grassy flat crossed, and 1 should alight, but fate 
 ordered it otherwise, for while viewing with eager interest the 
 animal, which had now turned straight towards me, I felt my 
 horse suddenly sink under me. He was down. I threw 
 myself back as well as I could, and drawing in the reins with 
 my left, strove hard to keep my seat, while my horse 
 struggled on his nose and knees for several paces, but find- 
 ing myself going, my first thought was for my gun, which, 
 with a jerk, I carefully threw out on the soft grass. It was 
 just in time, for at the same moment my horse came down 
 with greater violence, throwing me on my head, with his hind 
 quarters across my arms, sparks flying from my eyes, and my 
 neck cracking. This was the work of one or two seconds 
 only. The next moment I raised myself up half stunned 
 and stupefied, and my arms, which I had stretched out to 
 check the violence of the fall, were for a moment useless ; 
 but on looking up from where I sat, I beheld the animal 
 I had been in pursuit of standing bewildered before me at
 
 CHAP. IV.] CHASE OF THE ANTELOPE. 105 
 
 the distance of 150 yards. Paiu and weakness were at 
 once dispelled ; my rifle was at my shoulder, and the next 
 instant the sable antelope had disappeared from my view, 
 as he dropped suddenly into the long grass, in which he lay 
 struggling in the last agonies of departing life. I ran up, 
 loading my gun, lest my prize should escape me ; but he 
 was dead, and I only had to admire the exquisite beauty of 
 the beast, whose long and gracefully sweeping horns, deep 
 black and glossy coat, and soft flowing mane, contrasted 
 admirably with the snow-white marks on the face, chin, 
 and belly. I could not help thinking, well indeed might 
 Harris write with such enthusiasm about the transcendent 
 beauty of this magnificent antelope. 
 
 On the return from this chase I met with some quaggas, 
 and afterwards with tsesebis, waterbucks, and reitbucks ; but 
 as they were rather wary, and the turfy ground full of fissures 
 concealed by long grass, I did not consider it worth while 
 risking my neck for the sake of any of these. The water- 
 bucks — several does — struck me at first with surprise, as it 
 was many years since I had seen any, and I thought at first 
 I had met with a new animal resembling the lama or the 
 dromedary, by the manner in which it throws forward its 
 breast and holds back its head. 
 
 I had left my men and some Makalakas to take off the 
 head and liide of the sable antelope, wishing Baines to make 
 a sketch of it for me, and at night they returned. The hide 
 was a heavy load for one man. The people informed me 
 that within half an hour after I left the spot they were quite 
 overwhelmed by the numbers of buffaloes, which, in their 
 flight from the Bakwains, who were chasing them, pounced 
 suddenly upon them. They said there were several hundreds. 
 
 Having now a store of meat, I was visited, of course, by two 
 or three petty chiefs, who had formerly not noticed my 
 arrival. They brought me presents of various kinds, such as
 
 106 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 a tiger-skin, an elephant's tusk, and a bundle of some small 
 furs. The women brought me presents of motlok-eeja and 
 magoolies, and compelled me in this manner to give them 
 flesh in return. I parted with some of it reluctantly, con- 
 sidering that I had come so far to shoot meat for my own 
 hungry men and dogs ; but it is good policy to share the 
 spoils of the chase with these people, who are generally 
 willing to render assistance, and, besides, evince hospitality 
 themselves to strangers when they have it in their power. 
 
 The Bashapatani, several scattered families of whom are to 
 be found hereabout, are also a light-hearted set of people. 
 They are known by their dress, which is very like that of the 
 Damaras on the west coast, except that the large coil or 
 girdle around the waist is wanted. In their language, also, 
 there is a great affinity, and they have their front teeth 
 chipped or filed like the Damaras. They have a good ear 
 for music, and play on a kind of instrument with their fingers 
 and thumbs. It is made of eight notes and eight half-notes, 
 properly modulated, and fixed on a small board \^hich is 
 fastened inside of a hollow dry gourd : it sounds like a very 
 large music-box, and the tones are equally sweet, when played 
 upon by a skilful musician. 
 
 The Makalakas weave a kind of mat or rug out of large 
 pieces or slabs of the baobab bark, which, when well beaten 
 and rubbed a little bet\\ een the hands, is of the springy con- 
 sistency of coir, or cocoa-nut hair, but much softer. These 
 people at one time possessed cattle, sheep, and goats, but this 
 wealth caused their ruin. Moselikatze scattered all the 
 tribes in his neiglibourhood before him on his retreat from 
 the conquering Boers, sweeping away their flocks and herds; 
 and these jDeople, wlio were a large, powerful, and rich tribe, 
 were the last the IMatabele could reach in this direction, the 
 Zambesi river putting a stop to further inroads. So effec- 
 tually were these poor people subjugated, that they have nol
 
 CHAP. IV.] THE MAKALAKA8. 107 
 
 the least desire to possess anything that is likely to excite 
 the cupidity of the Matabele, and nothing in the world would 
 induce Wankie, and some others, to possess themselves of 
 guns and cattle, though they have the means of obtaining 
 these things with ivory, which they prefer giving away for 
 beads and clothing. The Makalakas, taken all together, 
 must be very many times the number of the Matabele ; but 
 there seems to be the same want of unity and absence of 
 national spirit that exists among the Damaras, so that there 
 will probably never be a chance of their uniting their forces 
 to resist the tyranny of the oppressors, mIio make yearly 
 inroads upon them to carry off the only things they possess, 
 their children and their corn. These marauders very seldom 
 meet with any resistance. Half-a-dozen of them, I am told, 
 will walk into the midst of a village containing three or four 
 hundred men, and ride roughshod over them. These plun- 
 dering expeditions generally take place in the months of 
 March and April, when the corn is ripe. The Matabele on 
 these occasions freely indulge their greedy and bloody pro- 
 pensities, quarrelling with and insulting all that come in 
 their way, with the sole object of obtaining an opportunity of 
 slaying a man in order to make a boast of it. 
 
 Next day I returned to camp, and found all well, but 
 hungry. The Makalakas followed speedily, bringing, with 
 scrupulous exactness, every piece of meat which had been 
 given them to carry ; but the sable antelope's hide, by some 
 accident, had lost the brush of the tail. 
 
 Saturday, 12th July. — I got a new camera made, rectified 
 two baths, and made every preparation for a start to the 
 " Falls " on Monday, intending to take the wagon to within 
 20 or 30 miles, and then proceed on foot. In the meantime 
 John is to proceed about 20 miles farther north-east with 
 the cattle, to a place reputed to be quite free of tsetse, and 
 wait for my return. At the moment we were beginning to
 
 108 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 inspan, a messenger arrived from Molefie, stating that he was 
 going with me to the " Falls " if I would wait for him. He was 
 bringing his wagon as far as Daka, to leave it there, while he 
 went with us and rested and doctored his foot, which would 
 prevent his driving the wagon for some time to come. As I 
 had been wishing for the assistance of an interpreter I waited 
 for him, but on his arrival found it was merely a ruse to 
 detain me. He would give me a man as guide and trader, 
 but would not go himself ; and as this man, Wildebeest, only- 
 gets one musket from Rapiet in a year, I do not think he 
 will be worth ten oxen to me in a month. I gave Rapiet a 
 heifer and a calf. These half-civilized Bechuanas are great 
 nuisances. I did not like the look of the man ; but as I am 
 persuaded that in order to keep friends with the Makololo 
 while I am photographing it will be positively necessary to 
 trade with them also to some extent, and as I cannot stand 
 bickering with these people so many hours, perhaps days, 
 over a few tusks of ivory, any substitute will be a relief. 
 
 Ibth July. — We left Bonka, and travelled north-west. The 
 streams of Bonka and Daka, though not running very fast, 
 contain large quantities of very clear and sweet water, 
 covered and kept cool by the large lotus leaves, under the 
 shade of which the pretty little brindled fishes swim. These 
 fishes, to judge by the anxiety they exhibit for a number 
 of young ones over whose safety they constantly watch, I 
 should take to be viviparous. All these streams contain a 
 large kind of mussel in great abundance. I do not know 
 whether they are eatable. They have a beautiful lining, 
 with a slight blush of red ; but I have not found any 
 pearls. There is also a smaller kind of mussel of a broader 
 shape. 
 
 After three hours we came to another stream, where we 
 halted for awhile, and then proceeded over a high tract of 
 sandy country, called Boomka. This we descended on the
 
 CHAP. IV.] DANGER FROM TSETSE. 109 
 
 north slope, and striking into a dry nullah, running at first 
 north-west, and afterwards more northernly, we followed 
 its course till near the junction of the Matietsie with the 
 Zambesi. In the afternoon I rode ahead, and to my horror 
 discovered a tsetse on the croop of my horse. The Makalakas 
 tried to persuade me that I was mistaken ; but this insect, 
 once seen and noted, is never forgotten. I galloped back to 
 turn the course of the wagon down the river-bank, which was 
 tolerably free of bush. While leading the way I killed or 
 wounded one of a herd of waterbucks, and, leaving my horse, 
 ran on foot to the spoor; this being very bloody, I ex- 
 pected soon to find my quarry, but at that moment, the tsetse 
 attacking me again, I caught one, and made a hasty retreat 
 to the wagon, which had stuck fast just in a streak of 
 mopani bush, with fly in it. Baines had seen about a dozen 
 of these pests, and I began to have serious apprehensions 
 respecting my cattle, and the progress of the journey should 
 we not be able to escape their attacks. 
 
 At night we slept at the Matietsie river. The following 
 day, proceeding early, I shot a quagga within a couple of 
 miles, and as it was striped to the hoofs, I stayed to photo- 
 graph it. 
 
 In the afternoon we made eight miles on the west side of the 
 Matietsie, and crossed a small stream flowing into it. We 
 outspanned for the night near another stream flowing into 
 the Matietsie, under the shade of a fine male mokuchoii tree, 
 near a little fountain. A female tree close by is showing 
 fruit, but it is still green. The fruit is the size and shape of 
 a medlar, and when dry becomes a mass of crystallized sugar 
 within. It is a great article of food in the neighbourhood of 
 rivers where they grow. These trees are always barren, 
 unless growing near a male ; but the proximity of one male 
 tree suffices to impregnate entire groves of females. 
 
 18^^ July. — Encouraged by the spoors of rhinoceroses and
 
 110 CHAPMAN'^ TRAVELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 other game, I walked ahead for 14 miles to-day, crossing the 
 Bolongo and Nyati rivers, which both flow eastward into the 
 Matietsie. The wind blows nearly every day from the north- 
 east, bringing with it a thick haze, obscuring the landscape. 
 This haze is caused by an accumulation of the ashes of burnt 
 grass and logs, of smoke and dust and vapour. The country 
 is burnt everywhere, and the grass in parts already green to 
 a great extent. The trees are becoming more green as we 
 approach the river. The game in this country is already 
 much more wary than in the more inhabited countries to the 
 south. I found to-day a peculiar kind of mushroom, growing 
 only on wood. It is like a sea-anemone, with a hole in the 
 centre or top, and little feelers, or antennae, all over. 
 
 We outspanned at the Nyati for the night. Next day, 
 alter an early breakfast, we started ahead of the wagon, and 
 on reaching a small conical hill, about a mile due north, I 
 shot a quagga, and waited for the wagon in order to photo- 
 graph it. I succeeded in getting this animal by very 
 patiently not stalking, but crawling like a snake in the 
 dense grass. I find this is the only chance, and even then 
 one can rarely get within 200 yards. What we call stalking 
 the Boers have a much more correct term for — be-kruiping, 
 or be-creeping. The quagga I shot to-day was the sentinel, 
 a young male, and I was much perplexed by his vigilance. 
 The Bushman pointed him out, saying, "Never mind the 
 others, they won't see you ; but he is the spy, steal in upon 
 him when he puts down his head to graze ;" but this he did 
 so seldom that I got tired, and after all he detected me and 
 gave the alarm. 
 
 We trekked again, and saw some euphorbias; and after 
 three miles reached Sechelli's wagon, outspauned on the 
 Lupubupubu, not being able to go any farther, on account of 
 the presence of " fly " ahead, where last year there was none. 
 Eutabeli, the man in charge of Sechelli's wagon, informed
 
 CHAP. IV.] APPBOAOmNG THE " FALLS." Ill 
 
 me of liis having forwarded bis message to Linyanti five 
 weeks ago, and that he has got no answer as yet. 
 
 There were three men at the Bakwain wagon, of the 
 lowest order, who appeared to me to be spies. These fellows 
 visited us after dark, having beard that we were going on to 
 the river, without first sending notice and asking permission. 
 I inquired whether Dr. Livingstone w^as stopped in the veldt. 
 They said, " Yes ; it was the law — that Livingstone always 
 sent a long time beforehand, and met the chief's messengers 
 at a distance." However, I told them that we should go on to 
 the river, as I bad been accustomed to go before ; that, at 
 all events, we would see the head-man of a village, but were 
 not going to be stopped by slaves in the veldt, who could have 
 no authority to interfere with us. They begged we would 
 not go until they had sent to give notice, as they would be 
 killed. I said we would take the blame upon ourselves, but 
 they refused to guide us to the " Falls." At length, after a deal 
 of arguing, and when they were convinced I was determined 
 to go, they offered to give me a guide on condition that I 
 would not proceed any farther until a message had been sent 
 to Sekeletu, and his permission obtained. It will go bard, 
 indeed, but I will get a photograph of the " Falls," after the 
 time and trouble and expense I have lost and incurred with 
 this object in view, not to speak of the risks attending the 
 enterprise in the present unsettled state of affairs. 
 
 The hills in this part are becoming more decided and bold 
 in their outline. The highest are covered with reddish, 
 sandy soil, next a hard, brown sandstone, and then white 
 speckled rock, in the valley of the Daka, which is there in- 
 terrupted by vertical strata of sandy schist (?), On this side 
 of Daka the highest hills are flat and sandy, and corre- 
 spond with the features of the desert in other respects. 
 The hills generally are not very high or rugged, being com- 
 posed of broken fragments of sandstone. The bed of the
 
 112 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap, i v. 
 
 Nyati is evidently of basaltic rock, A sprinkling of crystal- 
 lized quartz, and green indications, as if of copper ore, is 
 everywhere to be found. On some of the higher hills south 
 of the Nyati, the hard, metallic-sounding sandstones are full 
 of cavities, sharply worn by the action of water — or other- 
 wise. 
 
 Our stock of coffee being now nearly spent, I have adopted 
 the plan of roasting dried pumpkins instead. This I learnt 
 from the Boers, and a very tolerable substitute it makes. 
 
 We are informed by the Bakwains that when they reached 
 the river they waited four days without being taken notice of 
 by the people there. They could not get across the river, 
 not being allowed the use of a boat. They say we shall find 
 the same difficulty — endeavouring to dissuade us from making 
 the attempt until Sekeletu's answer reaches them. 
 
 22nd July. — At last we started for the Zambesi, under the 
 guidance of the Manwato provided by Molefie, whose appear- 
 ance and manner was by no means prepossessing, though 
 Molefie gave him a very high character as a trader as well as 
 guide. He was no help to us to-day, but we had taken the 
 precaution of getting from the natives bearings of the direc- 
 tion of the destined goal, and thus were enabled to direct our 
 own course, hoping at night, or next morning, to be guided by 
 the sound of the " Falls," since, judging by our latitude, they 
 could not be far off. A dozen Makalakas carried our invpedi- 
 menta, consisting of sextant, camera, chemicals, &c. 
 
 Thus we marched 18 miles, resting occasionally. This 
 was very good work for our people, with the loads they had 
 to carry, considering the heat of the weather, and the glare 
 of the sand-hills ; the tsetse flies bit and the sun scorched us 
 terribly. 
 
 When we halted for the night, under a huge motsebe tree 
 by the path-side, we had no idea we were so near the " Falls,"
 
 CHAP. IV.] 
 
 THE VICTORIA FALLS. 
 
 113 
 
 but as the boisterous laughter and merry frolicking of our 
 little Makalakas subsided, there gradually arose in the air a 
 murmuring, and at length a roaring sound, increasing as the 
 night advanced, and sounding like the dashing of a mighty 
 surf upon a rock-bound coast. So much does the sound 
 resemble this, that a stranger, unacquainted with the exist- 
 ence of a waterfall here, and unaware of his distance from 
 the sea, could not be persuaded to the contrary. It was one 
 everlasting roar, broken occasionally by the thundering, like 
 
 '^inWFfm^fWf^^^WI^JJ^- 
 
 THE VICTORIA WATERFALL FR05I THE WEST END, WITH THE LEAPING WATElt IN 
 THE FOREGROLTJD. 
 
 successive cannonading in the distance ; and thus it sounded 
 all through the night. Next morning I walked on, in the 
 hopes of falling in with a buffiilo, or some other game, when, 
 on rounding the point of the high sandy ridge on which M'e 
 slept, my attention was attracted by some object shining 
 throu2rh the forest in the distance. That must be water, I 
 mentally exclaimed, as, with some difficulty, I ascended a 
 tree, and there beheld, at the distance of some six miles, a 
 long line of smoking clouds, five large, and a great many 
 
 VOL. II. I
 
 114 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 smaller ones, rising perpendicularly from a crack in the 
 earth, as if from a vigorously burning fire, the flames alone 
 being wanting to render the picture perfect. But now the 
 sun rose, shining brightly upon the waters, and gradually 
 dispelling the sombre hues of the huge columns of floating 
 vapours, some of which rose to the height of upwards of 800 
 feet, imparting to them a warmer, lighter, and more gauzy 
 aspect, which enabled me at once to see the water behind 
 the columns in the background, and that I was in reality 
 facing the Victoria Falls. As the sun sparkled on the edge 
 of the precipice, I could distinctly see the water falling into 
 a long, dark, and narrow chasm, out of which the columns of 
 smoke arose. The course of the river from the north-west 
 was to be distinguished by a long and broad sheet of silvery 
 water, which, running from between low hills, had, at this 
 distance, the appearance of a placid lake, studded with little 
 palm islands. On the south side, again, a double line of 
 sun-lit waters shone in the depths of a beautifully wooded 
 valley, seemingly flowing into the Zambesi. Here and there 
 in the distant valley, on our right, groups of dark, umbra- 
 geous trees stood out in bold relief, casting their lengthy 
 shadows over the grassy plains beneath, looking like so 
 many graves with tombstones at their head. In the imme- 
 diate foreground were tops of naked almond trees, and I 
 recognised, to my astonishment, the anna-boom (of Damara 
 Land), known here as moku. 
 
 We now ascended another hill, the last which impeded our 
 way, on reaching the summit of which we got a fine view of 
 the whole length of the face of the " Falls," and an abrupt 
 acclivitous gorge on our right, evidently the opposite bank of 
 the Zambesi river, having a perpendicular wall of rock of 
 gigantic height, winding in a zigzag manner, and becoming 
 bolder towards the east end of the " Falls." 
 
 On a nearer approach the river became visible, running
 
 CHAP. IV.] THE ZAMBESI. 11.5 
 
 from the north-west ; and as far as we could see, some 
 two miles, it was studded with numerous islands, covered with 
 clustering groups of palms and evergreens. 
 
 In so far as we could ascertain, tliere was no possibility of 
 seeing the whole at once from any point on this side, saving 
 the bird's-eye view I had obtained in the morning ; for if 
 the trees and surrounding objects did not exclude the view 
 from the eye, the clouds of vapour arising out of the fissure 
 beneath would effectually do so within the first quarter of a 
 mile. 
 
 We descended for twenty minutes from the side of a sloping 
 hill, rising probably 300 feet above the " Falls," through a 
 forest which quite excluded the view, excepting the vapour, 
 until we stood on the brink at the one end. Here the pano- 
 rama first broke upon us in all its grandeur, and I could not 
 avoid the reflection that, could I but have known what a 
 magnificent sight I lost in August, 1853, after being very 
 near it, and how nearly I had forestalled Dr. Livingstone's 
 discovery, I should certainly have made another effort at that 
 time to accomplish the object. 
 
 This is not the first time that I had seen the waters of 
 the Zambesi. As long back as 1853 I spent two months on 
 a part of it, a little higher up, at Moreymi's village, where it 
 is incorrectly called Cbobe, which is the name of a place. 
 There the stream is not so considerable, but much deeper, 
 and of an uniform level flow; thence it was that I was 
 nearly visiting the " Falls," the natives having undertaken, for 
 a consideration of beads and brass wire, to paddle my com- 
 panions and myself hither ; but as I was going to step into 
 the boat with my companions, Messrs. Thompson and Camp- 
 bell, we heard that the chief Sekeletu had returned with Dr. 
 Livingstone from Xaliele, and our payment was unceremo- 
 niously returned, with an intimation that they could not now 
 take us. When I complained to Dr. Livingstone of this treat- 
 
 I 2
 
 116 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 ment, he kindly informed me that our disappointment was 
 caused by the fear the natives had of the Matabele, who had 
 lately cut up a tribe under Wankie for having intercourse with 
 the Makololo. 
 
 Mixed with my first feelings of pleasure were some of 
 doubt of the successful issue of my photographic apparatus, 
 for everywhere the spray drenched me, and poured abundance 
 of " cold comfort " upon all my hopes. We approached the 
 brink with trembling, and, carefully parting the bushes with 
 our hands, looked at once on the first grand view of the " Falls " 
 at the west end. Picture to yourself a stupendous perpen- 
 dicular rent in a mass of basaltic rock, extending more than 
 a mile (seai-cely the half of which, however, is visible), and 
 only 60 to 100 or 120 yards wide, right across the river, 
 from one end to the other, into which pours this mighty 
 river, roaring, foaming, and boiling. Then, immediately 
 before yon, a large body of water, between eighty and ninety 
 yards wide, stealing at first with rapid and snake-like undu- 
 lations over the hard and slippery rock, at length leaping 
 at an angle of 30°, then 45°, for more than 100 yards, and 
 then, with the impetus its rapid descent has given it, bound- 
 ing bodily fifteen or twenty feet clear of the rock, and falling 
 with thundering report into the dark and boiling chasm 
 beneath, seeming, by its velocity, so to entrance the nervous 
 sjiectator that he fancies himself being involuntarily drawn 
 into the stream, and by some invisible spell tempted to fling 
 himself headlong into it and join in its gambols ; but anon he 
 recovers himself -with a nervous start, and draws back a pace 
 or two, gazing in awe and wonder upon the stream as it goes 
 leaping wildly, and with " delirious bound," over huge rocks. 
 It is a scene of wild sublimity. 
 
 On the opposite cliff of this channel, star-like aloes, with 
 scarlet blossoms, cluster against the sides of the deep brown
 
 CHAP. IV.] THE '' FALLS"— FIRST IMfRESSIONS. 117 
 
 rock ; and beyond that we look into a dark and misty cavern, 
 the depths of which we could not see. Three pretty snowy 
 rills, enveloped in sylvan vegetation, fall, ghost-like, through 
 the veil of mist, and disappear down this dark cave, the fit 
 abode of Nox and Erebus. Beyond this we see a projection 
 of bare brown rock, over which no water falls, and then a 
 perspective of white and fleecy waters, falling like snowy 
 avalanches, slipping from an abrupt precipice into clouds of 
 ascending mist. A general view of the " Falls" is thus obscured, 
 and it must be seen or sketched from at least half a dozen 
 points. The body of water which leaps down this narrow 
 gap in the foreground (the channel of the Leaping Water) is 
 probably the largest flow that is anywhere to be found in 
 so narrow a compass. We had no means of ascertaining its 
 depth ; probably it is six feet ; but it begins to be broken up 
 into froth and spray, and shattered into snowy flakes already, 
 before reaching the brink. There is no smooth fall of water 
 anywhere, as is seen in the pictures of Niagara, the water not 
 being deep enough, but it thunders down in white and fleecy 
 masses that are lovely to look upon, and falls into a deep 
 pond of sea-green water driven up against the base of the 
 opposite cliff in large green and crested waves, which re- 
 bound to whence they came, and then return writhing in an 
 agony to escape, finally waltzing and eddying out of the 
 pond by^a narrow outlet, now leaping over submerged rocks, 
 and now dashed aside by masses of debris which have j)ro- 
 bably fallen from the summit of the sombre abutment of 
 Three Kill Island, as far as the first seam, as there is no corre- 
 sponding concavity on the opposite cliff. In the distance, at 
 the farthest visible view of the rent, two, sometimes tliree, 
 perpendicular falls of water are seen through the mist, con- 
 trasting strongly with tlie dark buttress before you, the bare 
 rock, and Garden Island, all very much foreshortened ; but 
 then the revolving clouds of vapour, rolling from beneath, and
 
 118 CHAPMAN'S TBAVELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 curling with centrifugal motion to the height of 900 feet, 
 concecal the farther view from this point. The opposite, or 
 southern cliff, which is the south bank of the river, and faces 
 the "Fallp," seems divided in three or four seams or strati- 
 fications of different ages, though of the same rock, for 
 which, as far as I could see, there are corresponding marks on 
 the northern cliffs. From the sharp angles of this dark and 
 greasy-looking rock, whose front is constantly bathed in spray, 
 the water runs down in small silvery threads ; and it is plainly 
 to be seen how they are first wafted to the eastward, broken 
 into spray, and the ascending volumes carry them up again : 
 but, for all this, larger bodies find their way down, and many 
 silvery rills may be seen silently stealing back to their mother 
 element. On the top of this mural cliff a close, green, com- 
 pact forest extends, very near to the brink, some of the trees 
 looking as round as if clipped with garden shears, whose 
 glistening fronts are also constantly bathed in the spray. 
 
 We stood for some time lost in thought, contemplating the 
 wonderful works of that Providence which could bring into 
 combination, at one view, such a variety of the most stupen- 
 dous and beautiful effects, inspiring at once terror, devotion, 
 and delight, and bowing the feeble and oft unwilling mind 
 to acknowledge and believe in the superior power of Him who 
 rules the heaven and earth, and created all their wonders. 
 We lingered at this spot until the sun was long, past its 
 meridian ; the deep gulf before us rolling up large dense 
 clouds of spray, on which the sun at our back, shining full on 
 it, reflects two, sometimes three, lovely bows, spanning their 
 brilliant arches, first in the depth of the chasm, but at length 
 rising higher and higher, and forming a double archway 
 across the gigantic walls of the fissure. Rainbows so bright, 
 so vivid, are never seen in the skies. The lower one in par- 
 ticular, probably from the contrast with the black-looking 
 rocks below, was too vivid, nay, almost blinding to look upon,
 
 CHAP. IV.] SCENES T OF THE " FALLS." 119 
 
 defying imitation by the most skilful artist, and all the 
 colours at his command, yet imparting its heavenly tints to 
 every object over which it successively passes. The colours 
 in these " rainbows " are reversed, the upper one being blue, 
 yellow, and red, the lower red, yellow, and blue. 
 
 As the sun declined, the rainbows ascended, until they 
 reached the clouds of spray above the horizon. One segment 
 of the bows is cut off where the spray ends, but the other end 
 is still rising higher and increasing in depth, and as you 
 retreat a little, it spans the whole river for fully a mile, im- 
 parting the most lovely colours to the spray-clouds, which 
 steal aloft like tongues of sulphur flame, until lost to view by 
 the downward course of the sun ; then the second and more 
 vivid rainbow takes its place and goes through the same 
 evolutions, enlivening and beautifying the scene in the most 
 remarkable manner. 
 
 It was necessary to proceed farther, to obtain a more ex- 
 tended view ; so making a circuit of about fifty yards, to get 
 round the steep sloping thicket at the west end of the fissure, 
 we peered into it as far as we might, but saw only a profusion 
 of vines, aloes, and evergreens bathed in moisture, and creep- 
 ing and clinging along its steep sides where man may not ven- 
 ture, their leaves sparkling and glistening with the constant 
 shower. Having rounded this point, we approached the brink 
 of the south cliff, and, putting aside the small date-palms, 
 now faced the leaping waters in their headlong course. The 
 sun shining on its upper surface rendered it like quicksilver, 
 painful to look upon. We approached the wet and slippery 
 brink in a perpetual shower of rain, and, holding on to one 
 another, looked down into tlie awful chasm beneath us. One 
 look for me is enough, but my nerves are sorely tried by 
 Baines, who, finding everywhere new beauties for his pencil, 
 must needs drag me along the very edge, he gazing with 
 delight, I with terror, down into the lowest depths of the
 
 1 20 ( '11 A PMA N\S TEA VELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 chasm. We continued along the gi-assy bank, preceded by 
 numerous lovely little rainbows sj^anning round us, a forest to 
 our right, the chasm on our left, until at length, not wishing 
 to see any more at present, but gradually to accustom myself 
 to the stupefying effects of the uproar and tumult at work in 
 this " cauldron," I fairly fled from my companion. 
 
 We now passed on again through the forest, collecting spe- 
 cimens of ferns, fungi, and polypi, which we had never seen 
 before. We see the scenery at a great disadvantage just now, 
 as this is the time of the " sere and yellow leaf." The prin- 
 cipal verdure is furnished by evergreens, and there are enough 
 of them ; but there are at present no flowers, saving the scarlet 
 blossoms of the aloe clustering against the brown wall of the 
 fissure. 
 
 Before leaving this swampy spot, I must not omit to 
 mention the fact that, to our amazement, we found numerous 
 spoors of elephants, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, and hip23opotami, 
 besides other animals, all over the very brink of the preci- 
 pice. It makes one's hair stand on end to see the numerous 
 indications of their midnight rambles at the very verge of 
 eternity. Here they come at the dead dark midnight hour, 
 to drink the spray and wallow in the mire ; and on asking 
 a native how it was tliey were not afraid, he asked me in 
 return, " Didn't they grow up together ?" 
 
 Having trudged along for nearly a quarter of a mile under 
 the drippings of the forest, we again faced the cataracts, 
 and had a fine view' of the first section of downright waterfall, 
 extending with very little interruption over another quarter 
 of a mile in view, beyond which it was again obscured by 
 clouds, and all was mist and uproar, and at our feet fell 
 the towering mass of milky wf.ier into a chasm, behind a pro- 
 jecting rock Avhich seems to be a continuation of the jut- 
 ting abutment before mentioned. This chasm was so deep
 
 CHAiMv.] SCENERY OF THE "FALLS." 121 
 
 that we could not see the rebounding com*se of its waters ; 
 only thick clouds of vapour came flying up fast and fierce 
 from within that " lowest deep," as if impelled by a strong 
 wind, and emitting sounds such as can only be equalled by 
 the united efforts of a thousand busy steam mills. As we 
 stood upon this unsteady-feeling cliff (through which an 
 electric tremor seemed to be constantly passing), numberless 
 jets of mist flew up from its depths like ascending spirits, 
 followed by larger and heavier volumes of smoke, accom- 
 panied by a never-ending din. The scene, with its continual 
 hubbub, must very much assimilate a volcano, and nothing 
 but the shooting forth of fragments of lava seems wanting 
 to make it so. To the eastward, beyond, we could see only 
 thick revolving clouds of spray striving with each other for 
 access to the upper air. We walked carefully down the edge 
 of the forest (the front of which was slightly sprinkled with 
 date palms, somewhat relieving the uniform aspect of the 
 foliage), until the white and fleecy streams of water, running 
 down between dark and rugged rocks, became at length quite 
 hidden from our sight by the density of the mist evolved from 
 below, although here there w^as not more than sixty yards of 
 space between us. We walked to the very brink and peered 
 down into the crack, but saw nothing — fog below, and fog 
 before, around, and above us, and seemingly so thick that one 
 could safely step upon it. For fully the next quarter of 
 a mile the view was obscured by the density of the clouds, 
 so we returned to make a circuit out of the pattering shower, 
 as we were by this time pretty well drenched. 
 
 We retreated from the cliff which " beetles o'er the brink," 
 and passed the forest of large and shady trees, which from the 
 opposite side looked like bushes ; but here they appear in 
 their own majestic grandeur, from eighty to ninety feet high. 
 On them the spray is constantly falling. Here a whole field 
 of them — the earth being washed away from their roots — were
 
 122 CHAPMAN'S TEA VELS. [chap. iv. 
 
 elevated in the most remarkable manner ; their huge trunks 
 supported by their fantastically gnarled and serpentine roots. 
 In one place, a number lay horizontally near the brink, send- 
 ing their roots downwards, and their trunks and branches 
 upwards, like many-legged benches, forming a natural pali- 
 sade. In another place, they were tied together with long 
 vines, with their cable-like tendrils, bound to each other 
 " by the strongest ties ;" and here was a tall and graceful 
 date-palm, whose brilliant green contrasted strongly with the 
 sombre hues of its neighbouring denizens, like a lucky fellow 
 who, having found a burly friend to lean upon, had risen far 
 above his compeers, and could now look down u^Don them. 
 
 We made our escape from this forest of large trees, at the 
 back of which grew a tliicket of graceful date-palms — giving 
 quite an Oriental aspect to the scene — having passed which, 
 we were picking our way very " gingerly " through the mud, 
 in which we often stuck ankle-deep. We were in the act of 
 crossing a muddy rivulet, when, looking up, we beheld a 
 troop of upwards of a hundred buffaloes, the nearest of Avhicli 
 were within twenty yards of us. The males were watching 
 our approach in the most sinister manner, while tlie females 
 were still reclining under the shade of the trees, luxuriating 
 in the most approved style of tropical indolence. In an 
 instant we fired, and again and again, in quick succession, 
 followed the rej)orts of our guns alongside the thundering roar 
 of the cataracts, now pursuing, and then retreating, when 
 chased by a maddened buffalo, whose elevated nostrils were 
 streaming blood. In the course of a few minutes nearly a 
 dozen shots were fired ; and now the buffaloes, never having 
 been so roughly handled before, fled ; but, horror of horrors, 
 can the reader imagine it ? I never expected to look upon such 
 a sight. The leading males shot out of the only cover they 
 had, and the a\ hole herd followed headlong, at frightful speed, 
 to the very brink of the precipice overlooking the " Falls."
 
 CHAP. IT.] BUFFALOES AT THE "FALLS:' 123 
 
 It was a dreadful sight, and, buffaloes as they were, I forgot 
 the fact iu my horror, and drew back in breathless anxiety at 
 their impending fate, feeling for them as if they were human. 
 Here they stood upon the slippery verge, the front rank look- 
 ing downwards into the hideous gulf, the hinder ones butting 
 each other, still pushing on as if about to plunge to the 
 bottom. I never expected to witness such a sight : it was the 
 picture of " The White Chief " on the precipice to perfection. 
 For some moments I forgot to fire, and could only think 
 of exclaiming in ten-or to my companion — " Look ! look !" 
 But the demon of a hunting " furor " again getting the better 
 of us, we drove them from their frightful position ; and find- 
 ing that we had slain three close together, exclaimed, like Sir 
 William Harris, " Hold, enough ! " and stayed our hands from 
 slaughter. The result of our short attack afterwards proved 
 six buffaloes slain and several wounded ; yet not a particle 
 of the flesh was Avasted. It was now late, and we gave up 
 our rambles for the day, much pleased Avith that part of the 
 " Falls " which v,e had seen, and determined to continue our 
 examination at an early opportunity. 
 
 Some of the Batoka, drawn hither by the reports of our 
 guns, came to see, and to report to their chief who was firing. 
 I told them to inform their master (Mashotlaan) that we were 
 here, and I wished to see him at the earliest opportunity. 
 They assured me that Mashotlaan would send to my assist- 
 ance early next morning, and bring us nearer to his village, 
 to the usual camping-place of visitors. 
 
 The next morning, early, messengers were sent from Mashot- 
 laan to say he had sent three canoes to carry the flesh which 
 I had killed, and the packages, to the camping-place at the 
 ferry, and that he would meet us there. Taking all things 
 into consideration, I came to the conclusion it would be much 
 the wisest plan to get rid of my business first, by having an
 
 124 CHAPMAN'S TBAVELS. ' [chap. iv. 
 
 interview with the man, as, in all probability, if we were to 
 photograph and sketch first, it might alarm tliem, and in the 
 present state of affairs they ^vould be most likely to construe 
 our proceedings into the most diabolical witchcraft. We 
 passed through a grove of not very large baobabs and almond 
 trees, which at this time of year are quite bare of foliage, and 
 having reached the ferry, nearly two miles west, I pitched my 
 tent under the shade of a willow and some mokachon trees. 
 Here we made a circular enclosure with palm leaves, which 
 formed a very comfortable bivouac. This was subdivided into 
 three compartments, on the inside, by a foot-board of poles 
 and palm leaves across the middle ; one half filled up with 
 grass made an ample bed, on which we sj^read our blankets. 
 On the farthest quarter from my camera and chemicals, and 
 the nearest to the doorway, a fire was kept up during the 
 night to scare the wild beasts. My followers encamped in 
 four divisions around.
 
 CHAP, v.] VISIT FROM THE LOCAL CHIEF. 125 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 The Local Chief, or Head-man — Second Visit to the Falls — Scenery of the 
 Zambesi — Garden Island— Hippopotami — The Kalai Rapids — IMode of 
 Life at the Falls— The IMasoe Eiver — Umboopo's Village — The IMakololo 
 — Prospects of Trade — Leave the Falls— The Keyzie River — Destruction 
 of Elephants. 
 
 2bTH July, 1862. — It was not until the evening that IMashot- 
 laan — the local chief, or head-man — whom we had been expect- 
 ing all day, came to our camp. He made a somewhat ridiculous 
 figure, dressed in ragged European garments, and w'ielding a 
 knob-kerrie, of rhinoceros liorn, in his hand. I expressed my 
 wish that he would send some men to Sekeleta with a present 
 and a message from me, requesting him to liire ten good boat- 
 men for me, that we were going to build a boat at Sinamani's, 
 and ascertain whether the river was navigable to the east coast, 
 so that the white people might come and trade with him by 
 water, instead of coming through the "tsetse" with their cattle, 
 and that I would leave the men at Tete, under Dr. Living- 
 stone's care, until an opportunity offered for their return. 
 
 Mashotlaan conducted himself with some degree of pro- 
 priety and decorum at first. Instead of begging in his own 
 person, he employed the services of a man named Madzakaza. 
 This Madzakaza, who had been with Dr. Livingstone to the 
 west coast, became a great nuisance to us, and verified in this 
 instance the worthy doctor's observation, that the native 
 character is not improved by contact with white men, Mad- 
 zakaza does not appear to have even learnt good manners 
 from his intercourse with the Portuguese. Madzakaza, and
 
 126 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. v. 
 
 another man, who had also been with Dr. Livingstone, were 
 very much astonislied at finding Baines travelling in my 
 company from the west, they having parted with him on the 
 east coast, from wlience they knew he had taken passage in a 
 steamer for the Cape. Tliey could not understand what 
 brought him here, or where he sprang from, until my com- 
 panion explained to them that he was accompanying me as 
 far as Tete, where he had left some property, and had some 
 business to settle with Dr. Livingstone. 
 
 Mashotlaan, with true native instinct, wished to look at 
 everything, wanted everytln'ng, and at last threw off his 
 dignity altogether, and begged for all he saw. Anticii^ating 
 hospitaljle treatment from tliem, I had given him a present of 
 four pounds of beads, which to a petty chief was handsome, 
 and was determined to give no more. Scarcely had he reached 
 home, when he sent over a man to say he would like himself 
 to have the gun w-hich I intended sending to Sekeletu, and I 
 was to be good enough to send it to him ; but from this 
 moment I made up my mind he should get nothing. Next 
 day he made his appearance at our camping-jDlace, with a 
 small basket of ground-nuts, and had the impudence to send 
 for me to the Falls, two miles distant, whither Baines and I 
 had gone with my photographic apparatus, and had just 
 commenced working. I was glad to have an opportunity of 
 treating him with the same indifference he had shown to 
 me. On the following morning he came again, but I anti- 
 cipated him, having purposely gone out to my allotted work, 
 and wdien another message came I sent word that he might 
 come to me, otherwise he could wait till night. 
 
 I paid my second visit to the Falls. The scene had 
 lost nothing of its beauty since the first impression. There 
 is one thing, however, which I noticed — that as I neared 
 them from the north, the sound issuing from the crack is more
 
 ciiAi'. v.] SECOND VISIT TO THE FALLS. 127 
 
 siibcliied ; the smoke during the heat of the day less ; but 
 although we can sometimes hardly hear the roaring of the 
 water, though within half a mile of it, we can feel very dis- 
 tinctly a quivering sensation in the earth, like the distant 
 rumbling of an earthquake. But the sound of the waters is 
 very different under the various circumstances in which it 
 is heard, whether from a height or from a valley ; wake up 
 at any time during the night, and you may hear it like the 
 roaring of a mighty wind, or the commotion of a wild and 
 stormy sea. I have since heard it at the distance of 15 miles, 
 on an elevated region in the soutli. 
 
 There are a thousand beauties to be seen here which it is 
 impossible to describe. My senses truly become overwhelmed 
 with crowding sensations while gazing on these wondrous 
 works of God, but I cannot describe them. In passing, we 
 again peep down into the depths of the yawning chasm at 
 the west end, belching forth its dense clouds of vapour, and 
 follow with our eyes through the blinding brilliancy of the 
 rainbow tlie boiling, roaring, dashing, splashing, gushing, 
 gleaming, bounding stream, and exclaim, " How beautiful ! " 
 " How terrible !" These rainbows, seen from a distance of 
 about two miles at 4 p.m., their depth being then very much 
 enlarged on the rising spray, impart a most startling effect. 
 On observing it for the first time from this point, it looked so 
 much like sulphurous fire issuing from the bowels of the 
 earth, that I was on the point of exclaiming to my com- 
 panion, " Look at that fire !" The many streams of vapour 
 flying fast upwards through the broad and vivid iris of the 
 rainbows looked so like flames that even I was, for the 
 moment, mistaken. We passed the Three Rill Cliff and came 
 again to the first extensive fall of water. Here the stream, 
 pouring over the edge of the precipice, tumbles like gigantic 
 folds of snowy drapery. I have never seen anything with 
 which I can compare it. Here green, there convolute streams
 
 128 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELFi. [chap. v. 
 
 pour down in heavier volumes, leaving behind in their flight 
 a thousand comet-like particles of spray. Here, in the 
 morning, the placid element in the background shines like 
 polished silver beneath the columns of smoke, and the 
 sudden curl of the water over the edge of the black-looking 
 rock sparkles to the rising sun like a string of diamonds. 
 
 The outlet of the river is perhaps one of the prettiest and 
 most comprehensive views that one can get. It is one of the 
 places where I wished to place my camera, as, although in 
 the foreground, no large body of water falls, and the view 
 being pretty free from spray, the various effects can be seen 
 and studied to much better advantage here than elsewhere; 
 particularly the comet-like appearance of the falling water, 
 shooting from above, while the lighter rills leaping over the 
 top are dashed against a projecting rock, and fall like an 
 irregular chain of meteors — here like damask, there like 
 the finest snowy satin fibres, torn into shreds, or like fan- 
 tastic wreaths of smoke dissolving into thin air ; or into 
 such an aerial gossamer-like aspect as to defy all descrip- 
 tion. Here and there a deeper channel has been worn, down 
 which a larger body of water falls into the basin below, 
 again to rebound, boiling, to the surface, over which roll swift 
 volumes of smoke from the felling mass, puffed out like a 
 great discharge of musketry, and enveloping the scene in 
 an aerial misty shroud, through which the oblique rays of 
 the sun are seen in dim and ever-shifting persi^eetive. But 
 while watching intently to catch every charm of these Falls, 
 it vanishes on the instant. The view is always changing, yet 
 ever recurring. Creep again to the uppermost pinnacle over 
 the outlet — a giddy height — and peer into the crack to the 
 right and the left ; here large, heavy, fleecy masses chase one 
 another down like phantoms chasing phantoms, and then 
 dissolve into thin air before they are overtaken. Wherever
 
 CHAP, v.] THE FALLS— DETAILED FEATURES. 129 
 
 the large broad masses fall, the height does not seem so 
 stupendous as where the streams are smaller. The latter fall 
 here in sparkling torrents ; there in smaller rills, like the 
 tails of snow-white horses : here like silvery threads, forming 
 sometimes a network against the black and sloping rocks ; 
 there, leaping from shelf to shelf, they are dashed into suc- 
 cessive tiers of sparkling jets, delightful to look upon. Here, 
 to the Avestward, stands a tree or two on a particle of rock, 
 which seem as if they might be washed away by any flood ; 
 and there, to the eastward, inclines, amongst others, a rock 
 in the same predicament, leaning over the very brink at an 
 angle of 45°. Beyond the angle of the outlet the Falls still 
 extended for a quarter of a mile east, and two pretty views 
 can be obtained from this pinnacle, both east and Avest ; 
 but tlie view at the extreme east end is at length cut off 
 by the obtrusion of the opposite headland, Avhich is only 
 connected with the mainland by a very narrow isthmus. 
 This headland is overrun by a profusion of vegetation, — a few 
 date-palms, apart from a compact and green forest, look like 
 aloes, so diminutive, viewed from the east end ; the waterfall 
 beyond that becomes more sloping than elsew^here (except the 
 Leaping Water at the Avest end), and the body of AA'ater not 
 so great, leaps slowly over a sloping bank of jagged rocks, 
 forming innumerable jets as it goes bounding from rock to 
 rock to the bottom, and then flows Avestward to the outlet, 
 where it is joined by the greater flow from the west, and by 
 Avhich it is overpowered, and a portion of it driven back, 
 Avaltzing round before it can escape from its confined sphere. 
 Thus, bit by bit, this extensive fall must be seen from different 
 points of view ; and, although the body of water is not very 
 great just now (the river having lately fallen seven feet in 
 depth), still the scanty supply, I think, adds to instead of 
 taking from its beauty. 
 
 When the river is full, these Falls may be more terrible, 
 VOL. II. K
 
 130 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. v. 
 
 but I can hardly tliink more beautiful ; for I fancy when 
 a larger body of water comes down, everything must of 
 necessity become obscured by the increase of spray evolved 
 from so very narrow a chasm. As it is at present, nearly 
 half a mile of the Falls cannot be seen; but there is quite 
 enough to admire, and perhaps even, as far as beauty and 
 scenery are concerned, to eclipse Niagara. Nothing can be 
 more delicately beautiful and pleasing to the eye than the 
 milky streams, broken at the top by dividing rocks, and 
 widening to the base, pouring down in one unbroken flow of 
 snowy whiteness from a height of upwards of 300 feet. Little 
 juvenile cataracts steal quietly aside, as if fearful of the over- 
 powering crush of the great ones, and these skip and sport down 
 the greasy steps from rock to rock, while long, downy, snowy 
 streamers, sometimes thick and voluminous, at other times 
 light and airy, are swayed and wafted to and fro when the 
 wind finfls an entrance at the narrow outlet of the mighty 
 river, which, from the breadth of a mile or more, is here 
 condensed into the narrow space of from thirty to fifty yards, 
 or even less, then flowing out near its eastern extremity 
 between high cliffs, running away to the west, and nearly 
 doubling upon itself, then back again to the east in a very 
 compact zigzag manner for about five miles, finally turning 
 away to the east. The stream pours playfully into this 
 narrow rent, sending up volumes of spray, and the waters 
 from the base flow westward, and, meeting there the greater 
 body of water from the west, which here slackens its speed 
 before the entrance, steals slowly round, at the solemn pace 
 of a funeral procession, before it escapes from its confine- 
 ment between the massive columns of rock. A large semi- 
 circular gap having been broken away in the bank of the 
 river forms a large, shady, almost cavernous, enlargement, in 
 which the deep, dark waters quietly eddy about, then dash 
 up against the rocky shore, which drives them foaming and
 
 CHAP, v.] OUTLET OF THE FALLS. 131 
 
 hun-yiny back wards. From the very farthest extremity of 
 the Fall, at the east end, it comes down a sylvan valley, 
 winding around a richly-clad mass of rock and earth, and 
 facing a basin in which it is plain to be seen. An easy 
 descent may be made to the eastern bank of this basin, but 
 no fartlier. Beyond this, only baboons, of which we often 
 meet a troop of several hundreds, may roam. Two lai-ge 
 
 VOYAGING DOWN THE ZAMBESI. 
 
 rainbows are here visible in the afternoon, like those at the 
 
 west end. 
 
 * * * * * * 
 
 Wishing to see the famous " Garden Island" of Dr. Living- 
 stone, wo got a boat at Mashotlaan's, and sailed down the 
 rapids, under the mentorship of the head boatman, named 
 Zanzela. He is a famous harpooner of hi[)popotami, and 
 knows apparently every rock, crevice, and eddy on the 
 stream above the i'alls, and his business is to take persons 
 there. He took Dr. Livingstone and Sekeletn, and now our- 
 selves, in a very small canoe, kept for the purpose. It is a 
 
 K 2
 
 132 CHAPMAN'S TRAVEL!^. [chap. v. 
 
 long, narrow, and very rickety affair, round as a ship's mast, 
 and narrow at the top, the least motion of the body seeming 
 capable of upsetting her ; and in this vehicle we Avere obliged 
 to jam ourselves, squatting in the bottom. We had not gone 
 very far before the water, stealing into our leaky bark, gave 
 us a very unpleasant cooling ; but we flew rapidly past the 
 numerous and pretty islands, steering a most intricate course 
 tlirough projecting rocks and whirling eddies, our pilot 
 always keeping our canoe in the midst of the strongest 
 stream, for fear of having it dashed to pieces or upset. On 
 the islands, as we passed, I noticed the elephants had every- 
 where been committing their depredations, destroying nume- 
 rous trees. These islands are their favourite resorts, abound- 
 ino- in fruit and other trees, of which they are very fond. 
 They come regularly to pick tbe wild dates and almonds, 
 mokachon, and the many other fruits that abound, and, with 
 the sagacity of a man, coil their powerful trunks round the 
 stem of the palm trees, to shake the clustering fruits to the 
 earth, not being able to break the tree. I have never seen 
 one broken or overthrown, slender as they appear. 
 
 To return to our voyage. It was a very nervous one to me ; 
 sometimes we shot between projecting rocks with such ve- 
 locity as to necessitate the constant watchfulness of Zanzela, 
 who stood on the look-out with his paddle, or a long pole, 
 with a stroke of which (resembling stirring with a spoon) 
 he guided us safely tbrougb a variety of very unpleasant- 
 looking localities. As we approached the edge of the pre- 
 cipice, I confess to a feeling of uneasiness about the s\A'amping 
 of our boat in the rapids, but consoled myself with the 
 reflection that life was just as sweet to our guides as to 
 ourselves, and satisfied myself with their apparent confidence. 
 Away we went, steering in tbe strongest flood, sometime 
 sbooting down the rapids at railway speed, straight for the 
 chasm, not witliout speculating on the probable consequences
 
 cHAi'. v.] VI^IT TO GARDEN ISLAND. 133 
 
 of a capsize at this moment. "Can anything save a man 
 once sucked into the stream?" I do not know; but the 
 boat was made to leap out of it witli delightful ease, into a 
 smooth little creek about eighty yards from the brink of the 
 Falls, and on the east side of Garden Island. I should remark 
 that on sailing down the river, one ignorant of the fact may 
 approach to within a very few yards of the edge of the Falls, 
 without dreaming of being on the verge of such a chasm, 
 owing to the strange and mysterious manner in which the 
 whole stream, of upwards of a mile in breadth, has suddenly 
 disappeared before the eyes, vanishing as if it had been 
 swallowed by the earth. In all falls that I have seen, a 
 perspective view of the water below has always been visible, 
 but there is nothing of the kind here. You see land before 
 you, en your own level, which seems as if springing out of 
 the stream on which you are sailing, and proceed in utter 
 unconsciousness of the danger ahead, discovering at length 
 that it is on the opposite side of the rent. But for this cir- 
 cumstance the Victoria Falls, presenting one unobstructed 
 view, would not alone have been the most magnificent, but 
 the most stupendous, sight of the kind on the face of the 
 globe. 
 
 Having landed, a fevs' steps more brought us to Dr. Living- 
 stone's garden (a small circular enclosure of strong stakes in 
 the ground), but the hippopotami had lately broken into it, 
 and devoured all the grass ; the last flood had been over it, 
 and, according to the boatmen, destroyed everything. The 
 next thing we saw were the initials, "D. L., 1855," and 
 again, " C. L., \ , 1800," carved on a tree ; and then we 
 emerged on to the rock overlooking the chasm, the Zambesi 
 pouring down on either side of us, and drenching us with 
 descending clouds of spray. 
 
 From the edge of Garden Island the Zambesi Falls may 
 be seen to greater advantage than one would imagine ; for
 
 i;!4 
 
 CHA I'M A N\S TEA VKLS. 
 
 [CHAI'. 
 
 althougli only one view is visible, it is a very grand and 
 imposing one, almost more so than any other. A large 
 mass of rock, having at some time or another fallen, has 
 broken away an angle on the east side of the island, which 
 has so i'ar wideneil the crack that one gets a very clear and 
 tolerably comprehensive sight of one of the largest bodies of 
 water, falling to the very bottom, although the distance is 
 rather foreshortened; also a very good perspective of the 
 
 VIEW LOOKING EAST FROM THE GARDEN ISLAND, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FALLS. 
 
 prolongation of the Fall, beyond the angle of the outlet. 
 The large masses of fleecy waters rolling continually down 
 the perpendicular rock, the soft grey ringlets curling aloft, 
 and the sylvan vegetation around, illuminated by the pris- 
 matic colours of two nearly circular rainbows, contrast 
 wonderfully with the frowning wall opposite, which here 
 looks more terrible than elsewhere, in spite of the misty 
 veil which somewhat softens its sternness towards the out- 
 lets. It is a giddy height from Avhich to look down to the 
 bottom, where the green and foaminii' stream, writhing and
 
 CHAP, v.] OAllDKN ISLAND. 135 
 
 struggling to escape, rushes past with great velocity, " charm- 
 ing the eye with dread" the cresterl waves vying with each 
 other in the race. But they have never been strong enough 
 to wash away the debris at the bottom, which lies seemingly 
 where it fell, just below the triangular break in the top. To 
 the westward of Garden Island, the crack being very much 
 narrower, the spray emitted is so great as perfectly to 
 obscure the view ; anl the rock is so slippery, owing to 
 the fungi, and a sherry-coloured polype growing on it, that 
 it requires the greatest care to approach the brink. While 
 busy taking some angles with the compass, and spanning a 
 line for a base, my feet slipped, and I came down flat on 
 the rock ; I was very thankful that I was several feet from 
 the edge at the time. 
 
 At the Falls, water boils at 207^%°; thermometer, 67°; 
 approximate height, 2460 feet. 
 
 I have now been labouring hard here for a fortnight 
 without getting a decent picture, owing to various diffi- 
 culties, of a most provoking nature, with my chemical 
 apparatus. Baines, in the meanwhile, is industriously en- 
 gaged in making sketches from various points of view. In 
 this state of affairs I was offered a boat by the chief, if I 
 wished to go sea-cow hunting ; so, leaving Baines here, I 
 went up the river with some natives as far as Kalai. Pass- 
 ing up in the middle of the stream, between two islands two 
 or three miles in length, we observed a troop of hippopotami 
 rising at intervals to breathe. As we approached them they 
 gave their loud startling snort. We at first approached them, 
 thinking to get a shot ; but as they proved very wary, and I 
 was in expectation of seeing some asleep out of the water, 
 I did not fire. As we advanced, before us were little islands 
 densely covered with vegetation. The banks were every- 
 where defended by the roots of trees, spread like a boarding-
 
 136 CIIAI'MAN'S TllAVELS. [cHAl^ v. 
 
 net around, so that when behemoth has made a path there 
 is no access but over the ladder of roots, seven or eight feet 
 high, from beneath \\hieh the sand has been washed away. 
 The graceful, drooping, bright green date-palms (Phoenix 
 violenata) mingles its foliage with the willow, which bends 
 over the stream, " stooping as if to drink ;" the dark form 
 of the motseara is conspicuous by its cypress-like aspect ; the 
 doum-palm (Crucifera, or HypJisene ihehaiea), with its black 
 trunk, radiating crown, and recurved leaves high up in the 
 sky; the mokuchon, motsebe, moporotla, and many other 
 magnificent trees, not forgetting the burly baobabs towering 
 above all. These form a magnificent landscape, the centre 
 of which is a foreground of smooth water, a mile broad, w ith 
 one or two small clusters of black rock, on which the cor- 
 morant stands, "its black and dripping wing half opened 
 to the wind." A fallen tree, near the right bank in the 
 foreground, peeps again from either side of the pretty 
 islands, and in the extreme distance the hills become lower, 
 and of a bluish-^^urple tint. 
 
 Let the reader figure to himself a canoe, holding three 
 persons, in the foreground, gliding with stealthy strokes to 
 a quiet nook in which five or six small black spots are seen 
 floating on the surface. These are hippopotami. On a nearer 
 approach down goes every one with a splash, and now, with 
 desperate stroke, our canoe is urged across the stream for 
 two or three minutes. We halt opposite the spot where 
 they disappeared. Some time elapses, and I fear they have 
 gone off; but a startling snort close by makes me look 
 round, and here, staring me in the face, wdth the most in- 
 quisitive wicked expression, a hippopotamus shakes his red 
 ears, puffs the water through his red nostrils, and, with a 
 loud, gruff, inquiring grunt, which seems to say, " What do 
 you want here?" disappears with a splash before my gun 
 can be brought to bear upon him. In this manner, one
 
 CHAP, v.] A HIPFOFOTAMUS-HUNT. 137 
 
 after the other, they pop up and down. My aim is changed 
 from one to another ; but before I can pull the trigger they 
 have dropped under the surface, and my arm at length can 
 hold the rifle no longer in the air. But as I must rest, the 
 hippopotami also must breathe ; up goes the gun to the 
 shoulder again, while up and down pops one head and then 
 another. At length a loud and re-echoing report bursts 
 over the water ; this time behemoth is struck, and the purple 
 tide rolls down his massive neck as he rises from the flood, 
 plunging and ploughing the waves with distended jaws in a 
 most furious manner. Woe to any beast that now comes 
 in his path ! The smell of blood has created a sensation 
 amongst the amphibious group ; they disappear again, and 
 all is silence and expectation for a quarter of an hour. Then 
 a distant, almost inaudible, snort is heard, then another, and, 
 looking a mile or two off, we detect them, and again give 
 chase. Three or four shots fired under the same circum- 
 stances convinced me at length that one of these animals at 
 least must have been killed. I heard the bullet strike him 
 on the temple, and, opening wide his mouth, a few ripples 
 alone remained to indicate where he had sank beneath the 
 stream. 
 
 Next day I returned in the same boat, and, coming near 
 the spot where I had shot the hippopotamus, I found it 
 had drifted up against a submerged shelf of rocks ; where, 
 leaving people from the banks to look after the flesh, I pro- 
 ceeded farther up the river in search of new sport. 
 
 We entered the rapids at Kalai, in which, to judge from 
 their appearance, 1 had no idea a canoe could live. Some- 
 times the men dragged her through between sharp, project- 
 ing rocks ; but the first rapids passed, we rounded a small 
 island, gliding close under its side. I was not thinking of 
 sea-cows then, but suddenly there was the sound of sticks and 
 branches crushed behind the reeds on the bank, and then a
 
 138 CIIAFMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. v. 
 
 rush towards the water. The boatmen were pulling hard to 
 get past the danger, and in another moment I thought the 
 huge monster would have leaped into the boat. Indeed its 
 plunge, within two feet of the bows, fairly lifted us three feet 
 into the air, and nearly filled the boat with water. The men 
 now tried to stop the boat, but she had such way on her as 
 brought us right over the animal, and we expected every 
 minute to be dashed to pieces, but the beast had been carried 
 down by the swift current, and protruded his head some 
 distance off, and we passed on. Within 100 yards was 
 another islet, and the boatmen, observing a number of young 
 snake-birds in their nest, were in eager consultation how to 
 take them. Pulling to the bank, they Avere in the act of 
 climbing the matted creepers overlacing it, when a grunt was 
 heard close before us, and we found that we had entered 
 a creek which was the path of the hippopotami, and here 
 they stood before us, visible through the bushes, in the act 
 of rushing towards us. I could not see plainly enough to 
 shoot, but in another moment they changed their course, 
 retreating to the side of the island, and plunged into the 
 stream by another path. While my men were watching the 
 others, one huge fellow audaciously popped his head up 
 behind. In an instant my bullet struck him in the temple, 
 and he rolled over and over, carried along by the rapid 
 stream. His dying struggles were tremendous ; but still he 
 gained the creek in which we were, and we had to get out of 
 the way, while the huge monster lay on his side in a shallow, 
 breathing his last. To make doubly sure, I gave him anotlier 
 shot. I could not prevail on the rascally boatmen to drag 
 the carcase to the south shore of the river, though we were 
 within a few yards of it ; and not until I threatened to pitch 
 them out of the boat did they make any attempt at all 
 — but one which they intended should fail. I was in their 
 power, and they were not going to place the meat out
 
 CHAP, v.] HIPPOPOTAMI. 139 
 
 of tlieir own reach. I had to give up the point, and, lieartily 
 disgusted, I determined to shoot no more in the river, but to 
 return to camp. 
 
 Of the first sea-cow I liad given IMashotlaan two-thirds, 
 and my friend Umboopo a portion, keeping the smallest for 
 ourselves. T now gave orders that the flesh of this one 
 should be brought to camp, as it was wanted for my people. 
 My boatmen were well off, too; and though, according to their 
 own account, they never begged of white men, because they 
 kEew we did not like it, and never forgot the poor blacks, 
 they took good care to help themselves. Instead of bringing 
 the flesh to our camp, I heard in the afternoon that they 
 are taking it to the other side of the river, and Madzakaza, 
 Baines's old acquaintance, Avas crossing in a new canoe with 
 some of the stolen meat as his share, when a sea-cow, doubt- 
 less smelling the flesh, in a fit of rage tossed the boat over, 
 the men getting out of his way by diving to the bottom. 
 The brute then seized the boat in his mouth and bit it 
 in two. Fortunately I had just sent one of my people 
 across in another boat to get some milk. This had just 
 reached the shore when the accident happened, and, being 
 ready to put back at the moment's notice, it picked up the 
 exhausted swimmers. Madzakaza did not make his appear- 
 ance afterwards. The meat never came at all, nor any 
 portion of it ; nor did Mashotlaan show himself for some days, 
 and then first told me the crocodiles had eaten the sea-cow, 
 and then that it was so poor he would not bring it to me, but 
 gave it to his dogs. I was astonished at his impudence, but, 
 reflecting that Sekeletu's assistance was of more importance 
 than the meat, I suffered the affair to pass without comment. 
 Bechuanas have the coolest way of robbing you under the 
 guise of friendly ways: to appropriate yom- property is to 
 give a proof of the confidence they place in your willingness 
 to serve them, which they conveniently assume.
 
 140 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. v. 
 
 2w(^ August. — Baines went over the river again to sketch, 
 intending to be back at night, and the guide. Wildebeest, 
 crossed over also. Neither of them returned for several 
 days, nor did we get any tidings of them. This caused some 
 alarm in the camp, our Bechuanas declaring that we sliould 
 never see either of them again, and that we had best pack 
 up our things and get away. The Makalakas were of 
 the same opinion, declaring that the Makololo were great 
 rogues. " Whenever," it was said, " they get anybody over 
 the river, they keep them there as long as they like, even 
 for a whole year; they knew them of old." Indeed, my 
 people showed so much uneasiness that I feared they would 
 decamp during the night, and 1 had to keep watch over 
 them. 
 
 At length, on the third day, towards sunset, a canoe crossed 
 from Baines, setting all of us at rest. But for this, and his 
 own arrival at dark, I fear every one of my followers would 
 have decamped. They are perfectly aware of the practices 
 resorted to by these Makololos, who would have liked nothing- 
 better than to create a panic amongst my people, inducing 
 them to leave me at their mercy, in a most helpless con- 
 dition. 
 
 On the 6th I had some native meal cooked for breakfast, 
 after eating a few mouthsful of which I became very ill. I 
 had recourse to some simple remedy, and strolled out with 
 my gun, as our people were getting very hungry, and feeding 
 them on milk and corn, at the high rate it cost in barter, 
 being a serious affair. I shot a koodoo and a pallah, but was 
 hardly able to crawl back, and I lay all night and the next 
 day in torture, suffering the most excruciating pains. This 
 is the second time I have been attacked here with this 
 mysterious complaint, which may be attributed to bad food ; 
 perhaj^s to its not being suflBciently cooked ; but knowing the 
 villany of the jjeople hereabout, I had also strong suspicions
 
 CHAP, v.] A niSTXTERESTED WISH. 141 
 
 of poison, to the use of which, when it serves their purpose, 
 the natives appear to be singularly addicted. 
 
 We had shortly afterwards another visit from Mashotlaan. 
 He told me that if I w'ished to buy a little boy or girl, he 
 could accommodate me, but that the ivory trade was quite 
 monopolised by Sekeletu, who bought guns with it. " But 
 we," said he, "who have no ivory, can only sell our slaves 
 if we want to buy cloth from the Mambari." * 
 
 Speaking of tlie reptiles of this country, we learnt from 
 Mashotlaan that, the day before, one of his maid-servants, a 
 girl of seventeen, whom I had seen at his house a few days 
 ago, was taken by a crocodile, while dipping water near his 
 village. This occurrence he did not deem of sufficient 
 importance to have communicated to me, had not the casual 
 conversation on crocodiles reminded him of it. " Yes," said 
 he, "she is gone, and taken all my fine beads with her. 
 Oh ! I wish I had the beads back again !" 
 
 I noticed, while walking the other day, that one of my men 
 picked up quantities of almonds, far away from any signs of 
 the tree. On inquiry I found they are dropped in the excre- 
 ments of elephants in an undigested state, and the natives 
 tell me that by following, at this season, on an elephant's spoor, 
 they can always obtain a sufficient quantity for a meal in a 
 short time. I noticed that, wherever the elephant halted, 
 they found from a dozen to twenty or thirty. 
 
 Wi August. — Sebezu, a Botlapean from Kuruman, arrived ; 
 he brings a message from the Eev. Mr. Price, to the effect that 
 lie hears his things are all at Linyanti, and they are to be 
 kept there until he comes ; he and Mr. John Moffat being 
 desirous of establishing a mission somewhere at the Falls. 
 By this messenger, my kind and venerable friend, the Eev. 
 
 * Slave-traders from the l^ortnguese settlements. See Dr. Livingstone's 
 " Missionary Travels." — Ed.
 
 142 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. v. 
 
 Mr. Moffat, of Kurumaii, sent me a note informing me of 
 the death of the Prince Consort ; also of the fate of Bishop 
 McKenzie, and the Kev. Mr. Barrup, on the Shire river. 
 The excellent missionary's note, though, with a single excep- 
 tion, it announces nothing but calamities, is very welcome, 
 being the only letter or news we have received for eight 
 months. I do not know how this news will operate on 
 Sechelli's demand upon Sekeletu for the deceased mission- 
 aries' effects. Sebezu says that Sechelli has not been em- 
 ployed to interfere in the business ; but perliaps this chief, 
 as having first introduced Dr. Livingstone at Linyanti, con- 
 siders himself bound to interest himself in missionary affairs 
 there. He may, however, being a great politician, be merely 
 actuated by the ambition of giving himself importance — in 
 the opinion of the tribes. Sebezu has brought, two horses 
 and a saddle .for Sekeletu, which he says were sent by Dr. 
 Livingstone. Some traders have accompanied him from 
 Kuruman, but no one brings any letter from Cape Town. 
 
 ^th August. — Leaving Baines at our bivouac, I went in 
 search of game. It was excessively hot all the day. I was 
 three times nearly overrun by black rhinoceroses, of which 
 I saw six, and only wounded two. Following the spoor of 
 one, I fell in with four buffalo bulls ; killed one and wounded 
 a second, which, owing to tlie lateness of the hour, we could 
 not overtake. I suffered very much from the soles of my 
 shoes being worn through with the sharp rocks, my feet be- 
 coming so sore that I could hardly walk. In the hurry at 
 leaving our camp at the river, I had forgotten everything 
 contributing to comfort, such as plate, spoon, knife and fork, 
 or drinking vessel. How, under such circumstances, do we 
 fare in the bush or in the veldt ? On this occasion our 
 followers scooped out a little hollow in the ground, wiiicli 
 they enclosed with twigs, and lined with grass to keep the 
 wind out; a quantity of clean dry grass was also spread
 
 CHAP, v.] LIFE IN THE VELDT. 143 
 
 under my blankets. I drank out of a calabash, and my 
 Bushmen, having measured the size of my mouth, cut a piece 
 of hollow bark to suit it ; this was my spoon. An assegai 
 answered the purpose of a knife, a pronged stick did duty for 
 a fork, and I sat at the foot of my bed, with the firelight for 
 a lamp, enjoying my dinner after the toil of the day. My 
 men stayed up late, feasting, smoking, and cutting up the 
 meat into strips, and then lay down like myself to take 
 their rest. 
 
 ■ I noticed here a bright scarlet glowworm, emitting a very 
 brilliant light — so bright as, placed within two inches of the 
 amber mouth-piece of my pipe, to render it quite transparent 
 at night. 
 
 The Masue river comes from the south-west as far as I have 
 followed itj about 15 miles. One stream, which flows into 
 it from the west, takes its rise about five miles from the 
 spot at which we crossed ; another joins it from the south, a 
 little liigher up. This latter, called Keyzie, seems to make 
 a turn from the direction of the wagons. On the whole this 
 is a good country for farms, from Daka eastward, and to 
 the south of the Zambesi. It is full of beautiful fountains, 
 and much land fit for tillage. But for the " fly," I have no 
 doubt but that it would, at some distant period, be occupied 
 by the Boers, as it ought, one would think, to be pretty 
 healthy from this neighbourhood to Sinamani's. 
 
 With respect to the " fly," I imagine that when guns are 
 introduced, and the buffaloes driven out, the "fly" will follow, 
 as tlie insect seems to be particularly a parasite of the 
 buffalo. I do not think that they deposit their larvae on any 
 other animals. The Makalakas, living in the " fly " country, 
 say they deposit their larvfe in the dung of the buffalo. I 
 have an idea that both that animal, and the eland, might 
 be made subservient to the use of man ; and if the African 
 elephants were ever to be tamed, there would then be no lack
 
 144 rUAl'MAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. v. 
 
 of domestic animals for all purposes. Sheep and goats thrive 
 in the " fly," so do asses. Quaggas might also perhaps be 
 made useful. There must be means of making all these 
 animals serviceable ; but the fact is, it is not worth anyone's 
 while to waste time and expense on experiments of that Idnd, 
 when cattle and horses are so abundant and cheap in South 
 Africa. If ever white men should occupy these parts, they 
 will be obliged to exercise patience and ingenuity, either 
 by dispersing the " fly," finding an antidote for its bite, or 
 training a new breed of animals indigenous to the country. 
 
 Next afternoon I started for our camp at the Zambesi. 
 The rhinoceros had been cut up, but the flesh was so putrid 
 that it was not eatable. A quick march from 2 o'clock till 
 sunset brought us to the camp. Our road lay over broken 
 and stony ground, I saw some wild pigs, pallahs, and water- 
 bucks. Wild pigs, or boars, are plentiful in this country. 
 The soles of my feet are very sore, as I must have walked 
 above 40 miles over sharp stones since yesterday morn- 
 ing. Next day Baines and I took a walk down to the 
 Masue, to see whether it falls into the Zambesi, but we were 
 prevented, by various obstacles, from reaching the supposed 
 point of junction. 
 
 12th August. — Early in the morning we were visited by 
 Mashotlaan and Umboopo, who came together. We set our 
 breakfast before them, which they soon demolished, and then 
 we went across the river to Umboopo's village, as I wished 
 to secure a new antelope, which I have long been trying to 
 get on the Teouge. It is very like the lei'he in shape of 
 body and horns, but the colour seems not so tawny, but 
 darker or redder. Baines and I each shot a pallah ; and 
 although I succeeded in knocking over a beautiful male 
 poku, it was not many minutes in getting up again. W^e 
 had gone to Umboopo's village, much preferring his hospitality 
 to Mashotlaan's. I had a small present for him, which I
 
 CHAP, v.] UMB OOP 0\S VILLAGE. 145 
 
 wished to give him privately, so as not to excite the envy of 
 Mashotlaan. I flattered myself in the morning my little 
 manoeuvre for the purpose had succeeded, but I was no 
 match for his wily brother, Mashotlaan, who detected me in 
 the act of having the beads presented. Umboopo did not 
 beg for anything, and seemed very much concerned when 
 his wives showed the least disposition to do so. He desired 
 me to stay for the night, and sent over for my blankets, 
 a distance of three miles, Baines having ferried home, as 
 it was necessary that some one should stay at the camp, 
 lest our suspicious followers should take alarm and run 
 away. 
 
 Umboopo's village is situated on a beautiful spot, amidst a 
 perfect orchard of magnificent wild fruit trees, patriarchal 
 mokuchons, motsentselas, and less magnificent motsebes, 
 umbala (a kind of peach or nectarine), wild almonds, and 
 several others; also a smaller dull-green fruit tree, called in 
 Natal an orange, and the seeds of which contain strychnine. 
 This fruit is of the size of a large orange, with a hard rind. 
 It is of a yellow colour when ripe, and has a delicious odour. 
 The seeds contain a good deal of strychnine, but they are 
 not eaten by man. Elephants, however, eat seeds and all 
 in great quantities, but pass the seeds in an undigested state. 
 Hei-e, with his corn-fields around him, and his orchard at the 
 back of his village, overlooking the Zambesi, lives Umboopo. 
 He is not a chief, though looking much more like one than 
 Mashotlaan, but merely a private individual. He keeps a 
 few cattle, sheep, and goats here, which are kraaled in, in the 
 middle of the village, in a large circular enclosure, made with 
 stakes planted closely round. About this enclosure, at the 
 distance of fifty or sixty yards, is the khotla, a semicircular 
 court, made of the same material, and then several scaffolds, 
 or stages, on which meat and thatch and many other domes- 
 tic articles and implements are strewn, and near these, in a 
 
 VOL. II. L
 
 146 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. v. 
 
 semicircle, joined together by high, neat, and compact fences, 
 made of reeds, are Umboopo's own houses, or rather his own 
 and those of his four wives. Each of these dwellings comprise 
 a circular enclosure, containing from four to six houses. The 
 walls are made of straight poles, planted perpendicularly, and 
 plastered over with clay. The roof is of conical shape, also 
 clayed and plastered inside, and thatched over. The largest 
 and finest of these huts is the dwelling-house of the mistress, 
 with a cool verandah, surrounded by a wall two feet high of 
 clay, very smoothly plastered. The whole floor of the enclo- 
 sure is plastered every morning, and smoothed with a round 
 stone. There are generally two, three, or four rooms in each 
 house, forming a series of circular w^alls, one enclosing the 
 other, the inner one of all being generally used as a store- 
 room for beer-pots, jars, tools, and other implements and 
 utensils. They sleep in the one next the verandah in winter, 
 but in the summer retreat into the inner one from the 
 mosquitoes. The entrance is by a small round passage, 
 which is closed at night by a door made of reeds sewn 
 together. The inside walls of the houses are decorated with 
 spears, shields, beads, and the ornaments of the ladies ; and 
 the circular walls have a hollow shelf all I'oimd, on which 
 innumerable things are kept. They have no fire-place in the 
 hnts, but when occasion requires they bring a little fire, or 
 charcoal, in a broken pot. They have clean mats, on w^hich 
 they sleep at night, or recline during the day. Of the other 
 huts which form the enclosure, two or three belong to their 
 maid-servants, of which they generally have a number about 
 them, and are not on such a grand scale as that of the mistress, 
 the diameter being half, or about ten feet. Another large and 
 important hut is the granary, neat and cleanly made, like a 
 dwelling-house, containing large baskets full of corn, millet, 
 earth-nuts, beans, &c. These baskets, which are neatly 
 plastered, look like large bottles, and contain sometimes
 
 CHAP, v.] MAKOLOLO INDUSTRY. 147 
 
 several hunrlredweight of grain each. Here are to be found 
 beer-pots, hoes, pegs for stretching out hides with, and all sorts 
 of rude tools and instruments. In the centre of the village, 
 near the khotla, there is also a large circular shed, in which 
 the young male slaves sleep when it rains. Somebody is 
 always supposed to keep watch at the khotla during the 
 night, and a fire is always to be found burning there night 
 and day. 
 
 Another house is used as a pen for kids or lambs, and 
 another is a fowl-house. They have a breed of very small 
 fowls, like bantams : many of these latter, I know for certain, 
 lay two eggs per day. But Umboopo has a very large fowl, 
 which he got from Linyanti, and which belonged to and was 
 introduced by the missionaries. The w^omen, or slaves, are 
 at this time of year gathering large bundles of dry grass, 
 with which to re-thatch their dwellings before the setting in of 
 the rains. Everything appertaining to building, agriculture, 
 and all the more laborious works, are conducted by the 
 women. The men look after the skins and dress them, or 
 rather they see the slaves do it, for here, in this country, they 
 have plenty of slave-labour. The hides of cattle they stretch 
 to the utmost extent, and peg it out on the ground, with a 
 few hundred pegs, kept for such purposes. When dry, it is 
 damped with warm water, scraped by half a dozen men. 
 with the same number of sharp little adzes, to less than half 
 its usual thickness. It is then damped again, and scraf)ed 
 dexterously all over with several bundles of large iron pins, 
 until almost all but the cuticle has been cut or rasped. 
 It is then dexterously rubbed with the hands until it is as 
 soft as cloth. 
 
 A good many cattle are constantly dying here of the 
 murrain, which has been prevalent in tliis country, they say, 
 for many years. They call it enieriman. On the whole the 
 Makololo may be said to enjoy a good deal of comfort. The 
 
 L 2
 
 148 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. v. 
 
 females here do not work so hard as Bechuana women in other 
 parts do, owing to the number of slaves they possess. They 
 recline all day, at this time of year, on mats within their en- 
 closures, and pass their time in indolence, only rousing them- 
 selves occasionally to drink beer. Resting one elbow on the 
 ground, the face is supported by the hand ; in this attitude 
 conversation is conducted. Their goats and sheep and dogs 
 have more comforts than with any other tribe that I have seen. 
 They still deal in slaves ; only the chief, Sekeletu, sells the 
 ivory, but Mashotlaan told me that if they (the people) wished 
 to buy anytliing, a rug, or a piece of cloth, &c., they could sell 
 their little boys or girls, but not the ivory, as all that belonged 
 to the chief. Mashotlaan tells me that two of his children 
 died of leprosy. It seems to be very common here. 
 
 The real Makololo have a manner of tattooing themselves 
 with needles, like sailors ; but they all seem to have the same 
 patterns drawn on the face. A straight blue line down the 
 forehead, a semicircular mark diverging from it over the 
 eyes, and another under them, and the face generally divided 
 into sections. The Makalakas, their slaves, tattoo by punctur- 
 ing cicatrices with a knife through the skin, marking out 
 figures on the back, breast, and belly, like the open-worked 
 collars which ladies wear. 
 
 Before parting with the Makololo, a few remarks on the 
 trade in this part of the country may not be out of place. It 
 might be supposed that a large and powerful tribe, living in 
 so remote a region as they do, would seek by all possible 
 means to secure the monopoly of the trade in fire-arms and 
 ammunition. That they have abundance of ivory for the 
 purpose there can be no doubt ; but since the accession of 
 Sekeletu, who has conceived such an exaggerated idea of the 
 value of ivory, no business of importance has been transacted, 
 and, since 1853, trader after trader seems to have come and 
 gone away in the greatest disgust. With the Mambari, or
 
 CHAP, v.] FROSFECTS OF TRADE. 149 
 
 Arab, traders they get on better, buying a great many cheap 
 American and other muskets, which seem to be made with a 
 special view to their bursting. These they purchase for less 
 than the price of an English musket ; but the Mambari care 
 not for profit on their trashy guns, which are merely intended 
 as a cover for the more lucrative trade in slaves — a few cotton 
 liandkerchiefs being the price of a boy or girl. I cannot see 
 how the opening of roads east and west will do these people 
 any good while they continue to maintain their arrogant and 
 unconciliating conduct to strangers. It behoves them, living 
 so remotely as they do, to offer the inducement of an advance 
 on the prices paid by nearer tribes for fire-arms, &c. Instead 
 of this, they presume on their independent position, and 
 greater power to coerce the unprotected traders into parting 
 with their goods, even at a loss. They are very fond of 
 quoting, as a criterion, the prices of the things at Kuruman, 
 expecting apparently to get them on the same terms at a 
 farther distance of so many hundred miles in the interior. 
 
 There is, doubtless, some opening for an abundant and pro- 
 fitable trade with the east coast, up the Kafue and intervening 
 country, but, under present circumstances, it seems tq me a 
 mistake to suj)pose that Sekeletu's tribe will derive any benefit 
 from the trade from either the east or w^est coast. Traders 
 from the south have abandoned the market. The Makololo 
 are living at the present time in terror of Moselikatze, in the 
 most unhealthy swamps in Africa, and dare not move east- 
 ward for fear of their lives ; to the south of the river they 
 are never seen. The " fly " surrounds them, so that their 
 position is a completely isolated one. 
 
 Baines and I each shot a pallah, and then returned to sleep 
 at Umboopo's house. His four wives, with a number of slaves, 
 were all day busy stringing the newly-acquired beads, of 
 which they seemed very proud. A pot of beer was placed
 
 150 CIIAPMAN'ti ITiA VELti. [chap, v 
 
 before us, but of tliis I dare not partake. I have not yet been 
 able to acquire the taste. Umboopo's women are very in- 
 quisitive about my wives and children. They cannot under- 
 stand that it is reasonable people should only have one wife, 
 and asked me whether the ladies in our country built their 
 husbands much finer houses than these, and whether they 
 had large fields of corn to cultivate; they were evidently 
 unable to comprehend the conditions of social life which were 
 implied in our answers to these questions. 
 
 A pot of sour milk was placed before me, and one of the 
 old man's wives proceeded to make porridge of very fine 
 flour. The milk was very rich and good, and the cream was, 
 of course, a great improvement to the porridge. We had never 
 been able to cook the flour we got here to our own liking. 
 I took notice of the manner in which they did it, in order to 
 introduce it into my^camp. j^A pot of water is made to boil over 
 a brisk fire : a large handful of flour is then pom-ed in and 
 stirred with a pronged stick. Afterwards, a little more is added, 
 and the stirring renewed, and so on, until it is nearly of the 
 desired consistency, and then it is kept cooking until it smells 
 of burning. Coarser meal Avould take a much longer time to 
 cook, as their corn, a flat kind of Holeus sorghum peculiar 
 to the river countries, is much harder than our wheat or the 
 other Kaffir corn. 
 
 At night Umboopo, his wives, the strangers, and his slaves, 
 all met in the khotla. Pots of beer and strips of flesh wei'e 
 discussed round the fire. Inquiries were made of me, jokes 
 cracked, and I had an opportunity of hearing the genuine 
 opinion of the Makololo respecting white men. They seemed 
 to like us very much, regretting some defects, but, on the 
 whole, Umboopo came to the conclusion, which he communi- 
 cated in a whisper to his wives, that we are Mutu fela, or 
 human beings, having small hands and feet, very little mouths 
 and noses, but the want of colour was a defect wliich spoiled
 
 CHAP, v.] NATIVE CUBIOSITY. 151 
 
 US altogether. I should have mentioned before that during 
 the day I was importuned by the women to take off ray shoes 
 and socks, to convince them that I had toes ; nothing would 
 satisfy these inquisitive ladies but ocular demonstration. "If 
 they have toes," said they, " where do they keep them ? for 
 they are not in those shoes." On condition that nothing 
 further should be exacted of me, I complied with their re- 
 quest. They wished also to feel my hair, to satisfy themselves 
 that it was not a wig made out of the tail of a gnu. 
 
 I slept in Umboopo's own hut, he taking one side of the 
 largest apartment, I the other. New and clean mats were 
 spread. The hut was very clean and pleasant. Umboopo and 
 I did not go to sleep until very late, as we were talking over 
 the history of the tribe, and brought it down to the time of 
 the missionary disaster at Linyanti. I spoke first on this sub- 
 ject, and Umboopo told me that the seizure of the missionary 
 property was due to a Batlapian teacher who accompanied 
 the party, and who, on the death of Mr. Helmore, assured the 
 chief that it was customary for the chief of the country to 
 become the heir of the property of tlie deceased, as their 
 friends and relations would have nothing to do with it. This 
 is a very poor subterfuge to shelter Sekeletu's rapacity. 
 It would have been as well had he incjuired from Mr. Price 
 his opinion on the subject. Others say the things were 
 bequeathed him by the missionaries ; but this is simply 
 absurd. 
 
 15^^. August. — A messenger came from Linyanti, having 
 been sent by Sekeletu to learn what goods I have for trading. 
 Bat I have come to the determination not to enter into any 
 further traffic with these people, on terms so disadvantageous 
 as those which alone they offer. However, the chief has paid 
 no regard to my request for boatmen, and as all my efforts 
 at photographing the Falls have proved complete failures 
 (from some cause inexplicable to myself), I have resolved to
 
 152 
 
 CHA FMAN \S THA VJELS. 
 
 [cilAl-. V. 
 
 turn my back on this locality. Baines meanwhile has made 
 numerous sketches of the Falls from various points of view. 
 
 We accordingly set out for our wagon, and, sleeping at the 
 Masue river, reached it next day, after a march of about 18 
 miles. On the way we fell in with the wagon of IMr. Eeader, 
 from whom we heard the first news we had got from the 
 civih'zed world for nearly twelve months. The loan of a few 
 
 MIl>DI.r; OF THE FALLS. 
 
 newspapers and books was a treat of which only those circum- 
 stanced as ourselves can appreciate the value. 
 
 19^/i August. — I went in search of a rhinoceros, the hide of 
 which was necessary to repair an injury to the tongue of our 
 wagon. About eiglit miles to the westward I fell in with a 
 beautiful valley, bounded on either side by abrupt hills, 200 
 or 300 feet in height, and looking like the former bed of a 
 wide river. Its course seemed to be from the northward, 
 until, four or five miles south of this point, it assumes an east-
 
 CHAP, v.] A TROOP OF BUFFALOED. 153 
 
 wardly direction, appearing to be connected with the valley 
 which I have called Keyzie. There are fountains here and 
 there in the valley ; a rivulet winding through its midst 
 contains water at intervals only. I came suddenly upon a 
 troop of cow-elephants upon the edge of the eastern bank, 
 and, not knowing that an abrupt and difficult descent was 
 immediately beyond, I stalked and fired. The elephants, 
 alarmed, fled, but exactly towards me, as there was no other 
 escape for them. I had some difficulty in getting out of 
 tlieir path, and then my Makalakas ' ran after them like so 
 many dogs, yelling, and driving them so fast that I could not 
 overtake them agjain, thous^h I rail three or four miles without 
 stopping. The Makalakas get so excited on these occasions 
 that it is impossible to control them. After tliis adventure, 
 I fell in with two white rhinoceroses, both of which, with 
 some trouble, I succeeded in securing. 
 
 In the afternoon I saw an eland, and, later, a large troop of 
 buffaloes quietly grazing about half a mile off; but we had 
 abundance of work before us, and also of good fat flesh, so 
 that I postponed shooting at anything until I could attend 
 to it. We slept in an open space near the path of elephants, 
 and some of those animals appear to have approached within 
 ten or fifteen yards, as we lay in happy unconsciousness of the 
 fact. 
 
 Next day, before sunrise, I walked to where I had seen the 
 buffaloes, observed some bastard elands or qualatas at the 
 water, and, while waiting for them to finish drinking, that I 
 might shoot one as they passed out of the valley, I happened 
 to look back, and saw a large troop of 200 or more buffa- 
 loes grazing towards me. Altering my position, and facing 
 them, I sat quietly in the grass until they were passing 
 within eighty yards, and having selected the most beautiful- 
 looking male in the troop, dropped him at a shot. The 
 others fled over the hills to the westward, whither I followed.
 
 154 CHAFMAN'S TBAVELS. [chap. v. 
 
 chiefly with the view of looking at the country, and finding 
 the s^^oor of male elephants. Cow-elephants had passed 
 during the night. It is wonderful where the bulls could 
 have gone to, as this neighbourliood seems full only of cows 
 everywhere, and these are not worth the trouble or risk of 
 following. 
 
 Having secured what I came in search of, viz. a piece of 
 rhinoceros hide, and a buffalo skin, I returned to the wagon, 
 leaving about six men to cut and dry the meat. 
 
 There are hunters spread all over the country now, from 
 the Gwai river to the lake and the west coast, and, including 
 in the calculation those hunted from Natal up the east 
 coast, the destruction of elephants must be very great indeed. 
 I have set my face altogether against killing cow-elephants, 
 excepting when in want of flesh. At the present moment, 
 and for the next month or so, I shall have no time to hunt, 
 excepting perhaps one day in the week for meat, as I have a 
 great deal of writing and other work to do. Besides, I am 
 running short of lead, and must begin to economise severely. 
 Ammunition is not a thing one can get from his neighbour 
 in this country, o\Aiug to the strictness of the colonial law, 
 which allows each hunter but a very limited quantity. I 
 have to feed about fifty people with flesh, so that I expect 
 the commodity will be very scarce ere long. 
 
 Two children recently kidnapped by the Bakwains (who 
 have been largely engaged of late in the nefarious practice 
 of child-stealing, in order to supply the demands of the 
 Boers) have run away from their captors, and sought shelter 
 with me.
 
 CHAP. vi.J llETUUN TO DAKA. 155 
 
 CHAPTEK VI. 
 
 Return to Daka — Native Honey — Adventures with Rbiuoceros — Start for 
 Sinamani's — Watershed — Reach the Boana River — Makalaka Singing — 
 Native Smithy — Makalaka Customs — Ravages of Lions — Increasing 
 Heat — White and Black Ants — Wasps — A Makalaka Village — Hunting 
 Excursions — Various Species of Rhinoceros — Adventure with Buffaloes — 
 Start again for the River. 
 
 2bTH August, 1%Q2,. — We intended starting for Daka to- 
 day, but the oxen came too late. 1 got from Mr. Header 
 some stores, such as coffee, sugar, rice, tea, &c., all of which 
 articles we have been without for some time. I sent him 
 two cows and their calves in return: sent all my trading 
 stock to luagne. Next day we left Lupubupubii, crossed 
 the Manyati, Chaporongo, and another river, and slept at the 
 Bolungo, 10 miles. 
 
 I saw two rhinoceroses (khetloas). The horns on the one 
 were of equal length, each two and a half to three feet. The 
 animals are as large as mohogus. I wounded but could not 
 overtake them ; also saw twelve male buffaloes. They were 
 asleep in the middle of a plain. Their heads, as usual, were 
 turned outwards, and their tails together. Whenever they 
 lie down they form this kind of compact circular phalanx, as 
 a defence against lions. 
 
 I observed the Makalakas taking out a nest of honey 
 to-day ; it tastes similar to the tobo, but is made by a 
 diminutive bee, which lives in the hollow trunks of trees. 
 The combs are only a quarter of an inch thick, but very 
 neatly made. The Makalakas call it masse. The tobo, a
 
 15G CHAPMAN'S TEA VELS. [chap. vi. 
 
 kind of honey which is made by an insect or small bee in 
 the ground, or in ant-heaps (in bulk), is here called monga. 
 Another kind is deposited in trees by a small fly called 
 nonongora. This fly is very troublesome, constantly attempt- 
 ing to alight in the corner of one's eyes. I have mentioned 
 it before, but did not know it then as a honey-maker. None 
 of these, excepting the real honey-bee, have stings, but the 
 masse bites. The common lioney is called nucliie. They 
 have here four different kinds of honey. 
 
 The outspan at Bolungo river is on a small eminence 
 under the shade of a fine mokuchoii tree, a good spot for a 
 homestead. This small fountain trickles out of the side of 
 this mound. The river, coming from the south-west, runs 
 below ; on the opposite side is a stony hill, at the base of 
 which a grassy plain ,slopes to the river, covering about 600 
 acres of beautiful arable land, over which the river may be 
 conducted if dammed up a few miles higher. The hills at 
 the back would form a beautiful shelter from weather, and 
 a fine position from which to defend the town underneath. 
 If ever this country is inhabited by white men, this spot will 
 assuredly be made into a town. The river-water is as clear 
 as crystal ; every pebble may be seen at the bottom at the 
 depth of seven or eight feet. Next day we started early, and 
 after nine miles reached and crossed the Matietsie river. 
 Saw rietbuck. Elephants had crushed some fine trees by 
 the road since we passed. 
 
 On the 28th we trekked in the morning to the last water 
 in the head of the valley of Pandamatenga, and saw wildebeest, 
 tsesebis, and pallahs, all very wild. Also a troop of qualatas. 
 In the afternoon we started for Boomka, and towards sunset 
 saw a rhinoceros, which I stalked patiently for half an hour, 
 to get a fair chance. At length I whistled to bring him 
 round, and fired. He dropped to the shot, and at the same 
 moment the back of my head struck the ground and my
 
 CHAP. VI.] WOLVES NUMEBOUH. 157 
 
 heels went up into the air, I had overloaded my gun, and 
 in consequence the shot was too high. Never trusting a 
 large animal which drops to the shot, I ran in to give him 
 another, but he struggled to his feet and wheeled round to 
 meet me : I fired, and retreated one way, while my enemy 
 did the same in the other direction. I followed until sunset, 
 about two miles, and then abandoned him. On returning 
 hurriedly to overtake the wagon before the darkness set in, 
 I stumbled over another rhinoceros. This one I stalked 
 most carefully, walking behind him until within thirty yards, 
 when he emerged on a plain. I would not leave the slight 
 shelter the low bushes afforded, and, holding my gun ready, 
 whistled behind him. He turned abruptly, with a snort, but 
 as soon as he presented a broadside my bullet struck him in 
 the right spot, six inclies behind the shoulder. 1 knew it 
 was through the lungs, and that however fiercely he went 
 off he would soon drop, which he did within a quarter of a 
 mile. I found the wagon on the Boomka hill, outspanned 
 under the large baobab tree, when I took the height. Water 
 boils 205^2^°; therm. 87°. 
 
 During the night we heard the wolves, the first time for a 
 long while. We have not seen their spoor since we left 
 Daka, all the way to the river, nor did we see any there. I 
 do not know how to account for this, as at Daka they are 
 numerous. They perhaps limit their range to the region 
 where Moselikatze's warriors supply them with abundance of 
 human flesh, which is generally to the east and south of 
 Daka. It may be that they are shy of the river on account 
 of the numerous crocodiles which lie by the edge of the 
 stream during the night. 
 
 1st Sepiemher. — Start this morning for Sinamani's, with one 
 wagon ; and as Baines is at work on a couple of pictures, 
 and is not ready to go yet, he stays behind with one wagon to
 
 loS CHAPMAN'^ rilAVELS. [chap. vi. 
 
 finish thera. Travel in the forenoon eight and a half miles to 
 Ramagap's * old camp, near a beautiful stream called Chowe. 
 Tlie water is as clear as crystal ; every little fish and pebble 
 is seen as distinctly at the bottom as if they M'ere floating on 
 the surface. There are several aquatic plants growing on 
 the rocks beneath that I have not seen before. In the afteT- 
 noon we travelled 12^ miles, keeping south of a flat-topped 
 hill, which is the watershed of the country. We crossed 
 streams flowing south, and, going over a low hill not more 
 than a mile in length, passed several ravines and nullahs 
 winding north into the Matietsie river. Before sunset we 
 reached the source of the Boana stream, where we found 
 Snyman's wagon and a village of Makalakas. 
 
 Where my wagon stood there is a bed of calcareous spar, 
 and within a mile north-east is a vertical stratum of sandy 
 schist. The rest of the country is covered with angular 
 pieces of hard, brown, basaltic rock, as at the Falls, with 
 quartz crystals and zeolite. The low valleys have that rotten, 
 crumbling, chocolate-coloured pudding-stone already men- 
 tioned, and the highest hills are covered with curious lumps 
 of sandstone full of large cavities, pierced in every direction. 
 Some of these stones are hard and flint-like, others soft and 
 sandy. 
 
 On arriving at Boana, my first occupation was in super- 
 intending the progress of a hut which the Makalakas are 
 building for me. On the 5th I walked eight miles north to the 
 Matietsie river in search of game, and killed two bufialoes. 
 The first, a solitary one, T stalked, and killed him on the 
 spot. I fell in with a wary troop of 100 or upwards, which 
 detected us at a distance, and fled, so that I could only get a 
 long snap-shot, but I wounded one so severely that he left 
 the troop at once, and then I killed another. In going do^vn 
 
 * Ramagap (or Father of Water-raelous) is the name of a Boer hunter, 
 after which tlie plain is called.
 
 CHAP. vi.J THE BOANA VALLEY. 159 
 
 the Boana * valley, through a pass in the flat-topped range on 
 which we are encamped, we got a distant view of our former 
 route to the Falls, which bear north by compass. 
 
 The valley is a very pretty one, occasionally quite ro- 
 mantic, with perpendicular cliffs of basaltic rock, against 
 which grow gigantic euphorbias, and a fine sheet of clear 
 water beneath, in which the lilac flowers of the nye and the 
 long-podded sekese, or mashashangama, are reflected, mingled 
 with the scarlet blossoms of the aloe. These flowers are well 
 worth cultivating. The trees are pretty, and the abundance 
 of their flowers cannot be surpassed. The nye, moreover, 
 produces an edible fruit. They all blossom before the leaves 
 appear. I found a honeycombed calcareous substance, which 
 may be of insect formation (madrepore ?), but looks like 
 coagulated froth, and on the banks of a stream, where one 
 would fancy it possible for a mountain torrent to leave a 
 quantity of froth sticking in tlie leaves and grass. The 
 cavities of this kind of vegetation, if not the seeds themselves, 
 turned into lime, are distinctly visible. The rocks of the 
 ravine are, moreover, covered with a calcareous incrustation. 
 At Boana water boils at 206-;^° ; therm. 75°. 
 
 6^7i Septemler. — This morning I sent Dokkie early to assist 
 in bringing Baines with the other wagon. They have stuck 
 on the road. Late at night they arrived. 
 
 The Makalakas here sing a song, the time of which is very 
 like " Miss Lucy Long." Most of their songs have a half 
 melancholy tone, but there is something sweet, though simple, 
 in all. There is nothing boisterous, loud, or offensive to the 
 ear in them. I believe there are some amongst the poorer 
 class, or Bushmen-Makalaka, as I term them, who understand 
 the Bushmen dance of Porrah, the evil spirit, described in 
 my former journals, by which they work themselves into a 
 frenzy, often dancing round and round, and then drojjpiug 
 * Called after a baobab, which is called Mbovo.
 
 160 CBAPMJN'S TJMVELS. [chap. vi. 
 
 down as if shot, and writlie in convulsions, foaming at tlie 
 mouth. The evil spirit is said to have entered at the man's 
 breast, and his throat is the only j)lace at which he can be 
 got at. When he drops down his friends scarify him in the 
 throat, and suck out the spirit, and then, coughing and expec- 
 torating, they sj^it it out. One of our Makalaka followers 
 is in the habit of coming behind me unawares and imitating 
 the shrill cry of an elepliant with startling effect. When I 
 turn round he scampers off, imitating the actions of the 
 animal, and then winds up with a dance and laudatory speech, 
 after which compliment he expects food or tobacco. 
 
 Having engaged a Makalaka smith to make nails for our 
 boat, I visited his smithy. His bellows is made of two dog- 
 skins, one to either hand, attached to a wooden tube inserted 
 into an earthen one. These he draws up to inflate, and 
 presses down to blow alternately, and thus keeps up a good 
 current of air. His hammer is a very rude one, his anvil a 
 stone, and his tongs a queer and primitive article. He 
 makes very good spears, hoes, &c. The red oxide of iron is 
 plentiful everywhere in the hills. My Damaras are making a 
 collection to take home with them for sale. They pulverize 
 it, and, mixed with fat, they anoint themselves and their 
 dresses with it. 
 
 The Makalakas and Banabya will, I think, very soon pick 
 up the language of the Damaras ; my knowledge of which 
 enables me to understand the other, to which it has great 
 affinity — at least sufficiently to make a very good guess at 
 their conversation. Of the languages spoken in this country, 
 three in particular are new to me, viz. the Makalaka, the 
 Banabeas (or Banyai), and the Batongo, or Batawka, a tribe 
 which once lived somewhere near the Victoria Falls, where 
 they were destroyed by the Matabele. 
 
 The Makalakas do not injure their teeth. The Banabya, 
 or Banyai, file the front middle teeth ; and the Batawka
 
 CHAP. VI.] THE MAKALAKAH. 101 
 
 knock their teeth out altogether, like the Damaras — the 
 former in order to be like their cattle, the latter to be 
 enabled to speak their language well, which requires lisping 
 to perfection. It gives them, however, an ugly look. The 
 Makalaka and Banabea have different dresses. The former 
 dress like the Bochuanas, having two ends of a triangular 
 skin tied round the loins, and the third drawn through 
 between the legs, the end tucked in under the girdle at 
 the back. This, with sometimes a rude skin mantle over 
 their shoulders, completes their dress. They smear them- 
 selves with grease, and are very black, tall, athletic savages. 
 The w^omen have the head shaved all but a large crown 
 piece, like a tight-fitting cap. At present there are many 
 people here starving of hunger, and numbers have accumu- 
 lated around my wagons to be near when anything is killed. 
 
 The magulie, which I have mentioned, seems to contain 
 no nourishment ; for although there is plenty of it, the 
 natives become weak and sink for want of animal food or 
 grain, which is their usual diet. They have large square 
 baskets made of palm-leaves, with which the women go out 
 every day, and soon gather enough to feed a whole camp ; 
 but for all this abundance they have a miserable, squalid, 
 famished appearance, since attacked by Moselikatze's tribe 
 a few weeks ago. They are, however, a cleanly sort of 
 people for blacks. They wash their hands and faces early 
 every morning, and take a bath at mid-day. Having long- 
 been a conquered race, they have been subdued iu every- 
 thing, and their morality, if they had any, has been chased 
 away by the conqueror ; so subdued are they now that they 
 have no thought of their own rights or feelings, and believe 
 everything they have, even their women, to be at the mercy 
 of any kind of person who is a superior being. Anyone 
 carrying a gun can command a hundred of these people, and 
 anything and everything belonging to them. 
 
 VOL. II. M
 
 162 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [cfiap. vr. 
 
 Native chiefs are everywhere so foud of flattery that they 
 pay for it. In all tribes there are people who are cunning 
 at making flattering compositions, which they din into the 
 ears of their chiefs upon occasions. They generally display 
 great eloquence, and metaphorical poetry comes natural to 
 them. They generally rise early, and, visiting the house 
 of the chief before he awakes, serenade him in this manner, 
 continuing for hours a string of the most hyperbolical 
 flatteries that one can imagine. As a matter of course, 
 they think we are quite as susceptible as themselves. This 
 morning a Makalaka came at daylight to assail me in this 
 manner, but dancing to it, shaking his calabash rattle in 
 liis right hand, and holding his battle-axe in the left, singing 
 '• Great lion ! Great elephant !" &c. I am obliged very 
 often to disappoint them at the expense of my character 
 for hospitality, for he who will not pay these bards is con- 
 sidered mean : what is worse, they refuse to leave your 
 camp until you give them something, though it be ever 
 so little. You are esteemed in proportion to what you give. 
 Bechuana chiefs give an ox or a sheep, according to their 
 means. 
 
 nth September. — Baines and John left for the river, in 
 order to commence the boat. I sent with them about 
 twenty Makalaka men, six Damara men, and several Da- 
 mara women, carrying tools of all sorts, including pit- 
 saws. Two days after, Snyman arrived at my wagon 
 greatly humbled in demeanour. I employed him in shoot- 
 ing game. One day he got three of our dogs from my 
 servants, and took two of them with him. One was dragged 
 away from their fire-place by a lion. Next morning they 
 followed the trail to see what animal liad done it. The 
 other dog came upon the lion, and liad scarcely barked at 
 him before his back was broken, and he, also, was killed. 
 Tliat night thtr lion came again, and sprang upon a Maka-
 
 iiiAi". VI.] NATIVE ABMLETS. 163 
 
 liika as he lay at the iire, and was in the act of retreating 
 with liis priz^, when some spears were hurled at him, and 
 he dropped his prey ; but the lad was quite dead and his 
 neck bi-oken, though only an instant in the clutches of the 
 beast. The natives here, however, seem to be more afraid of 
 hyenas than of lions, and are obliged to make strong fences 
 to keep them out of their encampment. Still, many are 
 carried away regularly and devoured. 
 
 \Wi September. — Two beautiful floricans, or korhaans, 
 coming in sight of the wagons, I tried hard to secure one, 
 and at length succeeded. It is different to any other kind 
 that I am lamiliar with, such as the croaking korhaan, the 
 noisy korhaan, and another something like the latter, and 
 the large bush korhaan. It may be the latter, as it is many 
 years ago since I saw it in Natal, before I took much notice 
 of these things. 
 
 I have employed a Bakwain woman to coil up some brass 
 wire on rings of hair for armlets. She makes them almost 
 as neatly as our fiddle-strings are made, the machinery being 
 very simple. A small piece of wood punctured at one end, 
 through which the end of the wire is put, serves as a handle 
 to prevent the wire wearing out their fingers. They hold 
 this with the left hand to guide the wire, while with the 
 right hand they dexterously rub the coil in the direc- 
 tion required, making it revolve several times to every 
 stroke. 
 
 \Wi Septemher. — The heat begins to be very oppressive 
 during the day-time. This morning, in throwing out some 
 water, I observed some seeds of the pest-grass, which I have 
 mentioned before, begin to writhe about in the ground, some 
 jumping up and alighting on one end (the seed end), which 
 was propelled into the earth like a corkscrew. In this 
 manner, I suppose, it is provided by Nature that when the 
 first rain falls these seeds, lying on the baked earth in 
 
 M 2
 
 164 CHAPMAN'^ TRAVELS. [chap. vi. 
 
 inactivity, spring into life, and plant themselves, ^hile the 
 spiral writhing of the shaft end, or beard, propels the seeds 
 underground. 
 
 White ants do great mischief here, and trouble us, creeping 
 up the poles of the house and devouring the goods. I find it 
 is a good plan to saturate the ground with brine, or sprinkle 
 it well with salt, when they take the clay to build the tunnels 
 by which they travel. In Natal it is quite a profession to 
 get rid of these insects by killing the queen. Those who 
 follow the business know where to find the seat of govern- 
 ment by percussing the ground, and following one of the tun- 
 nels or passages from the house which they are devastating. 
 Here a kind of black ant, three-quarters of an incli long, is a 
 great check upon them near the river; but still they thrive, 
 though they are a great article of food with the natives, who 
 take out nearly all the full-grown ants from the nests every 
 year. Still, as long as the king and queen are not destroyed, 
 they are just as powerful the next season ; but when the 
 queen dies, and the king with her, all the rest die also. 
 
 The black ants regularly storm the citadels of the white 
 ants, and, having found an entrance, they seize their victims 
 between their powerful mandibles by their neck. But this is 
 not enough: the white ants have also powerful mandibles, 
 and, recovering from their surprise, might soon be a match. 
 So the more active enemy carries out his victim, and, piercing 
 it with its long sting, leaves it senseless, returning to the 
 attack several times, until either the whole of the white ants, 
 or as many as they can bear off, have been slain. Then, as 
 if by mutual understanding, they collect the dead, each ant 
 seizing from eight to ten of the young white ants in a bunch, 
 their heads all together in his embrace. They return home 
 from their foraging expedition in regular regimental order, a 
 long line of from 700 to 1000 individuals, and formed three or 
 four deep. These are preceded at some distance by three or
 
 CHAP. VI.] ABUNDANCE OF ANTS AND FLIES. 165 
 
 four individuals, who seem to act the part of guides, and never 
 carry anything. They utter a peculiar hissing noise as they 
 march ; perhaps this is their triumphant music — their " See 
 the conquering hero comes." On seeing them for the first time 
 on the Chobe I thought they were expecting the flood, and 
 bearing off their own progeny into a drier locality. They be- 
 come fearfully enraged when deprived of their spoil, running 
 about like mad, and seizing hold of and stinging everything 
 that comes within their reach. On these warlike expeditions 
 they venture out a long way from home, walking three 
 abreast, and seem to learn of the existence of prey from spies 
 who evidently find their way in and out by scent. They are 
 black and slender, abdomen rather compressed laterally, and 
 the thorax tufted with yellowish-grey hairs. 
 
 A very small reddish-brown ant here is a great nuisance, 
 more on account of the disagreeable tickling sensation they 
 cause than their biting powers. They are also constantly 
 dying the victims of their own greediness, tumbling in hun- 
 dreds into any fat or milk or cooked food, of which they seem 
 to be more fond than of raw. These are very much more 
 minute than the small stinging ant of the Cape. They attack 
 the larger ants and destroy them. One of these little insects 
 catches the large ant by the foot, and holds on in the mean- 
 time to anything within reach ; soon others come to his assist- 
 ance, and they overpower the large one by numbers! I 
 have never seen so great a variety of ants as there are here, 
 or of such different habits, some living on grain and grass, 
 some on raw meat, some on cooked, some on sugar or honey, 
 others on flowers, and others on fat, &c. &c. 
 
 Besides these insects, the numerous swarms of flies are 
 beginning to annoy us. Large blue-bottles come buzzing and 
 booming in at meal-times in a most disagreeable and perti- 
 nacious manner. The blue horse-flies bite as bad, if not 
 worse, than tsetse, and even during the night. Wasps build
 
 16(i (J II Al'MAN'^ TRAVELS. [cuap. vi. 
 
 their clay bouses, like swallows, in the hut or wagous, and fill 
 them with plump caterpillars, which they construct fast into 
 small chambers adjoining that of their larvae, rendering tbem 
 inanimate by a sting (by which means, also, the process of 
 metamorphosis in the aurelia state seems to be retarded) ; 
 so that their progeny, on first opening their eyes, find before 
 them fine plump caterpillars, by feeding on which they are 
 ■soon able to take flight for themselves. This wasp is of a 
 dark steel-blue colour, with pretty contracting yellow anthers. 
 I tried ashes as a remedy against the termites, and with suc- 
 cess. It is quite delightful to have put a stop to their work. 
 At other times, while all else is wrapped in sleep, they are 
 very busy, and under cover of night raise their galleries 
 round every pole seven or eight feet high before morning. 
 
 22th Sejptem'ber. — Writing letters during several days past. 
 I had intended going next in search of a road to the river, or 
 as far as possible in that direction, free from fly ; but having 
 received very pressing messages from the south inviting me 
 to come and kill some bufialoes that were every day around 
 their houses, I promised to go there first, and started accord- 
 ingly. I had about twenty men with me, and, rounding the 
 spur of the ridge, crossed the Chabaisa river in a lovely 
 valley. I found this everywhere so full of fresh lion spoors 
 in my path that, as it grew dai'k, I was delighted to come to 
 an inhabited Makalaka village. These Iriendly people re- 
 ceived me with the usual flattering salutation of "Lumella 
 khosi, tona !" Avith a string of other flattering titles, which 
 they had probably learned from JMoselikatze's kraal, or 
 which would have done credit there. After a preliminary 
 conversation they saluted each other by clapping their hands 
 in the most solemn and pathetic manner, accompanying the 
 actions with a few words or groans uttered with great pathos. 
 About a minute is devoted for a greeting to each individual, 
 and then they proceed to recount their news in the litany
 
 CHAP. VI.] MAKALAKA HOSPITALITY. 167 
 
 style, the listener responding after a certain number of 
 sentences. These recitations rise or fall according to the 
 pitch of excitement of tlie relator — now moving in solemn 
 cadence to the musical chant of a Latin litany, at other times 
 to the pathetic and plaintive tones of a love-ditty, now rising 
 in excitement to the heat of an impatient warrior, and anon 
 sinking into the whispering cunning of the crafty politician. 
 
 They cleared out a hut for me, and two large bundles of 
 clean grass made me an ample bed, whereon I spread my 
 blankets. After this two or three large dishes of magulies 
 were brought me in the most kind and hospitable manner. 
 They have a greater notion of cleanliness and comfort than 
 the Bechuanas, as I noticed by the manner in which they 
 prepared my bed. Leaving me to my own reflections, with 
 a fire in my hut, and plenty of fuel outside, they scattered 
 around in groups, according to their ages — men, women, and 
 boys — chatting and joking until a late hour. Four different 
 conversations or arguments are carried on, each louder than 
 the other, and with marvellous facih'ty, the sharers in each 
 being fully absorbed in their own subject, and heeding not 
 the surrounding Babel of tongues. In the midst of all this 
 tumult a single performer, quite absorbed in the musical tones 
 of his '* goorah," and striking the chord with a small reed, 
 sits in the middle of the circle. While admiring the scene 
 the groups were strengthened by the arrival of several young 
 men who had returned from tlieir daily rounds through the 
 fields, in search of tlie leavings of the lions, or to dispute with 
 them their prey. Amongst the arrivals there was one whose 
 presence seemed to excite the risible propensities of the com- 
 pany, his own relations as well as strangers. I could not 
 help wisliing to gratify my own curiosity as to the cause of 
 their merriment. On inquiry I found that the lad was most 
 friglitfully disfigured in the face, having been once dragged 
 out by a wolf, who had torn away his nose, and so mutilated
 
 168 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap, vi, 
 
 one of his eyes as to render liim a frightful object. I called 
 the lad over to my fire, in order to have a closer look at the 
 frightful gash, from which I hardly think a white man could 
 have recovered, but their disposition for healing from frightful 
 wounds under such unfavourable circumstances is as marvel- 
 lous as their great insensibility to pain. The skull seems to 
 have been opened round over the top from ear to ear. Think- 
 ing it was also to laugh at him that I called him, at first he 
 would not come, but retired behind his companions, hiding 
 his features ; but when he heard me chide the others for their 
 ill-timed merriment he came over to me, and I gave him a 
 junk of warm meat, which he gladly accepted as evidence of 
 my sympathy with his misfortune. 
 
 Great discussions were next held as to the direction in 
 which we should travel to-morrow, each point of the compass 
 having its advocate, but the gi'eat majority decided on our 
 going west. 
 
 Z^tJi Septemler. — We started early. I had the sun at my 
 back. Wearing a narrow-brimmed hat, which threw no 
 shade on my bare neck, the sun, striking on it with full power, 
 soon gave me a frightful headache and partial sun-stroke. 
 During the last fortnight the thermometer has been 90°, and 
 sometimes 98°, in my open wagon at 9 o'clock at night. I 
 saw a small herd of buffaloes, and was obliged to shoot one, 
 but my head was so bad in consequence that I had to lie 
 down under a tree, and though troop after troop of quaggas 
 came near me to drink, I could not shoot. Before night 
 every particle of the buffalo had disappeared into the moutlis 
 of these hungry fellows, so that I had none to send to camp. 
 
 The valleys were here covered with a beautiful carpet of 
 green, and several groups of lovely antelopes and striped 
 quaggas grazed around. Among them Mas a beautiful male 
 sable antelope Avith fully-developed horns, and at any otlier 
 time I sliould have been only too glad to secure one. We
 
 CHAP. VI.] A SNAKE-BITE. 169 
 
 fell in with a ready-made kraal, which had been used by 
 Makalaka hunters lately as a protection against lions and 
 hyenas. Scarce had niglit set in ere the roaring of lions was 
 heard around the camp, and we added fuel to our fire. One 
 of the native lads sitting near the fire was bitten by some- 
 thing; he thought at first it was a scorpion, but the pain 
 continuing to grow worse, he thought it was a snake-bite, 
 while others supposed it to be a spider. Whatever it was, 
 the boy's pains increased so much that, notwithstanding the 
 natives' usual insensibility to pain, he now screamed and 
 shrieked and tumbled and raved in the most frightful manner, 
 and I felt much distressed on his account. Inside our camp 
 all was confusion, while outside our fence the lions prowled 
 about, and commanded at times an equal share of our atten- 
 tion. My two dogs, however, bravely fought them away after 
 awhile. The boy's father, his speech convulsed with grief, 
 begged of me to help him, and the boy too, in his lucid in- 
 tervals (for he had gone mad) — begged as if it was really in 
 my power to help. I had given the Bushman, April, a piece 
 of snake-poison antidote to carry round his neck in case any- 
 body was bitten by a snake, but he had unfortunately gone 
 to sleep some distance off, beside a quagga which he had shot. 
 I bethought me, however, of a plan I knew to be practised by 
 the Boers of the Trans- Vaal in cases of snake-bite. Causiug 
 the sufferer to be held down, I scarified the wound, and, having 
 put some drams of powder on it, ignited it, repeating the 
 operation twice more. Immediately afterwards he seemed 
 considerably relieved, but every now and then his shrieks 
 were terrible, and he was delirious at intervals. 
 
 1st October. — At sunrise my headache had left me, and, 
 feeling refreshed, I walked out in search of a white rhinoceros, 
 having seen the spoor of that animal. I found another beau- 
 tiful stream, but could not learn its name. I soon caught 
 sight of two rhinoceroses, fighting, as it seemed to me, head
 
 170 (JHAFMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. vi. 
 
 to head, like two bulls. My guides thought the objects wei-e 
 only bnshes, and I stopped to see if tliey moved. Presently 
 the (Inst flew from the ground as they pawed the earth and 
 dashed it with their horns. Making a circuit to get undei- 
 their wind, I had to sit patiently for two hours Avatching 
 the fight, which turned out to be a playful encounter between 
 a male and female, the latter having a calf by her side, which 
 exhibited tokens of sympathy with her dam. TJiey were in 
 the middle of an open valley, on a grassy plot, which I could 
 not approach nearer than 200 yards without disturbing them, 
 and as I wanted to secure all three, I determined to have 
 patience, and sat observing the play. In the end, I confess 
 to having been cruel enough to shoot them all. 
 
 The male rhinoceros was a khetloa. I believe that I am 
 right in assuming, as I have done in previous observations 
 on the khetloa, or borele, tliat there are three varieties of 
 rhinoceros, positively distinct from one another, besides one 
 or two that are doubtful. First we find the mohogu, or white 
 rhinoceros, also called chukuru, mogoana, and mogoshuana, at 
 different stages of maturity ; secondly, the kobaoba, or long- 
 horned white rhinoceros ; thirdly, the khetloa, or the true and 
 large borele. Besides these we find the borelengani, or kenen- 
 gani, and the mogoshuana shot by me on the Botletlie river 
 in 1854, and which I consider to be actually another grass- 
 eating rhinoceros, and not a hybrid. 
 
 No. 1. — First, then, with regard to mohogu {BMn. Sinusus) : 
 its colour is of such a light neutral-grey as to look nearly as 
 white as the canvas tilt of a wagon. The male measures 
 Gft. Sin. at withers, carries his head so low that the chin 
 nearly sweeps the ground, is constantly swaying his head and 
 horns to the right and left when suspicious, and its calf, in- 
 stead of going behind, or at the side, always precedes the dam 
 — and when fleeing is helped onwards by her horn or snout. 
 The back of the mohogu is tolerably straight, but the croop
 
 CHAP. VI.] 
 
 THE WHITE IIHINOCEROS. 
 
 171 
 
 (? bench bone) is as bigb or bigber tban tbe witbers ; bas a 
 birge square bump, a double navel, and females a blind pouch 
 near the vagina. It moves each ear alternately backwards 
 and forwards when excited, and which, when thrown forward, 
 turns as if on a pivot, so bringing the orifice of the ear inner- 
 most. It bas a broad square muzzle, eyes small and lateral, 
 horns long (anterior one white), and of a coarse fibre. It is 
 an indolent creature, and becomes exceedingly fat by grass 
 eating. The mohogu is also gregarious in families, which are 
 
 , ItHINOCEKOS MOHOGU, AND HOKN OF THE SUPPOSED KOBAOBA. 
 
 greatly attached to each other, and utters a lowing sound, 
 and not such a startling whistling snort as the borele does. 
 The bide is thick and wrinkled at base of the neck ; the ears 
 are pointed and tufted. 
 
 No. 2. — I once had the vanity to think I had upset all 
 the current opinions on the subject of the kobaoba, and, 
 with all deference for the opinions of others, I shall say 
 nothing more tban refer to my photographs of the mohogu 
 and kobaoba, and give the opinions of some of the most
 
 172 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. vi. 
 
 experienced native hunters whom I have met on the subject, 
 for, after all, my opinions may be erroneous. At all events, 
 the scarcity of the animal, if it really is a different one, puts 
 it almost out of one's power to furnish correct information on 
 the subject, and I am not aware of having seen or shot more 
 than two in my time. Some of the native hunters, who take a 
 different view, and differ from me about the non-existence of 
 kobaoba (and, to do them justice, they are very observant of 
 animals), assert the kobaoba to be more slender in the body 
 than the preceding animal ; that he has a decidedly hollow 
 or saddle back ; is not quite so white or quite so large as the 
 mohogu ; that he carries his head and his neck, which is 
 however longer, like a borele ; and that the horns do not 
 always show a downward tendency at the point, but some- 
 times grow very crookedly the reverse way. They appear to 
 be long and tapering forwards. The edges and inside of their 
 ears are very hairy. The female kobaoba, if kobaoba it Avas, 
 which I last shot at Kanyo, had also the blind pouch like the 
 mohogu and borele. I have stated these facts in support of 
 the opinions of others, but against my own, because I under- 
 stand that Dr. A. Smith has given Bliin. Jcobaoha a separate 
 plate in the "Natural History of South Africa," and I con- 
 sider it every explorer's duty to state what he can on these 
 matters to enable naturalists of various opinions to arrive at 
 the truth at last. 
 
 No. 3. — Borele, or khetloa, male 6 ft. at withers, female 
 5 ft. 8 in., is that described by Harris as EMnoceros Afri- 
 eanus. The country here abounds with them ; they are 
 nearly as large as mohogu. They drop behind, and have a 
 stiff, clumsy, and awkward walk. The horns grow to equal 
 lengths, are flat, and chopper-edged. You may know the borele 
 by the comparatively lazy manner in which he tlirows forward 
 both his ears together, and lifting them as lazily again together. 
 lie feeds on bushes and roots, is nervous and fidgety when
 
 CHAP. VI.] VARIETIES OF THE HEINOC'EROS KIND. 173 
 
 discovered, but confines his movements generally only to the 
 head and horns, moving them in an undecided manner, first 
 one way, then the other. He is not nearly so excitable as 
 the borelengani. He is of a dark neutral-grey colour at a 
 distance. 
 
 The horelengani, or heningani (sometimes, I believe, 
 called chukuro hogali, fierce rhinoceros), has large ears, 
 pointed and tufted, considerably smaller than the latter, 
 which he cocks in a remarkably frisky way, and together, by 
 which he can be at once distinguished. He is a dumpy, 
 plump-looking animal, of very dark colour, very lively in his 
 actions, seemingly always on the trot ; always very nervous, 
 wary, and fidgety ; often flying round in a fury, whether he 
 has observed danger or not, making the hunters sometimes 
 believe he has been discovered. When he fancies he does 
 hear or see anything, he lifts one foot, tosses up his horn 
 and nose and sinister little eyes, and presents altogether a 
 perfect picture of the most intense and earnest scrutiny and 
 attention, wheeling round with great rapidity, and, by his 
 active gestures and startling snortings, often rendering the 
 nerves and aim of an inexperienced hunter very unsteady. 
 On the whole, his actions, when undisturbed, are like those of a 
 lively and busy pig. The anterior horn is long and neat, thin, 
 shiny, black, and pointed, and of fine texture. The posterior 
 horn is always short. It is rather small round the neck.* 
 
 These are the descriptions of the acknowledged /owr varie- 
 ties of rhinoceroses, if we admit kobaoba to be one. I think 
 that, by taking notice of the above-mentioned very few 
 peculiarities of action, &c., it will not be found so difficult 
 to distinguish them as by mere details of measurements. 
 Besides these four varieties, there is a fifth, either a dis- 
 tinct variety or a hybrid, eating grass as well as bush ; and 
 I am happy to say tliat, since the one shot by me on the 
 * Some precise measurements are given in the Appendix.
 
 174 C/fJPMAN'S T/,'AVELS. [chai-. vi. 
 
 Botletlie river in 1854, my friend, Mr. F. Green, has sliot 
 one, and a third has been shot by John Kenny and Snyniau 
 in this country. 
 
 7th October. — Rorle over to Reader's wagons, with letters, 
 &c. The valleys have a beautiful carpet of green young 
 grass upon them, and the lierds of rel pallahs skipping and 
 bounding playfully on the turf are quite delightful to behold. 
 Next morning, making a sweep eastward, fell in with a 
 pretty fountain having two or three sources. The fountains, 
 like the Chowe, flow into the Daka. Shortly after\vards I 
 fell in with three quaggas and shot a mare bearing twin foals. 
 The other two, as usual, were unwilliug to run far, stopping 
 to bark, and wait for their companion. Quaggas show great 
 attachment to each other, and often die victims to it. I fol- 
 lowed them up, and, falling in with a troop of buffaloes, shot 
 one through the heart, and the rest ran off. I had a gallop 
 after the others again over the rough stones. For the first 
 time in my life I saw a buffalo turn back out of a flyiug troop 
 and charge, and the result was, that I and my horse nearly 
 forfeited our lives, or the use of our limbs, in consequence of 
 it. The fact is, I had followed too close on the heels of the 
 troop, but had, fortunately, been reining in at the time, and 
 was dismounting, when the buffalo turned away within a 
 yard or two of us, and dashed after the troop. 1 next fell in 
 with a village at a fountain. The people here had gardens, 
 with pumpkins, water-melons, and calabashes in a flourishing- 
 condition ; but I saw that, in spite of all their ingenious devices 
 for scarecrows, the buffaloes came every night to attack the 
 gardens. Liglit baskets, suspended from a flexible bow, 
 planted in the ground, and calabashes, with wings of grass, 
 and full of motion, seemed to be possessed of life ; but 
 this would not scare away the buffaloes. I followed their 
 trail as they were leading along my homeward path, 
 and soon fell in with a large troop lying tail to tail in a
 
 CHAP. VI.] START AGAIN FOR THE ZAMBESI. 175 
 
 solid phalanx, their horns outwards, and their ranks im- 
 pregnable. An infantry square with fixed bayonets could 
 not have looked more imposing. I stalked close up. A 
 bull started to his feet, and, throwing his horns backwards 
 on his neck, was in the act of approaching me, but, having 
 my aim on one still lying down, I fired beliind its shoulder. 
 The whole herd made a cloud of dust with their prompt 
 rising, wdiich concealed them as they fled. I galloped after 
 them in the dust, and came suddenly upon a small troop of 
 six, which had evidently been disturbed in their nap by the fly- 
 ing multitude. I shot five out of the six, and then found that 
 I had not a bullet left. A spirited scene ensued, for the last 
 buffalo retained possession of the field, refusing to leave the 
 side of his dead companion, whose attitude he probably took 
 for that of sleep. Whenever I approached, the poor beast, 
 evidently faithful to liis mute companion, charged at me, 
 and I was finally obliged to leave him. The necessities of 
 feeding his little army of followers, who are wholly dependent 
 upon his rifle, prevent the hunter from dwelling with the 
 sympathy they merit upon scenes like this. 
 
 I hear from Keader and Eapiet that the magow is only 
 dangerous in August, September, or October, when the grass 
 is short. When it is long, the cattle can pick it without 
 eating the magow. 
 
 dth October. — I now prej)ared to start again for the river, 
 but had great difficulty in getting together a sufficient 
 number of men to give the requisite help in the transport 
 of our material. Some whom we had engaged ran away 
 during the night ; others fled at the sight of Baines's boxes 
 and heavy cases. There is some excuse for this : it is 
 ploughing-time, and they are naturally reluctant to leave 
 their homes. The weather is now very hot : thermometer 
 78° at sunrise ; 10.5° in the afternoon ; and 95° at 9 in the 
 evening. When the rains fall it will probably be cooler.
 
 176 
 
 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. 
 
 [chap. VI. 
 
 but at 9 o'clock at night the rocks still feel quite warm. 
 The buffaloes in this country are certainly small, and my 
 Bushmen complain that they are also very lean. With our 
 Kuruman neighbours, who seem to be starving most of their 
 time, the cry is, " How tough the game in this country is !" 
 They are poor hunters. The other day four of them, 
 mounted, attacked an elephant on the Shesheke river, and, 
 according to their own account, fired about 200 bullets at 
 him, and, after fighting him the whole day on an open plain, 
 ultimately left him in despair. The fact is, this elephant 
 had shown unusual courage and sagacity, charging before 
 they attempted to fire at him, and without uttering any 
 sound at all. The same animal, we were told, had a short 
 time before killed two men wantonly and without provocation, 
 seeming quite in sport. 
 
 The following table exhibits the temperature of the air at 
 the wagon at Boana during one week in October : 
 
 
 
 
 
 Noon 
 
 Sunset 
 
 9 p. M. 
 
 Sunday, October 19 
 
 
 106° 
 
 116" 
 
 880 
 
 
 
 
 Sunrise 
 
 9 A.M. 
 
 2 P.M. 
 
 Sunset 
 
 Monday, 
 
 )5 
 
 20 
 
 . 73° 
 
 102'-^ 
 
 107° 
 
 98° 
 
 
 
 
 Sunrise 
 
 10 A.M. 
 
 2 P.M. 
 
 Sunset 
 
 Tuesday, 
 
 „ 
 
 21 
 
 . 770 
 
 104° 
 
 1040 
 
 9^J° 
 
 Wednesday, 
 
 55 
 
 22 
 
 . 750 
 
 86° 
 
 100° 
 
 96° 
 
 Thursday, 
 
 55 
 
 23 
 
 . 730 
 
 104° 
 
 108° 
 
 106° 
 
 Friday, 
 
 55 
 
 24 
 
 740 
 
 102° 
 
 104° 
 
 104° 
 
 Saturday, 
 
 55 
 
 25 
 
 . 72° 
 
 100° 
 
 108° 
 
 106° 
 
 I bought here a piece of a bull tusk, weighing eighteen 
 pounds Dutch, which was found in the stomach of one of the 
 elephants killed by them on the Shesheke. The two had 
 evidently been fighting some time before, but there were no 
 external signs of the hide having been penetrated^ the 
 elephant being quite hearty, and the wound having closed 
 up again.
 
 vii.] START FOR SINAMANPS. 
 
 CHAPTEK VII. 
 
 Start for Sinamani's — A Whirlwind — Mazhanga— A Leopard Trap — The 
 Kakobi, or Little Zambesi — Machinge — Geological Features — The 
 Matietsie — Reach the Zambesi again — Wankie — Camp at the Zambesi 
 — Perplexities of our Situation — The Grwai or Quagga River — Meeting 
 of the Waters — Hippopotami — Intense Heat — The Zambesi Valle}' — 
 Native Plants — Population of the Zambesi Valley — Reach Sinamani's — 
 Interview with the Chief. 
 
 11 T7/ October. — At last three Makalakas arrived from the 
 south-west to assist in the carriage of our things to the river. 
 I had already packed off all the Damaras and their wives — 
 that is, all that could be found. These fellows are all well 
 and good when you have no particular work for them to do, 
 and they are left to polishing their spears, slaughtering 
 beef, and eating it, with ample time allowed them to make 
 their toilet, anointing and plastering themselves with filthy 
 grease and ochre, and scenting themselves with the vile 
 odours of fennec (JcataJcahu). When there is real work to 
 be done they are fit for nothing — lazy, disagreeable, and 
 gluttonous — and they now appear so more than ever, pro- 
 bably from contrast with the more willing and useful Maka- 
 lakas. 
 
 I started from Boana about sunset, travelling only a few 
 miles down a rugged declivity, and slept at the miserable 
 hamlet of a few needy Makalakas, encamped by a fountain 
 running east into the Daka river, where a troop of quaggas 
 were drinking. Early next day we passed the dwellings of 
 some other Makalakas, who were busy planting corn. We 
 
 VOL. II. N
 
 178 CHAFMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. vn. 
 
 soon after overtook a party of our porters who bad preceded 
 us. We halted at Matietsie during the heat, having shot a 
 waterbuck. Here we were met by MaiKlu, one of our Maka- 
 lakas. Six days before I had sent bim and Funia, a tine, tall, 
 good-natured fellow, to Baines, with supplies of coffee and 
 gunpowder. Having rounded tbe Kwacheuna sand-hill under 
 cover of nigbt, they lay down by a fire, the moon shining full 
 and bright. Being tired, they fell asleep, but they bad not 
 lain long before Funia uttered a piercing shriek, and Mandu, 
 starting up, saw his companion in the act of being dragged 
 off by a panther or leopard. Seizing a brand, Mandu 
 attacked the beast, which relinquished his bold, and tbe 
 men fled from the spot to the neigbbouring village of 
 Mazhanga. Here Funia died the next day from the effects 
 of the wounds in his face and bead. 
 
 The men havino- cleared off the remains of the waterbuck, 
 we made an early start, in order to have time to make a 
 kraal at the next halting-place. Passed several trees (a 
 kind of sterculia), exuding a white, unctuous, acrid resin. 
 Tbe heat was now intense, with occasional hot blasts from 
 the eastward, filling the air with an atmosphere like that 
 before a furnace. At this season the landscape generally is 
 dry and leafless, with only here and there a green and shady 
 tree. An occasional whirlwind swept l)y, tearing up the grass, 
 and raising clouds of dry leaves. One more tremendous 
 than the rest, in shape nearly a solid spiral mass of black 
 earth and dust, fully thirty yards in diameter, approached 
 us, with the noise of a steam-engine. I involuntarily took to 
 flight ; but though I dodged and ran in circles, it seemed bent 
 upon following me, and at length I was overtaken. The first 
 impulse was to put my hands on my hat, and in the darkness 
 which beset me I felt myself whirled round against my Mill. 
 Nearly suffocated, I threw myself on the earth. I felt as if 
 my head would burst ; my ears stopped with a tremendous
 
 CHAP. VII.] A WHIELWIND. 179 
 
 pressure from without. I had buried my face in the crown 
 of my liat, but, notwithstanding, I had inhaled vohimes of 
 dust by mouth and nostrils, and for several moments I felt 
 all the horrors of suffocation. Fortunately it was moving on, 
 and had soon passed over me. I gasped for a moment or 
 two, and then breathed more freely. 
 
 Crossing the Matietsie river, and traversing eight miles 
 of rugged country, we passed a native village. Two miles 
 more brought us to a broad, open, and picturesque valley, 
 dotted with clumps of beautiful green, shady trees. Here we 
 found Snyman and liis party, whom I had sent on with the 
 four sections of the boats, &c. They were feasting on an 
 eland bull which he had shot. I found great alarm on all 
 sides at the death of Funia ; but so listless are these people 
 that, finding no precautions taken against such attacks, it was 
 necessary for me to adopt some plan to provide for the general 
 safety. This was no easy matter, as we were encamped 
 on a plain. It was not long ere a wolf dashed into the 
 camp, creating great consternation, and all the Makala- 
 kas fled away from the fire into the fields, thinking it was 
 a lion. The wolf, however, meeting with three or four of 
 our large dogs, made a retreat, and, being chased for a 
 quarter of a mile, was entrapped in a pitfall, where he lay 
 howling. 
 
 Next day I fell in with and shot on our path three rhi- 
 noceroses (khetloa), and gave permission to the people to cut 
 them up. I travelled by the edge of a sandy ridge down 
 Avhich innumerable elephants passed every night to drink at 
 the Matietsie. For 10 miles spoor succeeded spoor across 
 my path, and I calculate that there could not have passed 
 less than 2000 or 3000 elephants during the night, chiefly, 
 however, cows and calves. I noticed also, as I came along, 
 several heaps of grass piled over or in the rocks at in- 
 tervals. This is the manner in which the black cobra 
 
 n2
 
 180 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. vii. 
 
 {Naja hsemachetes) builds for itself a nest, which throws a 
 cool shade over the rock under which it lies. All snakes are 
 averse to great heat ; only after cold or rainy weather they 
 like to bask in the sun until the numbness of the body has 
 been relaxed. It is on that account that we see scarcely any 
 snakes at this time of the year, excepting, perhaps, during 
 the cooler part of the day.* A squirrel {Sciurus cejpapi, Smith) 
 builds a similar nest, but over the decayed hollow trees, in 
 which it ])laces the stores of grain and other provisions laid 
 up for future consumption. A mouse (Graphiurus capensis), 
 with a large bushy tail like a squirrel's, with fine fur, and 
 broad and large ears, builds itself a nest, like that of a bird, 
 on the branches of trees : it is easily tamed. We met at 
 intervals graceful koodoos with horns four feet in length. A 
 brace of fine bulky elands, and several waterbucks and sable 
 antelopes, looked down from an eminence on us as we passed, 
 but I would not fire. Coming to the spot where Funia was 
 caught, I met a number of Mazhanga's people carrying home 
 the remains of a quagga killed by a lion. 
 
 I hurried on to Mazhanga's place, anxious to secure a safe 
 resting-place for my people, as well as for myself. Mazhanga 
 is an intelligent-looking fellow, with sharp, expressive features 
 and bright eyes, and great self-possession. He is dependent 
 on Wnnkie. His people, who are numerous, are dispersed 
 over a great extent of country, a family dwelling here and 
 there beside a fountain, very much in the manner of the 
 Boers. Even the great man Wankie himself lives only with 
 his wives and a few servants to attend upon him. 
 
 I inquired of Mazhanga what became of the body of Funia, 
 and, having learnt that he had buried it, thanked him. I was 
 somewhat horrified to learn from him that three people of his 
 own village had fallen a prey to the ferocity of the leopard. The 
 
 * The black cobra is of a dusky black, from five to sis feet long, with 
 black throat, and makes a loud hissing noise in its flight from man.
 
 CHAP. VII.] A LEOPARD-TRAP. 181 
 
 unfortunate victims were a vk^oman, a lad, and an infant. The 
 walls of their houses are made of strong poles, lashed to one 
 another in a circle, thatched over with grass, and protected 
 with thorn branches all round. The men could not come to 
 ray assistance in tlie evening, as the leopard, taking advantage 
 of their absence, attacks the women, and during the rambles of 
 the females in the day-time in search of maguli men are obliged 
 to accomjjany them for protection. One can hardly wonder at 
 the success of the leopard, as Mazhanga has buried himself in a 
 dense thicket, on a hill of rich brownish-red sand, where he had 
 made a considerable enclosure, which was planted with earth- 
 nuts and a kind of millet, which requires a dry, elevated soil. 
 They plant the Holcus sorghum and saccharatus, pumpkins, 
 melons, and calabashes, in the black soil near fountains and 
 running streams. At the back of a hut placed at my disposal 
 stood a large heavy leopard-trap, a good specimen of native 
 ingenuity. It was raised five feet high at one end by a lever 
 (over a scaffold), the end of which was attached by a trigger 
 to the bait in the farthest end of the coop. The leopard, 
 when tugging at the bait, disengages the trigger, causing the 
 trap or coop to fall over and enclose him. The coop is made 
 of strong saplings, lashed together with bark, and, when once 
 enclosed, it is in vain that he struggles for escape. A spear is 
 inserted through the openings, and the enraged animal is 
 speared to death. 
 
 I'ith October. — Mazhanga made no movement towards 
 rendering me assistance. He and his men were all the 
 morning sharpening their spears and holding a levee, several 
 of his peo])le having visited him with the tributary share of 
 meat, entrapped or picked up. Clapping the thighs most ener- 
 getically is here equivalent to " Thank you." The men have 
 each three or four fine new spears. They are all, women as 
 well as men, fat and plump, and do not look as if they had 
 been sufferers by Moselikatze's invasion. They adopt the
 
 182 CHAPMAN'tS TRAVELS. [ciiai-. vii. 
 
 fashion of knocking out the upper front teetli. Their lan- 
 guage is different to the Makalaka, and very like that spoken 
 by most of the prize negroes brought from the east coast to 
 the Cape. They have consequently been called, very appro- 
 priately, I think, Mosbiekers — a corruption of IMosambique — 
 from this resemblance. They ornament their bodies by 
 cutting cicatrices in the form of a collar pattern, &c. I saw 
 here a small model canoe, with flat stern. 
 
 Having made so grievous a mistake as to shoot more meat 
 on the road, it was hardly to be expected that the Damaras 
 would come up last night ; but they did not even make their 
 appearance all day, though the Makalakas have come punc- 
 tually. Can it be credited that, besides the bundles of flesh 
 they brought from the wagons, they (about fifty men, womc^ . 
 and children) have devoured a bufialo, a quagga, a pallah, 
 two waterbucks, and three rhinoceroses, and all since Satur- 
 day evening, this being Tuesday ? I left Mazhanga's village 
 in disgust, and proceeded by a beautiful open, green valley, 
 an old river-bed leading into the little Zambesi or Kakobi 
 river, where the IMakalakas were waiting for me. Here the 
 natives have their houses raised on high stages, erected as a 
 protection from lions and leopards, and from which to yell 
 and frighten away the elephants from their gardens during 
 the day. Having a frightful headache from the heat of the 
 sun, I resort as usual to my Bushman remedy, at the expense 
 of having my forehead ornamented with blisters dotted all 
 over it next morning. April has a root which he puts into 
 tlie fire, and brands me all over the forehead, heating it 
 again and again. It is the heat of the fire tliat gives relief, 
 not the root, nor any of his genuflexions over me. A bag of 
 heated salt also gives relief, but I do not know whether it is 
 good to repeat it so often. 
 
 At the camping-place of some Europeans who lately hunted 
 here, I was sorry to see the tsetse. They had evidently fol-
 
 CHAP. VII.] ADVANCE TO THE EASTWARD. 183 
 
 lowed us from the neighbouring san 1-hill, which is covered 
 with a dense and luxuriant vegetation, but the trees are 
 plastered into their very tops with red earth by the ever-busy 
 termites (a new kind, smaller than the common). Every- 
 thing seems in a fair way to destruction from these insects. 
 Some elepliants had roamed about last night. The system 
 of government here is peculiar, and holds together wonder- 
 fully, considering the people and the circumstances. For 
 instance, they are spread all over a large extent of country, 
 in small villages (that of the chief Wankie being the least) 
 or families, like the Boers. They each occupy a fountain 
 or two, where they plant, and believe that this plan of life 
 adds to, instead of diminishing, their security. They are, 
 however, in constant dread of Moselikatze's people, who 
 every year make their rounds, stealing children and mur- 
 dering the parents. As they have no cattle now, their 
 wives, of \\hich they have a good number, may be said to 
 comprise their sole riches. Wankie himself is said to have 
 owned eighty, but Moselikatze has taken forty at different 
 times. 
 
 After leaving Kakobi we travelled in a mo]-e easterly direc- 
 tion over rocky hills, and halted for the heat at about 10. The 
 hills, since yesterday, are rather bare of trees, but ripe grass 
 in abundance waved over their brows. Here and there a 
 wall of grey rocks, probably limestone, cropped out at the 
 tops on either side of the valley, and the bright green and 
 rich brown of the young leaves on the borders of the streams, 
 and the warm red over the ripe grass, with green trees, blue 
 stream, and black rocks beneath, form an attractive picture. 
 The fountain at which we halted was called Lokungunie ; 
 this, together with another, called Mokoma, which we had 
 just passerl, flowed north into Kakobi, now on our right. I 
 saw here indications of a trade in salt from the north. We 
 travelled over the hills, and descended to Kasai. On this
 
 184 CHAPMAN"^ TliA VELS. [chap. vii. 
 
 Jay last year, I hear, it rained heavily in these parts, but the 
 sky and the weather show no signs as yet. 
 
 liSth October. — We passed over the right shoulder of a 
 large table-mountain, with sloping sides, and halted, on 
 account of the heat, at a stream called Machiiige. On de- 
 scending a deep and sometimes wild-looking valley, we drank 
 at two other fountains. The hills on the left, which rise more 
 than a thousand feet, seem to keep the level of the highest 
 part of the desert. Their summits are flat, and covered with 
 the same sandy soil of the desert beyond {i.e. south of) Daka. 
 Our course led through a dense jungle, composed of tall 
 mopani trees, now leafless. Progress was obstructed, how- 
 ever, by the dependant of a plant attached to the branches 
 immediately above the ground, apparently a kind of fig, the 
 juice of which dropped stains like blood on the bark of the 
 trunk. It was difficult to see or shoot at anything, but 
 before sunset a troop of buffaloes passed. I followed the 
 cloud of dust for about a mile, and came up with them, but 
 saw only the hindermost, who turned to look back at the 
 danger. I made a quick snap-shot, and secured him. The 
 report of my gun probably brought on the peoj)le, who came 
 dro})ping in one after the other, and fell-to at the flesh with 
 a vengeance. 
 
 Next day we descended by a long, winding, steep, and very 
 rugged path to the Matietsie. The rocks on the hill are of 
 a hard sandstone, worn full of cavities as big as one's fist ; 
 below the rocks are of a crumbling, chocolate-brown sand- 
 stone, with radiated zeolite (?) embedded in it. The Matietsie 
 river contains a large quantity of water, but there is no 
 getting at it, as it is margined with sharp and prickly reeds, 
 a few green clumps of trees, and bare motchuerie trees on 
 its banks. The slopes of the hills are thickly studded with 
 a kinl of fig tree (sterculias, sorokaan, &c.), and young ventri- 
 cose baobabs. From their shape, I consider them young,
 
 CHAP. VII.] THE MATIETSIE RIVER. 185 
 
 thougli they may be some hundred years old. There are 
 no large ones on any of the slopes in the intervening 
 country in the desert beyond Daka and the river ; but 
 on the tops of the highest sandy plateaus, even those over- 
 looking the river, they are quite equal to what we see in the 
 desert. 
 
 Yesterday, during the descent down a long valley, I noticed 
 several peculiar indentations and water-worn caverns in the 
 beds and banks of the streams : to them we were sometimes 
 indebtel for our supply of water. I wondered whether men 
 or elephants had dug them, but conclude that they must 
 have been worn by the force of mountain-torrents in the 
 rainy season. Nearly all the fountains in this country cease 
 to run after the first mile or two at this time of year ; and 
 many very noble streams between Daka and the Falls 
 were quite dried up during our short stay at the latter. 
 Some green indentations against the slopes of hills we passed 
 yesterday show where fountains have been, which have pro- 
 bably been closed up by the feet of hundreds of elephants 
 and other animals. 
 
 At the Matietsie I met a number of Wankie's wives hunting 
 for fish — a strange occupation for the wives of a chief ; but 
 since these people were attacked by Moselikatze they are put 
 to great extremities for food. The women were gathering a 
 root called n'damba, which they pound and cast into stagnant 
 pools, and all the fish are poisoned. The root is not poison to 
 man, and the seeds, a kind of bean, are an article of food. I 
 tasted some of the root, which has a sweetish flavour, with 
 the slightest taste of pepper. It is very glutinous, and 
 not the same (illusani) which the Natal Kaffirs use for the 
 like purpose. The women roast their fishes in a cleanlv 
 manner, on a gridiron made by placing several sticks across 
 two long stones. They had also collections of a winged seed 
 called n'tombolo, which tasted like beans ; these they boil, and
 
 186 
 
 CHAPMAN'S Til A VELS. 
 
 TCHAI'. VII. 
 
 from anotlier root, n'tebe, wliicli they cut into thin slices, drv, 
 and pound, tliey obtain a very nice white flour. 
 
 The weather is now so frio;htfullv hot and debilitatins: that 
 where I coukl formerly walk 20 miles a day witli comfort, 
 I now can scarcely do 12, and having, moreover, blistered 
 
 ONE OF WANKIK S IVIVl S. 
 
 my foot, I was unwilling to go out and endanger its cure, so 
 sent Jem the Bushman and Bill out to hunt. Spoors of 
 lions are plentiful, and they have been a great pest to the 
 natives, having been in the habit lately of feeding regularly 
 on them from the villages on the river. I made a small 
 skaarm for myself, and bade the people bring abundance
 
 CHAP. VII.] WANKIE. 187 
 
 of firewood for their own protection during the night. 
 A good many, no doubt, fall victims to their own want of 
 energy, and their own indifference, lying down with a small 
 fire, which soon goes out, while they sleep on without re- 
 kindling it. I found the horns of a magnificent old koodoo, 
 killed very recently by a lion, on the spot of our encampment, 
 and had them carried to our house on the Zambesi river. 
 
 18/A October. — A walk of about four or five miles broujrht 
 me to the Zambesi river, following up which for a farther 
 distance of four or five miles, I reached the spot where Baines 
 had established himself. I found both him and John very 
 ill and weak, but recovering slov^ly. They had cut down 
 more than a dozen trees already, but were at a standstill just 
 now. It is frightful weather to work in. 
 
 I had a visit from Wankie, the chief here, having sent to 
 invite him, and in the afternoon, without any of that imper- 
 tinence we were subjected to by Mashotlaan at the Falls, 
 Wankie readily came over. I mistook a sort of herald, who 
 iiad a painted rag over his shoulders, for the chief. This 
 man, hastily spreading a large square cloth on the floor of our 
 house, disappeared in a twinkling. Then came a musician, 
 wliose tones we had already heard at a distance, dancing 
 before Wankie, and bowing and playing before me by way of 
 welcome. The music is performed on a primitive kind of piano 
 inside a calabash — a sweet-toned instrument, worthy of being 
 in the hands of a better musician, and being improved upon. 
 
 Wankie is tall, inclined to corpulency, and about fifty 
 years of age. With an air of dignity becoming a chief, he is 
 in appearance, address, and behaviour the best specimen of a 
 black gentleman that I have ever met with. He readily 
 entered into every plan I proposed in the most straight- 
 forward and frank manner, and had never begged anything 
 of Baines yet ! 
 
 The site which Baines had chosen for making our camp
 
 188 CHAPMAN'S TBAVELS. [chap. vii. 
 
 was a very eligible one, on the top of a small conical mound 
 200 feet liigli, and commanding a very extensive view of the 
 river up and down — the silver stream winding between pre- 
 cipitous blue hills fading away in the distance. On the 
 opposite bank is Wankie's village, and just below it the 
 more extensive one of his vassal Molomo-a-tolo (Koodoo's 
 mouth) ; but I rather fear he is more faithful to Sekeletu of 
 the Makololo than to Wankie of the Bashapatani. Molomo- 
 a-tolo has one or two canoes, with whicli Wankie has fled 
 from Moselikatze's attacks evidently into the Makololo 
 territory, for Mashotlaan cannot be more than 50 miles 
 west, and Sinamani, who pays tribute to Sekeletu, probably 
 50 miles north-east of this. Wankie, however, is here 
 alone, with his wives and servants, his people living scattered 
 in small villages of thirty to thirty-five huts, in the most 
 inaccessible parts of the mountainous country south of the 
 Zambesi ; and though he is a civil old gentleman, I believe 
 he has the reputation of trusting more to his heels than his 
 courage in times of danger. Even children here say he is a 
 woman (coward), and ^\ill not fight. 
 
 Meanwhile little or no progress has been made in the accom- 
 plishment of our cherished project of testing the navigability 
 of the Zambesi. John, who is very despondent, wishes to go 
 back to Otjimbengue, and fetch the remaining portions of the 
 boats left there ; but there are various objections to this. Our 
 present position is certainly very discouraging, and I foresee 
 various evils likely to ensue from the prolonged absence from 
 the colony. Baines is still sanguine ; but I do not see my way 
 as to the wished-for launching of our boat, nor as to the avoid- 
 ance of the rapids (or falls, whichever they may prove to be) 
 reported by Livingstone as occurring in the downward course 
 of the stream. I have come to the determination of going 
 down to Sinamani's myself, and seeing if our path is clear. 
 The time passed in this way will give Baines and John an
 
 CHAP. VII.] ON TO SINAMANrS. 189 
 
 opportunity to recover, and be ready to set to work with 
 renewed energies. 
 
 I walked with Baines to look at the trees he had cut, and 
 to have a shot at the hippopotami. They were very wary, 
 having been already fired at this morning. I am doubtful 
 about the propriety of going in person to meet my brother, 
 inclining to the belief that it will be better for me to stay 
 either here or midway between this and the wagon. It is 
 true that by pursuing this course I run the risk of losing the 
 sale of articles left in the wagons, which ought to be disposed 
 of: but it would be a great pity if we should fail in the 
 execution of our project now, after getting on so far. 
 
 Finding it necessary that I should go to Sinamani's myself 
 and see that there is not another fall between, I made known 
 my intention to Baines, who, notwithstanding that he was not 
 yet recovered from a recent illness, wished very much to 
 accompany me. Accordingly Ave made preparations for a 
 start on Monday, Wankie having promised us a guide. 
 
 20^/i October. — It was late before our guide arrived, so that 
 we started when it was already very hot. We crossed the 
 Luisi, or Daka, river about a mile below our camp, opposite 
 an island on the Zambesi, on which Molomo-a-tolo dwells. 
 Our guide wished to take us away from the river by a more 
 comfortable road, and where there was game ; but as we 
 were going to explore the river, not the forest, we insisted, 
 notwithstanding his assertion that there was no path, and no 
 game. A herd of sea-cows, clustered together in the middle 
 of the stream, had all the appearance of a small rocky 
 island, being of the same dark colour as the stratified rocks 
 through which the river has worn its channel. Again we 
 found another, and then another troop, and having, after eight 
 or nine miles' march, killed four sea-cows in an eddy, and as 
 the sun was frightfully hot, I ordered an early halt, for the 
 purpose of fortifying ourselves against the lions, and also that
 
 190 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chai-. vir. 
 
 we might be near to watch the Heating of any of the dead 
 sea-cows before morning. The hills forming the valley o^ the 
 Zambesi are very steep here, and are covered with a sombre- 
 looking and leafless vegetation, very unlike the pale neutral 
 grey of the desert. A few trees on the banks alone are 
 green. The baobabs on the river's banks are pretty large, 
 but I notice that the largest grow on the highest plateaus 
 — that is, on those ridges which are on a level with the 
 desert. Several sterculias and a great many wild fruit 
 trees abound, and the black-looking motsouri, a wild loquat, 
 is the most pleasing now, owing to its shade. There are little 
 or no reeds on the river, or grass or vegetation on the rocky 
 banks, and consequently, I should think, must be tolerably 
 healthy. The current here is about four miles an hour ; the 
 rapids, I should say, run seven or eight, and some even faster; 
 but there is nothing to obstruct the passage of a boat with a 
 good steersman. 
 
 I have now had an opportunity of seeing the hippopotamus 
 bird more distinctly, and find that it is decidedly not any- 
 thing like the rhinoceros or buffalo birds, but, like its friend, 
 aquatic. It is a kind of snipe, or small sandpij)er {Chara- 
 drius trigonatus), of a dark grey colour, white underneath, 
 with red legs and bill, and red cere round the eye ; the under- 
 wing coverts are white, or partially so. They are the 
 smallest sandpipers, or plovers, I have seen, and seem to 
 flutter about in great distress when the hippopotamus has 
 been frightened under, keeping up a constant cry, and 
 attempting to alight on their heads every time they reach 
 the surface to breathe. I shall obtain a couple of specimens 
 of these for the Cape Museum. What the hippopotamus has 
 on its body for tliese birrls to feed on, I do not know. I 
 noticed to-day several lieautiful birds, one of the most hand- 
 some being a bee-eater. 
 
 list Octoher. — We had slept badly, owing to the oppressive
 
 CHAP. VII.] DOWN THE ZAMBESI VALLEY. 191 
 
 heat. A heavy fog accumulated tliroughout the night over 
 the river, and cleared off again in the morning. The frogs 
 begin to cry reguhirly, ^vhich looks something like rain. 
 Since leaving the camp the hard basaltic rocks are gradually 
 disappearing. I found on my way down from Boana these 
 rocks frequently newly shattered into fragments, and was at 
 a loss as to the cause, attributing it to lightning, but I now 
 think it owing to their great exposure either to the sun 
 or fires. The rocks which now take the ]ilace of the former 
 are of a stratified or laminated appearance. Their external 
 aspect is very black, but internally a yellowish-brown. 
 Wherever abrasion has taken place they have a hard, smooth, 
 and polished surface, full of little cavities, worn by the grind- 
 ing of shingle and pebbles. The quartz rocks are yellow, and 
 have a brilliant polish ; high up against the sides of the 
 banks, where only light particles of sand could be at Avork, 
 the polish is exquisite. Some rocks have numerous agates 
 embedded in them. Others have a scaly appearance, like 
 the scales of a bulb or onion, and these are visible in 
 circles at every point of rock which is broken ; the outer 
 crust is soft, and the inner hard. To-day we travelled more 
 easterly ; the river still confined by steep hills, and flowing 
 between black rocks in a narrow worn-out channel, scarcely 
 ever wider than 100 yards, and often as narrow as 30 ; its 
 average width will probably be about 50. When flooded it 
 will have an average width, so far, of about 800 yards. 
 
 We were so unfortunate as not to recover one of the hip- 
 popotami we shot, and, in the opinion of the natives, they 
 were still at the bottom, or had gone higher up the river, to 
 die in some quiet eddy. This morning I again saw some 
 monsters, forming, to all appearance, a rocky island in the 
 middle of the stream, but I did not fire. Last night our 
 people were hungry, having brought no meat, but this morn- 
 ing I fell in with three koodoos, and shot them all in less
 
 ]92 nflAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. vii. 
 
 than three minutes: leaving the men to cut them up and 
 make breakfast, I strolled on. I walked three or four miles, 
 and, not caring to wear out my last pair of shoes by going 
 back over the sharp rocks, sent for my breakfast, and re- 
 mained at a small village of Mabekeri. 
 
 We had passed a rocky island in a narrow part of the 
 valley, with trees on its east end, nearly a mile in length. 
 A few stunted anna-booms (called moku) afford a grateful 
 shade, but the second halt, three miles farther on, was under a 
 large and very shady fruit tree, called motsekere, with brown 
 bark, branches spreading upwards, and then curving down- 
 wards, and covered with bunches of fig-shaped fruit, which 
 contain each four or fi\e nuts. They are very much esteemed 
 by the natives, who say they yield milk ; leaves oblong, 
 strongly ribbed, and go in pairs. A more magnificent tree 
 than this stood near us also, and was covered v.ith figs, which 
 the natives also speak very highly of. Unfortunately for us, 
 we have to wait three or four months for these fruits to ripen. 
 There are rapids every mile or so in the river, and some of 
 them nasty-looking ones to a landsman, but I do not think 
 that even at this, the dry est season, a well-handled whale- 
 boat would be in any danger. One or two little falls, of two or 
 three feet high, will soon be smoothed over when the river comes 
 down. While waiting here for Baines, who is ever indefati- 
 gable and sanguine, to bring up the rear from the Koodoo 
 bend, a beautiful herd of koodoo, male and female, paraded 
 themselves before me on the opposite bank, as if conscious of 
 their security in the absence of a boat. I regretted much 
 my inability to photograph so interesting a picture ; beautiful 
 animals, noble trees, comprising dwarf palms, baobabs, 
 moku, mokachoii, motseara, motsekeri, and fig, and the river 
 flowing fast before us, between wild, black rocks, and the 
 distant liills covered with sterculias. 
 
 In the afternoon we left the Zambesi, makins: a bend to
 
 CHAP. viT.] THE GWAl OR QUAGGA RIVER. 193 
 
 the north, and steered about east over the shoulder of a 
 mountain, from 12 to 1500 feet above the level of the river. 
 The sides of these hills are hard red sandstone. Where we 
 parted from the Zambesi, we crossed a beautiful and strong 
 fountain of mineral water, gushing into it from the south. 
 This is called Masuna, and an adjacent river-bed, now dry, 
 bears the same name. It comes down a deep and beauti- 
 ful valley from the south, thickly wooded with fruit trees. 
 Having the highest part of the mountain on our right, we passed 
 through tall mopani forests. After an excessively hot walk 
 of about five miles, we came to the Gwai, or Quagga, river. 
 This river, which I had the honour of first making known in 
 1854, is a fine stream of running water. It has now, in the 
 dry est time of the year, more water in it than I have seen the 
 Vaal river have in some seasons. It flows down a deep and 
 acclivitous valley, the hills rising abruptly over a thousand 
 feet on either side, and covered with bare trees. A little 
 valley coming into the Gwai, half a mile north of this, seems 
 to be the dividing point of the large square blocks, layer on 
 layer, of hard red sandstone. We found here a village of 
 about twenty huts ; this is only a portion of a larger village 
 under Wankie, situated somewhere to the south, of which 
 Shamusea is the chief. Several females, who were stamping 
 corn, were well decorated with beads and cowrie shells, sewn 
 on to the skin clothing, with holes punctured through the 
 middle cartilage of the nose, in which they insert a straw 
 full of beads. This shuts up the nostril, and must impede 
 breathing to some extent. The men have the head shaved 
 all round, level with the forehead, leaving the crown covered, 
 but the heads of the females are shaved clean, like the 
 IMashapatani. Their dress is like the Damaras, without the 
 girdles. Baines felt very weak, and I advised him to return 
 to the boat-building station. 
 
 2'2nd October . — In the afternoon, after Baines and Xapenyoka 
 
 VOL. II. o
 
 in4 CHAPMAN'S TRAVEl.H. [chap. vii. 
 
 luul left, the chief, a man from Wankie's, and another one in 
 a scarf and cotton blankets, visited us. The chief presented 
 me with some millet (zemboe) and Holeus sorglium (matundi). 
 I was exceedingly surprised to hear from him that there was 
 a waterfall, and that it was at the junction of the Gwai. I 
 was ready to start off at once, but he advised me to wait until 
 morning, and he would give me a guide ; so I made up my 
 mind for the morrow. Next day I left early, with a severe 
 headache. Saw some little waterbucks without their dams, 
 and shot one : I mistook them at first for some strange 
 animals, but learnt that the dam had been killed by dogs. 
 These animals are so easily killed with dogs, that I have 
 known them, in a few years, to become extinct throughout 
 several districts. I observed a small herd of Vaal rhee- 
 bucks high up in the hills, and fell in with hippopotami 
 in another pond. Here I was successful, killing two and 
 woun-ding a third. I then continued my walk in a chaos of 
 rocks, washed down by the floods, which run thirty or forty 
 to fifty feet high, and have done vast mischief; blocks as 
 large as houses often impede our progress, and the solid rocks 
 are full of rounded holes, like the inside of a pot, worn by 
 stones and pebbles. I reached the junction at about 10 a.m. 
 There is no considerable waterfall, but the meeting of the 
 waters must cause a tremendous commotion. The Zambesi, 
 passing by a narrow channel between perpendicular cliffs, 
 rushes into the Gwai with a rapid descent of thirty feet or 
 more, just at the junction. This is broken into several little 
 falls, over a space of the last fifty yards or so, for the Gwai, 
 notwithstanding that it slopes very much latterly, must rise 
 to the height of fifty feet at least, to judge by the drift, and 
 when full must be broader than the Zambesi itself. I do not 
 know what effect the entrance of such a stream would have 
 on passing boats. The natives point to it with terror, and 
 tell me that some hippopotamus hunters, from beyond Sina-
 
 CHAP, vii] MEETING OF THE GWAI AND ZAMBESI. 195 
 
 mani's, went up as far as where we \\ounded the four liippo- 
 potami, and, having killed four sea-cows, tied them by the 
 legs to the boats, and dragged them down the stream ; and 
 when they came to this place, the eddy took the boats round 
 and round with the carcases, and sucked them down alto- 
 gether. This was in about July or August, as well as I can 
 understand ; the people below Sinamani's are also described 
 as going up to hunt these animals in their canoes. It must 
 be a very wild scene, this, when the rivers are flooded, and 
 the fifty feet of cliff on either side of the Zambesi are then 
 probably covered with water. These cliffs form the base of a 
 mountain or hill. It would be impossible to take goods 
 along the banks of the Zambesi here, and I doubt whether 
 men can get a footing. I noticed that, before reaching this 
 place, water percolated through the red sandstone rocks in 
 the sides of the mountains in several places. The inhabitants 
 of a village we passed on the way fled, and clambered up the 
 steep mountains. 
 
 Leaving our pleasant shade under the immense rocks, we 
 turned back to look after our booty. It was only a couple of 
 miles to the sea-cow pond, but I could hardly reach it, being 
 seized with a great faintness. and my limbs giving way under 
 me, so that I was frequently obliged to rest, but by bathing 
 my head and face with cold water, of which I also drank, 
 was sufficiently restored to crawl over the whole distance. 
 We found the hippopotami floating dead, and two others 
 swimming close by, with a host of crocodiles lying in wait for 
 the prey. I gave orders to throw in stones, and beat the 
 water with sticks, to drive them off, and then to drag the 
 carcases in shore, while I sought shelter from the terrific 
 heat of the sun. 
 
 I should have said that the Zambesi river at the junction 
 runs about east and west, and the Gwai flows into it from 
 the south, having made several bends in the course we had 
 
 o2
 
 19<; CinAFMAN'S TJIAVELK [chap. vii. 
 
 followed from the village tliis morning. The crocodiles were 
 driven oif, the hippopotami brought ashore, and it was in- 
 teresting to observe the earnestness of every one of my 
 fellows over the first incision, inspecting the condition of the 
 beast. The two surviving ones, it may be imagined, must 
 have experienced a peculiar sort of torment in witnessing 
 the dissecting system carried on by the Makalakas on the 
 carcases of their companions. They put up their heads every 
 few minutes for several seconds, and might have been easily 
 shot, but we have meat enough and to spare. 
 
 The measurement of tlie male hippopotamus (a young one) 
 is ten feet to the back of nostrils from the end of tail ; the 
 head measures from the back of ears to the nostrils two 
 feet ; about four inches more, including nostrils, brings you 
 to the muzzle, and six inches more, downwards, to the end 
 of the upper lip. Ears barely four inches, which looks very 
 small on the head of such a monster. The muzzle is sixteen 
 to eighteen inches broad. Tail about one foot and an inch. 
 Eyes two inches. Nostrils about the same, and capable of 
 being closed by inspiration, round and protruding when 
 respiring. Lips and nostrils sparingly covered witli coarse 
 short bristles, all split at the points, some long and curly. 
 The upper lip is of a very peculiar shape. (The female which 
 I shot was said to be large, but I was too ill to go and look 
 at it. The largest male I wounded is still alive.) Four toes, 
 and the palm more elastic than the borele's, which is exactly 
 one foot in diameter, though it measures only ten inches. It 
 is not often one can get the measurement of a hippopotamus, 
 as it is a very heavy and unmanageable animal, and must be 
 cut up in the water. Head at base twenty-two inches broad 
 and twenty-four inches deep. Tail laterally compressed like a 
 rudder. Smallest circumference of fore foot of the young male, 
 twenty inches, of the female nineteen inches. The hind leg 
 retractile within the thigh, and when the animal plunges
 
 CHAP, vir.] DIMENSIONS OF HIPPOPOTAMUS. 197 
 
 to the bottom lie can give a most dexterous lack behind. 
 Baines tells me of one that stove in their boat with very 
 little effort. 
 
 The hippopotamus utters a very loud startling snort and 
 grunt. The snort of the war-horse is nothing to the majestic 
 swagger of behemoth, as he rises triumphant from the whirl- 
 ing wave. His grunt at night, however, is the most loud and 
 startling, and it is not at all wonderful when the eapacitv of 
 his mouth comes to be considered ; it is like the gruff braying 
 of a donkey, but very much louder. His mouth measures 
 three feet from corner to corner, lips square and straight, as 
 if cut, and capable of being closely compressed to exclude air 
 or water. The only part of the body on which there is a 
 scanty supply of hair is the ears. There are sixteen grinders 
 in each jaw, and two additional tusks having a strong enamel 
 in the lower one. The hide varies from an inch and a half 
 to two inches in thickness. Neither the hide nor the head 
 ofter any impediment to a hardened bullet, though death 
 does not necessarily follow. 
 
 These animals go over rocks without any seeming incon- 
 venience, and travel two or three miles away from the water 
 during the night in quest of grass, which is scarce just now. 
 The high and rocky hills here seem to be no impediment to 
 them, for they appear to climb with cat-like facility. There 
 are six incisors in each jaw of the hippopotamus. The two 
 middle ones in centre of lower jaw, straight and jjrotrudiug 
 forward. Two additional little tusks, or canines (?), in upper 
 jaw between the grinders and the incisors — a complicated 
 machinery altogether. These are easily killed with the aid of 
 dogs during the night. When these attack them they become 
 quite stupefied, and stand still. They are one of the animals 
 doomed to early extinction when fire-arms are introduced, yet 
 not so soon, one would tliink, as the elephant and rhinoceros. 
 
 2Aili October. — I notice that the last fcAV davs have made
 
 198 CHAPMAN'S TMAVELS. [chap. vii. 
 
 a change, unless it be merely a local feature, in the appear- 
 ance of the trees, which are here now beginning to throw 
 out their young leaves in spite of the long absence of the 
 rains. Towards evening, with the accumulated heat of the 
 day, the rocks feel as if they could broil meat in a short 
 time. We never see a snake now, so that they must be pass- 
 ing these months in a state of torpor, until the shade of trees 
 and the rain cool the earth. This is worthy of notice, because 
 it is a generally received opinion that snakes delight in a 
 scorching heat and hot sands, while nothing is farther from 
 the truth. 
 
 26th October. — I returned to Shamuzia's village to get back 
 to our road, climbing the steep sides of the mountain to gain 
 the top, over which we walked on a gentle descent towards 
 the Zambesi, which we reached at 10 o'clock. Here we 
 found two or three little villages on either side, and the 
 baboons had coolly taken possession of the gardens, in which 
 they were pulling up the young melons in sight of their 
 owners — ^their antics quite human. Shandu, the head of one 
 village, presented me with millet, and a small basin of beer ; 
 another also brought a basin of beer, which, however, I 
 cannot drink, though it is better than the Bechuana beer. 
 They are very friendly, but rather frightened and suspicious. 
 We passed over nothing but sandstone this morning, and saw, 
 for the first time since leaving the desert, a few mogouono 
 trees. This country is scarce of game. The sun is frightfully 
 hot, and, living on nearly pure meat, one is unable to go far 
 without water. As we left this village, at about 3 p.m., two 
 of the natives ran to meet me as I passed, to present on 
 their knees a little millet and a few ground-nuts. It was a 
 trifling gift, but was bestowed in a manner which showed 
 they could expect nothing in return. This is unlike the 
 generality of the Bechuana tribes. The people at this 
 village possess a boat, and would have given me a passage to
 
 CKAP. VII.] VISIT FROM A BECHUANA CHIEF. 199 
 
 Shabby, their chief, who lives five or six miles farther eastward ; 
 but they were afraid of the consequences of taking a stranger 
 over without the chief's previous knowledge and consent : 
 they therefore respectfully begged to decline, but gave us 
 a guide to Shabby's. They promised me a boat back 
 past the junction of the Gwai, which will be a great lift; 
 and we must try and get a passage from here backwards 
 also, as the hill we climbed this afternoon is somethinaf 
 frightful for human beings. I saw this afternoon, on the 
 ridge running parallel with the river, an old enemy, the 
 sickle-thorn of the desert. The hills here open, but are 
 steep, and of great altitude. The river is broader, and its 
 valley, not so deep and confined, offers one of the finest views 
 to the eastward that I have seen for a long time, with a neat 
 village of new huts on a plateau, forming the summit of a 
 slope to the river, and studded with shady trees. On the 
 left of the village, over the river, is a gorge of sandstone, 
 partially concealed by five or six large green trees. The 
 slopes are of a rich red sandy soil, under cultivation. At the 
 back of the village, to the north, is a range of hills three or 
 four miles distant. On this side the river we are encamped 
 under a dwelling, in the upper story of which I meant to 
 make my bed. We had some difficulty to induce the natives 
 to come across, though we had their oun people with us. 
 Two young men at length came, but the chief is afraid 
 as yet. 
 
 Shabby came over with a rather formidable array, landing 
 at two points, with five men in each boat, and each carry- 
 ing five speait; and a battle-axe. I looked upon these de- 
 monstrations as arising rather from fear and distrust than 
 from any hostile intentions. The chief had to undergo the 
 usual ordeal of being taught by our guides how to behave 
 himself, and squatted with the usual " lumela JcJiosi" verv 
 humbly but very awkwardly. He presented me with a
 
 200 VHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. vii. 
 
 small basket of mealies, and wished us to sleep to-night at 
 his place a little farther on, while he sends to prepare 
 Sinamani for the evil we may bring upon him. This he 
 proposes in order to avoid getting himself into trouble, and 
 as this is Sunday, and it coincides Avith my intention, we 
 give a ready assent. 
 
 I noticed here rock-rabbits, and a brown chatterer (Crate- 
 rojpus Jardinii), with a broad deep brown tail, light brown on 
 breast, which, with the throat, is speckled. They are very 
 noisy birds, and nervous in their movements. Nasty head- 
 ache this morning. 
 
 Shabby tells me that the Mambari traders pass north of 
 this to Sekeletu's, and also come to Sinamani's to trade. I. 
 have since found this out to be a mistake. No Mambari 
 have ever been at Sinamani's ; but, as one of Dr. Living- 
 stone's party was a trader, they call them Mambari. There 
 are no elephants here, nor any other animals that I can see 
 the spoor of, excepting quaggas. We shifted our camp to 
 the shade of an m'j)emela tree. These are pretty trees : the 
 fruit and flower have a long tendrilous stem, on which hang 
 either clusters of velvety dark crimson, or pomegranate, or 
 dahlia-coloured flowers, and large, heavy pods, two or three 
 feet long. The seeds are eaten, but are not nice. Oil is 
 expressed from the seeds for anointing the bodies. The 
 flower, which is couch-shaped, is six inches in diameter ; four- 
 petaled corolla with four stamens, with yellow down at base, 
 and the pistil also yellow ; on the outside this colour prepon- 
 derates in ridges. The flower also is of a thick, fleshy texture ; 
 the leaves are six inches long, oval, and just now very much 
 perforated by insects. I have not seen a palm tree, except a 
 few stunted ones, since I reached the river at Wankie's. I 
 sent all the young men back this morning to fetch the flesh 
 of two quaggas I had shot. They were beautiful specimens, 
 male and female ; the male very darkly striped to the hoofs,
 
 CHAP. VII.] NATIVE INDUSTRY. 201 
 
 and the stripes at the back joined to the dorsal line, forming 
 beautifully eccentric markings. The female, not joined to 
 the dorsal line. I had the tongue of one for breakfast. 
 There are no tsetse here. In the evening I went on three 
 miles, and crossed the Mapato (a fine stream) at its junction. 
 It comes a long way from the south. Shabby 's gardens 
 extend down either bank all this distance, and beyond for 
 another mile. 
 
 ^Titli October. — Shabby came over rather late, but we started 
 at once. After two miles we crossed a dry river coming from 
 the south, called Nacheboe. Two or three miles farther down 
 we came to a village of Mozamba's at a bend of the river, 
 with a rapid formed by a reef of rocks projecting across the bed 
 of the river. This will be from four to five miles this morn- 
 ing. I wished to go on, but Shabby advises staying here 
 till the sun gets cool. The ground we walked over is a 
 brown, rich, unctuous earth, all of which is or has been under 
 cultivation. Fruit trees are very plentiful, &c. Last night 
 the chief brought me a dish of white flour and a melon as a 
 present. 
 
 I was astonished this morning at seeing the natives har- 
 vesting their mealies, melons, and tobacco at this time of 
 year. They must have two crops annually, as they have just 
 planted one, or are about doing so. The tobacco grows to 
 the height of seven or eight feet, and has fine broad leaves, 
 but they do not know how to treat the article. The river is 
 gradually getting broader, the hills lower, and the spoor of 
 elephants, buffaloes, and hippopotami are again visible. It is 
 a pity we could not have got our things down as far as this 
 before commencing in earnest to work. 
 
 The villages are now more numerous than ever. I have 
 passed through nothing but gardens all the morning. The 
 natives have fowls and dogs, their only domestic animals. 
 The men are fine stalwart fellows, but go very nearly naked,
 
 202 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. vn. 
 
 having only a small strip of leather in front. The women 
 are well dressed, their skins or skirts tastefully decorated 
 with beads sewn on in squares or triangles, also with numerous 
 cowrie shells. The stick of beads thrust through the cartilage 
 of the nose is rather ungainly. I saw one or two of the 
 Batonga this morning, quite as light-coloured as the Hot- 
 tentots. The men have their ears punctured, and wear ear- 
 rings. The chiefs have all some cloth covering, or scarf, 
 either of African or European manufacture. I do not think 
 it right to impute their nakedness to shamelessness, but to the 
 real want of skin-clothing, small game being very scarce in 
 the country ; and they have no cattle, or sheep or goat-skins 
 to fall back upon when these fail. I think, therefore, that 
 European cloth will always be in great demand Avith them. 
 Why should not missionary institutions work better amongst 
 petty tribes like these, dependent on European commerce, 
 than amongst large tribes governed by a tyrant, to whom it 
 is generally more inconvenient than to any other member of 
 the tribe to become a Christian? 
 
 I notice that they prune wild fruit trees here. The natives 
 carry a horn, on which they blow to i'righten away the ele- 
 phants out of their gardens or out of their path. On my 
 road this morning I heard, to my surprise, that it would 
 take until to-morrow to reach Sinamani's. We halted, after 
 a M'alk of four or five miles, and are to stay over until nearly 
 sunset before moving on again. Much time is consumed in 
 this manner, and numbers of visitors are meanwhile advancing 
 from all quarters to have a look at the first white man they 
 have ever seen, and I am being made a show of at the ex- 
 pense of a great deal of time wasted. This evening we are 
 to stop at Sanchobie's, the first chief under Sinamani (pro- 
 nounced Sinaymani). 
 
 In the afternoon we passed two little rivulets, Givebalo 
 and Makula, and next the village and gardens of Mademma
 
 CHAP. VII.] A NO VEL GRA VE. 203 
 
 — a man under Sancbobie who lived a mile farther down — 
 opposite a rocky pass in the bend of the river. We had a 
 wearisome delay at each hamlet, and I find, to my annoyance, 
 that a good deal of it is cansed by the necessity there seems 
 to be of sending on to give warning at every village of the 
 approach of so important a personage as myself — a beard 
 twelve inches long never having been seen or dreamt of in 
 these parts. I shall be glad when I get into Dr. Living- 
 stone's route. While waiting the result of a great talk 
 between our guides, a gourd floated by, and a quarter of an 
 hour after a crocodile of immense size swam past with his 
 eyes above water, and making straight for it. 
 
 Here I found a recent grave with a monument formerly 
 common, but which, at the present value of ivory, might be 
 expensive. It consisted of four fine tusks of ivory, two on 
 each side, forming an archway over the grave. The ivory 
 was still quite good, and if they only knew its worth to us I 
 dare say they would soon be lying amongst our stock. Not 
 wishing, however, to disturb the graves of the dead, I gave 
 them no hint on the subject. 
 
 A hut was pointed out where I might sleep, and I sent to 
 Sanchobie to say he must provide me guides at daylight, as I 
 did not wish to travel in the heat of the sun while suffering 
 under the severe headache which I had for some time ex- 
 perienced. The night was a very disagreeable one. The 
 wind blew Avitli great fury, upsetting my shelter, and, in 
 spite of the wind, I was bathed all night in a constant per- 
 spiration. Yesterday I saw some tamarinds (Tamarindus 
 Indicus), a thing I did not know to exist in the country. 
 A tree was afterwards pointed out to me. I bespoke all the 
 tamarinds, as I wish to take them back to Baines and John. 
 
 28^/1 October. — Crossed a river called Sebungo just after 
 sunrise. About five miles more brought us again to the 
 Zambesi, opposite a range of mountains a few miles to the
 
 204 CHAPMAN'S TJt A VI:LS. [chap. vii. 
 
 north, called Seoko. This may be part of the range which 
 Dr. Livingstone mentions as Thaba Cheu, Sinamani's 
 Town is on the opposite side, probably a mile or two down 
 the river yet. Sinamani sent to say the wind was blowing 
 too hard for him to risk his life in a boat, but he would come 
 over to-night and see me; so passes another day in idle- 
 ness. I saw several of his people this morning. They 
 have their heads shaved clean, excepting a small tuft, such 
 as the Indians would desire to scalp by, and their bodies 
 ornamented with cicatrices. 
 
 The natives here have two crops regularly : the one is 
 planted after the inundations have receded in the winter; 
 the second crop is planted far up above the highest water- 
 marks on the neighbouring hills in October and November, 
 and depends upon the summer rains, which commence in 
 November. The river here, though a quarter of a mile 
 broad or more, must have a strong under-current, placid as 
 it may look above, for I see the natives have to drag the 
 boats a hundred yards or more up stream by the side of the 
 banks, and then pull dexterously for the opposite shore, 
 often missing their mark. 
 
 Towards evening Sinamani and his suite arrived. I ex- 
 pected to meet a different person ; his humility is extreme. 
 It is not at all disagreeable to have chiefs and great men at 
 your feet, considering that it is not to rob them of states and 
 territories that the interview is sought, but merely to esta- 
 blish a good understanding between the parties ; and it is 
 necessary that savages should feel a sense of their own 
 inferiority, otherwise our safety would sometimes be in 
 jeopardy. It is only this feeling, a sense of superstitious 
 dread, that protects the soUtary traveller through thousands 
 of barbarians: the indifference also which a European ex- 
 hibits on visiting single-handed a host of often treacherous 
 savages like themselves is to them incomprehensible ; they
 
 CHAP. VII.] 
 
 ,'iTNAMANJ. 
 
 20.5 
 
 would not think of doing so themselves. We are a mystery 
 to them, and in the self-imposed belief that our lives are 
 charmed, or that we are protected by some invisible power, 
 lies our security. 
 
 Sinamani, who now paid his respects to us, is a short man, 
 and about thirty-five. The expression of his face does not be- 
 speak him what one would wish, but I hope appearances in 
 this instance will turn out deceiving. I dare say that ex- 
 cessive smoking of matokoani (wild hemp, or liasMsJi) has 
 
 BUILLIAXT 5IKTE0R OX THE ZAMBESI KIVEB. 
 
 damaged his looks. He boasts only eight wives. His pro- 
 mises were good : " The river is yours ; there is no Avaterfall ; 
 I will bring you away to the next tribe." He ranks under 
 Sekeletu's banners. He has no ivory, but says, significantly, 
 that some trade will be done in front — which means, I 
 suppose, that he will send some ivory on to the next tribe to 
 sell for him. He knows Dr, Livingstone, also the doctor's 
 brother Charles, and Dr. Kirk, and has heard of us, and our 
 intentions at Mashotlaan's.
 
 206 CHAl'MAN'^ TRA VELS. [chap. vii. 
 
 Sinamani's eyes, and those of all his suite, sparkled \\ onder- 
 fully at the sight of the beads, blankets, and other things 1 
 gave him. He seemed not to understand that they were for 
 him, and that he was an object of so much attention. While 
 I was talking with the chief, his men had got into conversa- 
 tion with our Makalakas, and persuaded one nice little fellow 
 that his father was over the river, having sought refuge 
 there from Moselikatze. He was for going over at once, but 
 I put a stop to it, saying he could go with his father 
 if his parent would come and show himself. They after- 
 wards pretended that his father had gone to Wankie's in 
 search of him. I interfered in this business, as I know 
 they deal in slaves, and kidnap or entice all young lads like 
 these. 
 
 I did not bring with me any instruments for taking the 
 heights, or determining the position of Sinamani's Town ; but 
 I do not think the latitude of Dr. Livingstone will be far out. 
 A large range of high mountains, about two miles south, pro- 
 bably reaching 2000 feet above the river, I should like to 
 call after Sir George Grey. Sinamani's, perhaps, lies 500 
 feet lower than our station, which is about one-third of the 
 way between this point and the Victoria Falls, or nearly so : 
 the latter are about 1000 feet higher than this, so that in the 
 intervening country between Sinamani's and Tete, about 600 
 or 700 miles, there will be very little fall in the river, pro- 
 bably not more than 500 feet. I noticed in coming down 
 the river that there were, square rents at short intervals, very 
 similar to that of the Victoria Falls, across its rocky bed, 
 in about the same direction, 120°, forming a creek on either 
 side. The river is a succession of rapids all the way ; but at 
 intervals of a mile or two, and sometimes at greater intervals, 
 say five miles, and in the whole distance, perhaps, there may 
 be two that can be called Falls, but these are only five feet 
 high.
 
 CHAP, vii.] A T SINAMANPS. 207 
 
 I found the heat at Sinamani's very great, and felt during 
 my stay there as though immersed in a vapour-bath. Tlie 
 native population is becoming very dense ; the gardens and 
 corn-fields very extensive and rich. Ashes are used as manure. 
 Many of the gardens are surrounded by pitfalls, and are set 
 all over with snares for antelopes. The people whom I met 
 going on a journey carried a bumlle of light wooden javelins, 
 poisoned at the tips, and aa eighted with a composition of clay 
 and buffalo-dung. None of the natives that I have yet 
 seen have any cattle or goats, but fowls and dogs are 
 common. The latter are very small, but have great spirit 
 and endurance, enabling their masters to kill the largest 
 animals with their aid. 
 
 I picked up on the way hither a parcel of fine long-stapled 
 cotton, but have not seen any growing. Some few of the 
 people have European rugs, and others of native manufac- 
 ture brought from the east ; but these are very rare things. 
 Indigo is indigenous to the country. I saw it growing in 
 quantities on the sandstone ranges east of the Gwai.
 
 208 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. viir. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Rain-Doctovs — Matabele Outrages — Return to the Gwai — Scenery of the 
 Gwai Yalley — Geological Conditions — A Buflalo Chase — Rhinoceros — 
 Tsetse again— The Batonga Language — Musical Performances — " God 
 Save the Queen!" — Native Cookery ^Difficulties with our Followers — 
 Progress of the Boat-building — Logier Hill — The Luluesi River — 
 Mourning for the Dead — Crocodiles abundant — Baboons — New Quagga 
 — Reach the Wagons — Results accomplished to the Present Time. 
 
 29 T// October, 1862. — I put up my tent last night in 
 expectation of rain, but only a few drops fell. It \vould 
 seem, however, that this incident procured me the reputation 
 of a rain-doctor, for the natives, men as well as women, set 
 to work in the morning, as busy as ants, hoeing, raking, 
 planting, and burning weeds ; many threw down their hoes, 
 some ran away with fear, the women going down on their 
 knees as I pass. This country must some day be occupied 
 by white men, when I expect the grape-vine will become the 
 principal object of cultivation on the banks of the river. The 
 soil is as rich as could be expected, and, like that on the 
 Grobbelaars river, in Oudtshoorn, which is the best soil in 
 the colony, it is more loose, and not likely to nip things 
 springing up, when the ground dries after a shower. I 
 met a large troop of baboons returning from a foraging 
 expedition in the native gardens, and as they did not seem 
 to care much about us, I dropped a large fellow from the top 
 of a tree, much to the amusement of the natives ; they took 
 the animal for the sake of the skin,* and the skull they 
 
 * No other tribe to the south would wear a baboon's skin, but here the 
 want of small skins and cotton clothing compels them.
 
 CHAP, vrii.] MATABELK WARRIOR!^. 209 
 
 intend sticking up as a scarecrow to other intruders in their 
 gardens. I have sometimes seen a whole garden surrounded 
 with these ornaments stuck on poles. They very much 
 resemble human skulls, and make at first a disagreeable 
 impression. I made this morning a march of about 12 
 miles, and when I rested under the shade of a magnificent 
 motundo tree,* several men, women, and children gradually 
 took courage to come and see me. They were as much an 
 object of interest to me as I was of dread to them. One 
 young girl, a refugee from IMoselikatze's country, had on a 
 peculiar dress, a mere narrow fringe of twisted cords made of 
 mokhoke, here called molala (a species of Sanseviera, or 
 bow-string hemp), and only a little longer behind than in 
 front. 
 
 The people here have not yet recovered from a panic 
 struck into them a few days before my arrival, when a large 
 party of Matabele warriors massacred thirty young men who 
 were hastening back to their homes, and had just come 
 within sight of them. The Matabele make terrible havoc 
 when they surprise any villages on tlie south side of the 
 river, killing the old and middle-aged men and women, and 
 carrying off into captivity all the young ones. There can be 
 nothing more cruel than the brutal manner in which thev 
 destroy life : but what can be expected from a nation trained 
 from childhood to the most ruthless and wanton butchery ? 
 The whole aim and ambition of the early life of a Matabele is 
 to slay his first man, from which date honour and glory are 
 ranked according to the number of his fellow-creatures he has 
 destroyed. From what I can learn they have an outlet for a 
 portion of their captives, whom they sell to the eastward. 
 The dread the people here have for Moselikatze is something 
 extraordinary, considering that they are such fine men, and 
 
 * A very pleasant fruit, already described by Dr. Livingstone ("Mis- 
 sionary Travels," chap. xxix.). 
 
 VOL. II. i^
 
 210 CHAPMAN'S Tit A VELH. [chai'. viii. 
 
 are accounted brave in their contests with the elephants and 
 other animals. The population here is very dense, the un- 
 subdued and refugee tribes from the south being, as it were, 
 crowded into this locality against the river. They live 
 chiefly on the north side, and plant chiefly on the south. 
 The soil, however, has capabilities for the support of even a 
 greater number ; and the wild fruits are very abundant should 
 their gardens fail. 
 
 In the afternoon, as the sun was behind the clouds, I 
 ordered a march, but as soon as it appeared the Makalakas 
 dropped off one by one, to cool themselves in the shade. I 
 pushed on to Shabby 's, about six miles, and felt as if my 
 brains were baked, the perspiration running from me in a 
 fearfid manner. Shabby visited us at night. I offered to 
 buy corn or anything eatable, but they do not like our beads, 
 which are so precious to the jMatabele, Makololo, Bechuanas, 
 and other tribes. They prefer either the coarse Portuguese 
 bead, or cloth. To-day I met some people carrying what they 
 call salt for sale beyond Sinamani's. It is mere ash-coloured 
 earth, with a slight saline effervescence. I find they tan 
 their clothing with the wood of a tree they call omkura. It 
 is a very brilliant reddish-brown or purple. 
 
 Wth October. — After a sleepless night we started at day- 
 light, and made eight miles in good time, lialting at the village 
 of Seantubbu. I left the usual path, so as to be near enough 
 to the river to notice any formidable rapid or waterfall that 
 might be in it. It is, however, utterly impossible to keep in 
 sight of the river all tlie way, owing to the steep and pre- 
 cipitous nature of the lulls and cliffs on its banks, and the 
 natives refuse to give me a passage in their boats, which they 
 consider too small to be safe for "a great chief" like me. 
 They maintain that there is no waterfall, and I can believe 
 it. I think their reason for i-efusing to take me in the boats 
 is, that the laljour of paddling up stream would be too great.
 
 CHAP. vrii.J J)JFF1CULTY OF ADVANCE. 211 
 
 for I have seen the difficulty they have in crossing at »Sina- 
 mani's, where the river is broad and smooth. I should not 
 wish to have frequent experience of the trouble we had this 
 morning in getting down to the river, and within reach 
 of shade, for, besides having ruined my last pair of boots, 
 there is the constant danger of being precipitated over rocks 
 400 or 500 feet high into the stream beneath, wherein float 
 voracious crocodiles ready to devour you. They have a 
 diminutive appearance from these high places. It is in such 
 spots the people seek shelter from the Matabele. The path 
 to this place is for the last mile against the steep slope of a 
 rocky hill, almost a cliff. They find tlieir way by following 
 a blaze, or the marks of an axe made at intervals on the 
 trees. 
 
 While coming over the hills this morning I noticed two 
 ranges of mountains. The farthest and highest is about 20 
 miles south, and runs eastward or north-east, as far as the 
 eye can see. They seem to be considerably higher than the 
 hills north of Sinamani's, and are farther from the river. I 
 should think this a very eligible situation for commencing a 
 mission, offering as it does a speedy communication overland 
 with the Cape by way of Moselikatze's country and Kuruman, 
 witli great facility of conveyance by water from the east 
 coast. 
 
 In the afternoon, as the thunder-clouds began to obscure 
 the sun, I took advantage of the coolness, and made a march 
 of 14 miles to Shamuzia's, on the Gwai. The clouds burst, 
 and we ^ot thoroughly wet. I saw three snakes ; these 
 reptiles are beginning to come out now\ The birds also 
 seem delighted at the shower, for I have not heard them so 
 musical before. The " quagga dzerra " (PWowops talacoma) has 
 a soft, sweet, and pleasant note; partridges are plentiful. 
 The descent to tlie Gwai was nearly as difficult as that to 
 the Zambesi. It runs down a narrow defile. The hills on 
 
 p2
 
 212 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. vni. 
 
 either side are 800 or 1000 feet high. One detached hill 
 just here, a mile or more in length, and 800 feet high at 
 least, presents at the back a wild and picturesque scene, with 
 its red rocks of sandstone piled with mechanical exactness in 
 layers of large square blocks, one upon the other, and various 
 euphorbias, cacti, sterculias, red-crowned aloes, and other 
 strange plants, growing thickly against its sides ; while at 
 the bottom of the narrow defile mopani trees, sixty and eighty 
 feet high, seem as if they would go on growing for ever. 
 Some perfectly leafless forests through which we passed have 
 a most dismal aspect, the thousands of closely-planted trees 
 seeming not to have a vestige of life in them ; but, now that 
 they have tasted the shower, they will soon be blooming 
 again. The sandstone rocks on the top of the ridges work 
 upon my boots like rasps ; they have generally a water-worn 
 appearance. Large flat detached slabs, sometimes piled one 
 over the other, stand like pillars amongst the trees or against 
 the sky. 
 
 I am no geologist, but it strikes me that the formation 
 noticed by Dr. Livingstone on the north of the Zambesi, some- 
 where about the junction of the Kafue, already commences 
 here, on the south of the river. For instance, all west of the 
 Luluesie river we have nothing but basaltic rocks, and a 
 sprinkling of annulated agates, and quartz crystals here 
 and there— spherical pieces which, if broken, are found hollow 
 and beautifully crystallized within. Some of these have a 
 green coating outside, as if impregnated with copj^er, but it 
 does not answer the test of nitric acid. Then there is a 
 reddish kind of rock, very much speckled with small white 
 pebbles, or larger lumps of a radiated crystal or zeolite. 
 Some of these rocks seem to be igneous, hard, and firm, 
 but in other parts, especially when radiated crystals ap- 
 pear, they are in a decomposing state. Near the source 
 of the Luluesie (Daka), there is a vertical stratum of sandy
 
 CHAP. VIII.] LOQIER HILL. 213 
 
 schist. I have seen no mica schist all the ^ay to Sinamani's, 
 nor granite, ajid I have in hunting- gone over pretty nearly all 
 the country between there and the Falls. On this stratum 
 are square pieces of calc spar (which the Bechuanas call 
 sulumele, believing it to be fragments of fallen stars). The 
 sprinkling of mica that is in the Zambesi's bed must have 
 been washed from the north side. The Luluesie or Daka 
 river is the limit of the basaltic rocks, presenting formidable 
 cliffs of red sandstone, while the western banks have at 
 intervals mural cliffs of basalt, and thus throughout the 
 whole distance which I traversed (upwar.ls of 80 miles), I 
 have seen no red sandstone west of the Luluesie, nor basalt 
 east of it, excepting only in the banks where the river, by an 
 abrupt bend, has encroached on either side a .little. The 
 eminence adjoining the right bank of the Zambesi, which 
 Baines proposes to call (after a friend of his) " Logier Hill," is 
 of tufa, dipping eastward, and along the east bank of the 
 Luluesie extend higher ranges of red sandstone all the way to 
 Sinamani's, with some large silicified trees already mentioned. 
 Baines thinks that the rock in the bed of the Zambesi, at 
 Wankie's, is what is called altered sandstone ; it is a fissile 
 or laminated brittle rock, Avith a glossy coating where in- 
 fluenced by water, but of a yellowish-brown colour inside 
 (perhaps shale). The rents and reefs mentioned before run 
 about north-east. The other grey scaly rocks seam in it 
 near to Wankie's. The outer scale of tliis rock is easily 
 peeled off, and is brittle, but becomes harder towards the 
 centre. 
 
 31 s^ October. — Start at daylight, and breakfast at an old 
 halting-place on the Zambesi. We moved on again about 
 three miles in the greatest heat of the day, in order to get to 
 our Koodoo camp, and recover a wounded waterbuck before 
 the vultures had it. The sun at 2 o'clock being hid by the 
 thunder-clouds, I walked out in the hope of getting some-
 
 214 CHAPMAJS'^ TRAVELS. [chap. vjii. 
 
 thing to eat before night, while the men were making a small 
 hut against the coming storm. Bill had come ahead, and 
 fired at two troops of buffaloes, without killing any. I took 
 up the spoors of one small troop that had lied, but both the 
 wind and their friends, the khala birds, had given them 
 warning. I followed in pursuit, through the breaking 
 undergrowth, and had a lengtliened chase, which seemed 
 at one time likely to involve my passing a night in the 
 woods. 
 
 Is^ Novemher. — The tsetse are very troublesome this morn- 
 ing. We did not notice them here in going, nor at the last 
 halting-place. I tliink there must be '•' fly " from near the 
 west bank of the Gwai all the way to the Victoria Falls, and 
 beyond to the junction of the Tamalukan or Lingalo's river, 
 near Lake Ngami. Beyond the Gwai to Sinamani's I feel 
 pretty confident there are none. There is no access to the 
 Zambesi with bullock-wagons, nor hunting on horseback, 
 nor with dogs, in these parts, unless with great sacrifices, nor 
 can I find a wagon road, owing to the broken nature of the 
 ground — rocks, ravines, and mountains — even where there is 
 no " fly." I think beyond the Gwai, however, by the Mopako 
 or Sebungo rivers, a road may be made from the soutli, if 
 there is no "fly "at the back. There is none on the Zambesi 
 river, but this may be owing to the density of the population, 
 and the scarcity of buffaloes, which are so much hunted by 
 tlie Batonga on account of the ravages they commit in the 
 gardens. The people, however, confess that they are some- 
 times no match for these animals at the time that the corn is 
 growing up, nor for the elephants, which storm their gardens 
 by daylight. IMany of the gardens I noticed here completely 
 surrounded by pitfalls, as a trap of defence against the 
 buffaloes. Down the Daka river, too. I think a road might 
 be found as far as the river, though a district infested 
 by "fly."
 
 CHAP. viii.J NATIVE VUST0M8, 215 
 
 At Sinamani's I got, with the aid of an interpreter, a few 
 hundred words of the Batonga language, for a vocabulary I 
 was collecting for Sir George Grey. I have now Sechuana, 
 Bayeye, Ovambo, Hottentot, Sekalaka, and Batonga : Mata- 
 bele, Sekololo, and Bushman, I have yet to get. I am glad 
 to find tliat the languages here are more like the Damara on 
 the west coast, which establishes, in my opinion, a decided 
 connection between these tribes. I am sorry I am not 
 linguist enough to do more than give merely a list of words, 
 without comment. If the list I have can be of any use in tracing 
 a connection between the people of the east and the west, 
 it is all I have had in view, saving what I wished to know 
 for my own guidance in conveying my wishes and meaning 
 to those I meet. It is not alone in the attinity of languages 
 that a connection can be traced between the Damaras and 
 Batonga, but in the practice of knocking out the teeth. The 
 Damaras file the middle upper teeth swallow-tail fashion, 
 and knock out lour middle teeth in the under jaw. The 
 Makalakas or Bashapatani file the upper teeth, like the 
 Damaras, with a stone ; the Batonga knock out the two 
 upper front teeth with an axe. This causes the upper lip to 
 sink away, and the lower to protrude: the under teeth 
 having no work, and no abrasion, grow very long, giving 
 them a very peculiar, disagreeable, and sour look. This rite 
 is practised as a sort of circumcision. The Damaras knock 
 out their teeth also to make them lisp, as nobody is con- 
 sidered to speak Damara well unless he can do so. 
 
 It is strange what queer practices there are amongst some 
 nations. I thought this morning we were quite in a lonely part 
 of the country, but for the last hour a score of people have 
 been clapping their hands vigorously, while telling their news 
 in a kind of chanting strain, reminding one of a practice 
 sometimes pursued in infant schools. The people here — the 
 Bashapatani — have a real notion of music, of whicli they
 
 216 CHAl'MAN'i:i TBAVELb. [chap. vui. 
 
 are very fond. I have seen some of them going on a journey 
 of only 12 miles take their instruments with them. They 
 play a variety of sweet tunes and waltzes, and the instru- 
 ment, in the hands of a skilful musician, sounds very well, 
 like a large musical box, but is not so pleasing when per- 
 formed on by an amateur. Some of them also sing well, but 
 others are mere discordant bawlers. 
 
 We have still a small supply of meat on hand, but it will 
 be as well to take time by the forelock, ami get a further stock 
 for the larder. I have managel to keep thirty savages well 
 fed, have given much away, and sent a good supply to 
 Baines's station already, besides what we are taking with us 
 now. I cannot, however, accuse myself of having wantonly 
 directed my rifle at any animal, and there are always people 
 to pick up what we lose. On the contrary, though my gun 
 has dealt death amongst some few buffaloes, rhinoceroses, 
 and hippopotami, it has been an instrument in dispensing its 
 blessings to many who were hungry, and who dare not settle 
 down to till the soil. Were one to go about and try to kill 
 all one could, much mischief might be done, for I believe 
 that ten tolerable marksmen, with rifles, could support an 
 army of 1000 men across any part of Africa where guns are 
 not in general use. My people (the Makalakas) frequently, 
 on seeing an animal in our path, present me with a gun, and 
 are very much disappointed when I do not fire. They cheer- 
 fully carry the skulls of rhinoceroses and hippopotami on 
 their heads for 30 or 40 miles, and would carry them 80 
 miles farther to the wagons if I wished ; all they expect is 
 to be well fed. They soon, however, find out an unsuccessful 
 sportsman, and avoid him. 
 
 I hear that Wankie has fled, in consequence of a report 
 that the Makololo are coming to attack him. He has not 
 gone from his old place. I wished to learn what was 
 his offence against the Makololo, but the black fellows
 
 CHAP. VIII.] ''GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!" 217 
 
 laughed heartily at the idea of the Makololo making war for 
 offences. '* If people have cattle," said they, " the Mako- 
 lolo kill them for their cattle's sake ; if they liave not, they 
 kill them for their children ; and if they have neither, they 
 kill merely to kill. Are not they IMapoono ? " (a term for 
 the Matabele.) 
 
 The Makalakas, my followers, are quite cheerful, dancing 
 and singing merry tunes, to which a waltz or polka might be 
 danced. Some fifteen or sixteen young lads, who had seen 
 and heard the Batlapians from Kuruman singing hymns, 
 imitate them wonderfully well. It is somewhat strange to 
 hear the tune of " God Save the Queen " sung by a number 
 of naked young Africans, in parts where the foot of white 
 men never trod before. I can only conclude that the Kuru- 
 man missionaries must have adapted that stirring melody to 
 one of the hymns sung in their church, and that it has thus 
 found its way here, as most of these lads have at one time 
 or another waited upon the Bechuana hunters and traders 
 from Kuruman, before they had to flee thus far north from 
 the dreaded Moselikatze. 
 
 "Whenever I shoot anytln'ng, no matter how good the supply, 
 the cry is, " AVhat a pity it is not an elephant ! " or, " How 
 small !" or, " How lean it is !" They never waste anything ; the 
 hide, entrails, and the offal, all are eaten, and the bones chopped 
 up and boiled. The blood is carefully gathered and put into 
 the entrails, which hang on the trees like large sausages. 
 This is parboiled, and then dried in the form of crumbs, and 
 is in a state of preservation for a length of time. As often as 
 they boil a potful of meat a few of these crumbs are added, 
 which makes the soap rich. The fat, melted or skimmed 
 off the gravy, is eaten with soft boiled meat, which, torn into 
 shreds, is dipped into the dish of fat, all four fingers un- 
 dergoing a good immersion, and being licked clean at every 
 mouthful. Each one has his turn for cooking a potfull, on
 
 218 CHAPMAN'S TliA VELS. [chap, viil 
 
 which each one invites liimself, and the owner divides fairly 
 the contents before he touches a morsel. Not being able to 
 count well, or to calculate, I have often seen them cheat 
 themselves. 
 
 Sunday, 2ncl November. — Finding it tiresome work to lay 
 under the shade of a tree two whole days, I determined on 
 walking to Baines's quarters. The sun was so powerful that 
 after 9 o'clock I was obliged to halt, and a sea-cow lying asleep 
 in full view, and it being so near the camp, I fired at her. 
 She fell back with her jaws distended, and, struggling for 
 a few moments, sank. Her calf then coming out of the 
 water, bellowed lustily, and, though feeling some compunc- 
 tion, I decided that, having robbed the poor thing of its 
 mother, the best thing was to put an end to it. I therefore 
 shot it, but it tumbled into the stream, and was swept away 
 by the rapid. Leaving two men here to watch tlieir floating, 
 I left for the camp, which I reached at night. 
 
 Zrd November. — John made known to me his determina- 
 tion to leave us, and go back to the wagons, no mutter what 
 the consequences might be. I remonstrated with him, ad- 
 vising a shorter journey to some healthy region, Avhere he 
 might rest and recover his health and spirits ; but he most 
 decidedly refuses, preferring to return at once. He will not 
 assist in any matter connected with the boats, even if he get 
 well, either by sawing wood or shooting meat for the camp. 
 I have never asked him to saw wood, nor did I expect him to 
 go hunting Avliile he was unwell ; but it certainly was his 
 duty to help us to the extent of his ability. He has been of 
 little or no service to me since we left Damara Land, and it 
 is clear that he is getting sick of the journey. I incline to 
 think that his discontent arises from some disagreement with 
 Baines, and he has an evident disinclination to work for him, 
 or under his orders, any longer. He pretends to believe that
 
 CHAP, viii.] PROGRESS OF THE BOAT-BUILDING. 219 
 
 Baines has no real intention of getting the boats finished, 
 and that, instead of making progress with them, he spends 
 his time in painting, while he is himself losing health and 
 strength in shooting game for Baines to give away in pre- 
 sents to the native chiefs. Such are his excuses for deserting 
 us at a moment when we really need his services. 
 
 This morning I saw from my bed a huge hippopotamus 
 walking on the island immediately in our front. These 
 animals seem to have returned hither, and have been very 
 noisy all day. I took the height of the limestone eminence 
 which Baines calls Logier Hill. Water boiled at 209° 
 (therm. Sir) ; down on the banks, about twenty feet above 
 the river, it boils at 209-,^° (therm. 8l»°), showing a consi- 
 derable difference between this place and the Victoria Falls. 
 Dip eastward. Latitude of Logier Hill, 18° 4' 31". I 
 planted some almonds and tamarinds here. The house is 
 infested with lizards (geckos) ; they feed on sawdust and 
 insects. Flies are very scarce, which is a wonder, but I 
 notice a brown dragon-fly here, which preys on them. They 
 are found in decayed hollows of trees, and have always a 
 fly in their maw, on which they are feeding. They make 
 a loud booming noise, and are quick on tlie wing. 
 
 bth Novemher. — I am glad to find that Baines had made a 
 commencement on the boats, as it will inspire those who are 
 to form our party on the downward trip with some con- 
 fidence. He has set up the framework of one boat, each of 
 them being intended to be 28 ft. long, with 4ft. Gin. beam. 
 He thinks we may reckon upon their being completed by the 
 1st of January. I really trust they will be, for it is time to 
 be getting homcAvard. We have been five months in this 
 country, and have done nothing. Of course all now depends 
 upon Baines, and he is single-handed, I have, indeed, sent 
 about a dozen Makalakas to assist him, but two white men 
 would be more serviceable. I shall send Anthonv and Jem
 
 220 CHAPMAN'S TBAVELS. [chap. viii. 
 
 also. Meanwhile I will go to my wagons, to make arrange- 
 ments for their return, and write my letters for Cape Town, 
 to go by Reader. I must relinquish the intention of going 
 to meet my brother. I propose settling myself somewhere 
 between my wagons and Baines's establishment on the Zam- 
 besi, midway or about 40 miles from each station, where I 
 can hunt, in order to supply both \\\i\\ meat. 
 
 Wankie having readily furnished guides, I started for the 
 Daka or Luluesie river, wishing to go up it, as I have an 
 idea there is a better road that way than round about via 
 Matietsie. Jolm also follows, determined to go straight on to 
 the Avagons, instead of proceeding by easy stages, and resting 
 himself at intervals on the way. A march of 10 or 12 miles 
 in a direction about south-west, having in view the lofty 
 Gasemela mountains on our left, brought us to the Luluesie 
 river. The country we passed over is much more pleasant 
 Avalking than the Matietsie road. The hills, however, are 
 strewn with quartz crystals and basaltic fragments, Avhich rasp 
 one's boots and liurt the feet. It seems to me that a wagon- 
 road, were it not for the " fly," would be practicable. But 
 " fly," if there are any, must be very few, as I could see none. 
 
 North of the Luluesie river, we have the same basaltic and 
 white and chocolate-coloured rocks as at the Falls ; but on 
 the south side the liills are higher, and of red sandstone, 
 against which euphorbia and cacti and fig trees climb. The 
 course of the Luluesie seemed to incline northward, towards 
 the Zambesi. We slept a few miles farther west. Next 
 day we continued following the course of the river, through 
 country of the same descrijjtion. 
 
 I got a glimpse of a herd of buffaloes, and ran after them 
 four or five miles without getting up to them, as they always 
 kept down wind. I made a march of 16 miles, besides 
 running after the buffaloes, and \\as very tired. The fine
 
 CHAP. VIII.] THE LULUESIE RIVER. %1\ 
 
 stream of water in the Luluesie suddenly disappeared this 
 morning, and we find now only stagnant pools in its bed, in 
 which fish and crocodiles are floundering in a loathsome 
 manner. When I can, I prefer getting my supply out of 
 the gravel-bed, which I observe is what the elephants do 
 rather than drink the green and foul water. Some pools are 
 covered with a deep scarlet scum, or fungus, which makes 
 the pond resemble blood. We travelled on till night, and 
 met with a small travelling family going to Wankie's. They 
 were poisoning the pools with a root called n'damba as they 
 went along, in order to kill the fish. The water has a slight 
 peppery taste, and seems to act medicinally on the stomach ; 
 it made me very weak. 
 
 The Luluesie, which has its source at Daka, produces a 
 rank vegetation, and its valley, I should imagine, must be 
 very liable to fever. We have frequent occasion to cross it, 
 but it is quite a toil, creeping in the paths of wild beasts 
 underneath the sharp, prickly, and matted reeds, and startled 
 every few seconds by the loud splash of a crocodile tumbling 
 into the stream, or crashing through the reeds before us. 
 The number of buffaloes that visit this river must be very 
 great at times, judging by the abundance of dung, which 
 looks like a very old cattle kraal, where hundreds of cattle 
 sleep every night. The little strip of soil is consequently 
 very fertile, but there is no one living here since Wankie 
 fled. The buffaloes also have left within the last week or two, 
 having probably smelt the green grass somewhere a very long 
 way off. Elephants' dung is plentiful ; but those animals, 
 too, have migrated. I found the skeleton of a recently 
 killed young elephant, and drew his teeth, and we also 
 picked up a good lump (twenty pounds) of ivory, broken off 
 of an elephant's tusk. 
 
 We made another hut about 16 miles from the last, under 
 a clump of motsekere trees. I am building huts at dif-
 
 222 CHAPMAN'S TJi A VJ'JLS. [chap. vut. 
 
 ferent stages from the river, both as a protection to the 
 goods from rain, and the people from lions, &c. 
 
 7th Novemler. — I had a long chase after a troop of buf- 
 faloes, without getting up to them, and made 16 miles. I 
 saw three of these animals in the afternoon, but they had 
 long got our wind, and went off. I made a good long shot 
 at a wild pig, which afforded a supply for our larder much 
 needed. After sunset, as I lay very tired, the men came 
 running in to report a rhinoceros, which I shot close to the 
 hut. I must have walked upwards of 50 miles during the 
 last threo days, which is very good work in the present 
 weather. 
 
 Before leaving the Zambesi last Wednesday, I heard a 
 great wailing at Wankie's, on the opposite bank, and asked 
 who was dead. The people said no one had died recently ; 
 the wailing was for one long since dead. Their mournful 
 cries were more like those of real grief than the affected 
 formal \vailing of the Bechuanas and Damaras. But this 
 coincides with the Damara custom of periodic mourning, 
 thus establishing another and a greater affinity with the 
 latter people on the west coast than wdth those inter- 
 mediate. 
 
 The river winds a good deal. The hills eastward are still 
 lofty, and composed of red sandstone, even to the banks of 
 the river, sometimes forming tall cliffs 200 feet high, one por- 
 tion in particular looking so like a castle or battery that 1 have 
 named it so in my sketch. Against the face of some of these 
 cliffs a species of fig tree grows, and clings by its roots to the 
 hard rock, gripping it as with eagles' talons. Sometimes 
 the roots extend over a large space in straight lines, like so 
 many ropes stretched to their greatest tension. 
 
 In tlie course of the day I stumbled over the lair of a 
 leopard. He bounded out, snarling, and, not having my 
 gun, he escaped scot free. I saw also a new jackal — at least
 
 CHAP. Vlll.] 
 
 THE XKW QUAG a A. 
 
 223 
 
 it was new to me, and more like a fox. The extreme half of 
 the tail was white, and it has a white patch over the root of 
 the tail. It is otherwise the colour of the fennec, but darker 
 on the back. I found several hares sitting under fallen logs, 
 where they had scooped out a nest, and one I found inside 
 one of the huts of a late hunting party. 
 
 9^/i November. — We halted yesterday to cut up meat, but 
 I started again this morning. Every day is now of much 
 importance, and I am anxious to see the men go to Baiues's 
 
 TIIK NnW QUAC.GA. 
 
 assistance. kSaw several large pools nearly dry, and many 
 crocodiles floundering amongst the fishes. I did not care 
 about killing any of them, for fear of spoiling the water, 
 which is loathsome enough already. I saw several large 
 families of baboons, the young ones riding on the backs of 
 the mothers — a most laughable scene; some sit upright 
 with the ease of a jockey, and some hug the mother with all 
 fours. When the old ones take the alarm, they whip up the 
 babies with one hand, and, clapping them on their backs, 
 camper off like Bushwomen. I shot two quaggas together
 
 224 (JIJAPMAN'S TTlAVELli. [chap. viii. 
 
 at a fine fountain, which we are following from the Luluesie 
 river towards the wagons, about N.NW. AVe saw innu- 
 merable lion tracks, and the trails of elephants, which are 
 probably flying from Snyman's gun. We are encamped in 
 a pass just in their path, so that either we or they will be 
 taken by surprise, should any more come. I calculate we 
 cannot now be more than 12 or 15 miles from the wagons. 
 The quaggas I shot were fine specimens, beautifully striped 
 to the hoofs. 
 
 \'3>th November. — Suffered very severely from dysentery 
 yesterday, and am getting worse to-day. I observe that it 
 commenced since I have been obliged to drink the stagnant 
 water of the Luluesie, which was often unpleasantly tepid, 
 and full of animalculae. Drinking this in quantities when 
 heated with walking has, no doubt, brought on the com- 
 plaint, which is, moreover, attended with constant head- 
 ache. 
 
 Last night some elephants were coming straight for my 
 hut in the narrow rocky pass, but they heard the snoring of 
 the Makalakas, and, giving a rumbling grunt of warning to 
 one another, wheeled short round. Many spoors of elephants 
 migrating from the eastward, the direction in which shooting 
 was heard last night ; probably Snyman has been hunting 
 them. We followed the course of the fountain about north- 
 west through the hills ; saw plenty of elephant and bufiulo 
 trails. We then came to two or three different sources or 
 springs, where four tall palm trees were within sight. Here 
 I shot a rhinoceros, and, leaving some men, went on with 
 the others, following up a straight valley for about eight miles 
 north-west. We had passed abundance of beautiful water in 
 the valley, but becoming thirsty above the spring, held on 
 in hope of finding more, which we did not until the after- 
 noon, at the base of the westward slope. We found this 
 water by following the spoor of quaggas drinking what the
 
 CHAP, via.] BESULTS ACCOMPLrSffED. 225 
 
 animals lial left in their foot-pvints. i had a severe fall into 
 a game pit. 
 
 We were now within six miles of our wagons, for which we 
 started at 2 o'clock, and reached there at 4 o'clock, having 
 travelled about 18 miles since morning. I make this road con- 
 sequently a little shorter and straighter than the more north- 
 wardly track, and, what is of great importance in the car- 
 riage of heavy goods, much more level ; there are no hills to 
 climb anywhere along its course. I think, with a little more 
 knowledge of the country, I could even find a way by which 
 to take a wagon to the Zambesi, but it would probably be 
 impossible wholly to escape the " fly" in doing so. These 
 pests make their appearance when and where you least 
 expect them. I have not noticed any since leaving the 
 Luluesie, but think they must extend 10 or 15 miles this 
 side of the river along the mountains. 
 
 At noon on the 11th the thermometer was 10(/ Fahr. 
 in the shade ; a breeze blowing through the wagon, both 
 ends open. Thunder and rain in the afternoon ; therm, 80°. 
 A little rain fell in the night. The morrow was cloudy and 
 windy ; therm. 70°. The flies here are covered with the 
 pollen of flowers on their backs. Bees are numerous, but 
 we cannot get honey for love or beads. The blind flies 
 are beginning to trouble the cattle. On the 12th, at noon, 
 the weather cleared up : therm, at 90° ; at 4 p.m., 9G° ; at 
 sunset, 94°. All our watches are long since out of order. 
 The fine dust in tlie desert soon gets into a watch, and 
 ruins it. 
 
 On a review of what has been accomplished during the 
 present trip, I am happy to find that I have been able to 
 complete, with few exceptions, my descriptions of the 
 animals of South Africa, and also of a good many birds. 
 Baines has found ample employment for his pencil, so that he 
 has no occasion to regret his joining the expedition. I have 
 
 VOL. II. y
 
 22G 
 
 CTIA P MAN'S TBA VEL8. 
 
 [chap. VIII. 
 
 again goue over a great deal of ground, of which in former 
 times 1 could only give a hurried account. Now, from 
 having travelled so much on foot between the ridge of the 
 waterfall and Sinamani's, I have been able to lay down a 
 tolerably comprehensive sketch of the whole country ; but, 
 as I have resolved upon laying down no object of which I 
 could not get the bearings, or which I could not see for 
 myself, much remains to be filled in, in the way of hills, 
 streams, and fountains. My sextant has long gone home, 
 condemned (in the early part of the journey) ; so that, with 
 a few exceptions, I am indebted to Baines for the astronomi- 
 cal observations, and, indeed, I invited him to accompany 
 me on this trip, for the exj)ress purpose of having the benefit 
 of his assistance in this department, and in sketching. 
 
 I give here the results of thermometrical observations in 
 the course of this and the following month, during our stay 
 in our present locality : — 
 
 Month of November (1862). 
 
 Thursday, 
 
 13th 
 
 Sunrise 
 
 . 72° 
 
 10 AM. 
 
 90° 
 
 Noon 
 
 96° 
 
 5 P.M. 
 
 100° 
 
 Sunset 
 96° 
 
 
 
 Friday, 
 
 14th 
 
 Sunrise 
 
 . 70° 
 
 10 A.M. 
 
 88° 
 
 Noon 
 
 94° 
 
 4 P.M. 
 
 98° 
 
 Sunset 
 96° 
 
 
 
 Saturday, 
 
 15 th 
 
 ; Sunrise 
 
 . 80° 
 
 9 A.M. 
 
 85° 
 
 10 A.M. 
 
 98° 
 
 Noon 
 
 108° 
 
 4 P.M. 
 
 102° 
 
 Sun.set 
 
 85° 
 
 
 Sunday, 
 
 Ifith , 
 
 Sunrise 
 . 68° 
 
 9 A.M. 
 
 70° 
 
 10 A.M. 
 
 76° 
 
 Noon 
 90° 
 
 4 P.M. 
 
 92° 
 
 Sunset 
 90° 
 
 
 Monday, 
 
 17th , 
 
 Sunrise 
 . 70° 
 
 9 A.M. 
 
 80° 
 
 10 A.M. 
 
 90° 
 
 Noon 
 
 95° 
 
 2 P.M. 
 
 98° 
 
 4 P.M. 
 
 9,5° 
 
 Sunset 
 85° 
 
 Tuesday, 
 
 18th , 
 
 Sunrise 
 . 68° 
 
 9 A.M. 
 
 75° 
 
 Noon 
 
 7b° 
 
 4 P.M. 
 
 90° 
 
 
 
 
 Wednesday, 
 
 , 19th 
 
 Sunrise 
 . 68° 
 
 9 A.M. 
 
 80° 
 
 Noon 
 
 85° 
 
 4 PJtf. 
 
 78° 
 
 
 
 Sunset 
 70°
 
 CHAP. VIII.] METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 22< 
 
 Thursflay, 
 
 20th 
 
 Sunrise 
 
 70° 
 
 9 A.M. 
 
 90° 
 
 Noon 
 
 98° 
 
 4 P.M. 
 
 102° 
 
 Sunset 
 
 9(;° 
 
 
 Friday, 
 Saturday, 
 
 21st 
 22nd . 
 
 70° 
 
 72° 
 
 82° 
 92° 
 
 96° 
 
 75° 
 
 95° 
 
 75° 
 
 83° 
 
 74° < 
 
 Rain from 
 mid-day until 
 the evening!;. 
 
 Sunday, 
 
 23rd . 
 
 GR° 
 
 84° 
 
 93° 
 
 72° 
 
 "1 
 
 ' Rain from 
 mid-day until 
 the evening. 
 
 Monday, 
 
 24th . 
 
 71° 
 
 82° 
 
 90° 
 
 79° 
 
 "i 
 
 Rain from 
 mid-day until 
 the evening. 
 
 
 
 Month 
 
 OF Dec 
 
 :ember 
 
 (1862). 
 
 
 
 Saturday, 
 Sunday, 
 
 6th . 
 7th 
 
 Sunrise 
 70° 
 
 69° 
 
 9 A.M. 
 
 75° 
 72° 
 
 Noon 
 80° 
 
 80° 
 
 4 P.M. 
 
 85° 
 76° 
 
 Sunset 
 75° 
 
 7.5° 
 
 I Rain. 
 
 Monday, 
 
 8th 
 
 72° 
 
 72° 
 
 70° 
 
 70° 
 
 69° 
 
 Dam p. 
 
 Tuesday, 
 
 9th 
 
 67° 
 
 68° 
 
 75° 
 
 75° 
 
 73° 
 
 
 Wednesday, 
 
 10th 
 
 G5° 
 
 67° 
 
 77° 
 
 80° 
 
 77° 
 
 Fine. 
 
 Thursday, 
 
 nth 
 
 . 69° 
 
 78° 
 
 86° 
 
 85° 
 
 78° 
 
 „ 
 
 Friday, 
 
 12th 
 
 75° 
 
 84° 
 
 88° 
 
 84° 
 
 83° 
 
 >> 
 
 After the middle of November the weather became much 
 cooler. The prevailing winds during the day-time are from 
 tlie eastward, but in the evening a gentle breeze blows from 
 the opposite quarter. The rains are frequent, coming from 
 the north-east. Thunder is also common. 
 
 The prettiest of the trees in the locality, and one of which 
 the elephants are fond, has the name of phatsi. The leaves, 
 which spring from a peculiar imbricated sheath, are large, 
 pinnatifid, and drooping, each composed of a great number 
 of leaflets three inches long, overlapping, and lanceolate, 
 broad and oblique at base. This tree looks as if it were 
 made up of large, green, drooping ostrich feathers. It is of a 
 beautiful green colour when in perfection, but when just 
 springing from the leaf-buds or sheatlis tliey are at first, on 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. viri. 
 
 the outside, red and green, and unfold the dull pale or brown 
 leaves, which change gradually into a warmer colour, then 
 yellow, then pale green, and so until, at maturity, a cold green. 
 The bark strips oif, and is used as cords for every purpose. 
 
 April, the Bushman, shot a buffalo, and Bill a pig, but they 
 expended several pounds of lead in this feat, and brought in 
 but little of the meat. The wild pig is the vlaJc-varh, like 
 the one I shot the other day. There are two kinds of wild 
 pigs : the other, from what I hear, must be the bush-pig, or 
 wild boar. The vlah-varh burrows in the aarl-vark's hole, 
 but the wild boar {Sus larvatus ?) makes itself a regular bed 
 of straw several feet long. I have had occasion before to 
 mention the ingenious manner in which it is said they get 
 out of a pitfall by placing their feet against one wall, and, 
 pressing their back against the other, thus work their way up. 
 If the game-pit is old and broad they cannot manage it, but 
 they can dig so wonderfully fast with their tusks and snout, 
 that there is scarce any chance of catching them in the 
 morning if they fall in over night.
 
 CHAP. IX.] HUNTING EXPERIENCES. 229 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Hunting for both Establishments — Native Bees — Effects of Kain — 
 Native Insects — Fishes — Wasps' Xests — Crocodile Pond — Serious Acci- 
 dent to one of our Followers — A Surgical Operation — Continued 
 Bad Weather — Fireflies — Lizards — Stinging Ants — Fear of the Tsetse 
 again — Carnivora of South Africa — End of the Year 1862, 
 
 Our plans being now of necessity somewhat altered, I packed 
 up in readiness to start for tlie neigliboiirliood of our boat- 
 building establishment, with the intention of stationing myself 
 at some spot about midway between the camp at Boana and 
 that on the Zambesi, so that I might supply meat to both. I 
 sent Suyman's man, attended by five Makalakas, to Mashot- 
 laan's to buy corn. Just as they were on the point of start- 
 ing, some people arrived from Snyman with several tusks of 
 ivory, w'hich I bought. 
 
 12th November. — Yesterday, leaving the wagons about 
 11 A.M., I saw some wild pigs and some rietbucks, all very 
 wild. I got a thorough wetting, but reached the Makalaka 
 werft, about 12 miles off, at 4 p.m. Some quaggas being re- 
 ported, I followed up and wounded three. I also wounded a 
 koodoo, but did not get it. Fortunately however April, the 
 Bushman, whom I lately taught to shoot, killed a quagga. 
 This morning I shot a borelenyana, or kenenyani, soon after, 
 and left some men to cut up the flesh. Saw two others ; fired 
 at the larger, but the gun was badly loaded, and I hit him too 
 high. Saw some elands, qualatas, and a wild boar, which latter 
 I might have hit with a stone, but I was in hopes of stalking 
 a fine eland bull, and would not fire. Saw a great number of
 
 230 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ix. 
 
 vultures, an'l followed tliem to a dead rhinoceros laying in the 
 water — probably one that Jem wounded the other day. A 
 gorged wolf could hardly get out of our path. Spoors of 
 rhinoceroses, as well as of lions, are plentiful, and those of a 
 few cow-elephants were observed in the early part of the day. 
 All the fish in the large pond in which the rhinoceros lay were 
 dead, either from the putrid carcase, or the plants on \^hich 
 he had fed. Fell in with a bufialo ; shot him, and he fell 
 while in the act of charging for my concealment. Another, 
 which I had not seen, then sprang out of a pool of water. I 
 had no bullets. He ran 100 yards, and then stood watching 
 us very fiercely. He then walked to the shade of a tree, and 
 lay down to wait for his companion. My bullet in the dead 
 buffalo being visible under the skin which it had raised, I cut 
 it out, loaded, and mortally wounded the other buffalo with it. 
 Arrive at the huts, and make some Hottentot tea from a 
 herb we found in the south. It is better than hot mineral 
 water, which the Hottentots sometimes gravely sip as a 
 substitute for tea, but requires to be made with a strong 
 infusion of the leaf. At night everybody came in but 
 Kamatudle. This unfortunate fellow, having only one eye, 
 is always losing himself. It was very dark and stormy, and 
 I was afraid the wolves and lions would eat hi in. I kept 
 some of the men looking out for him, and firing guns, and 
 after midnight he was brought in safely. A large troop of 
 buffaloes stood around our camp for some time. They seem 
 at night-time to care nothing either for people or fires, de- 
 stroying the native gardens under the very noses of their 
 owners, but take care to get out of the way by daylight. 
 The upper parts of this valley, which we passed through 
 yesterday, is covered with a carpeting of short green grass, 
 which, being much sought after by all grass-eating animals 
 in this incipient stage, is the resort by night of numerous 
 herds of buffaloes, quaggas, koo loos, and other animals.
 
 CHAP. IX.] NATIVE HONEY-BEE. 231^ 
 
 20//i November. — Sent Kamatudle off to Baines with 
 meat, vermicelli, and sardines, and two of Wankie's people 
 with him, also loaded with meat. April wounds two rhino- 
 ceroses. Since getting wet the other day the large muscles 
 of my thighs are so stiff and sore that I cannot move without 
 the greatest pain. I have been lying here since yesterday 
 morning waiting for the people and flesh, in order to dry it 
 here a little. Sent one man to the wagon also with a 
 supply of buffalo meat. 
 
 I got here some of the honey of the nonongora bee. It 
 is delicious — much better than common honey ; I can eat it 
 freely without getting ill. The insect is nearly one-eighth 
 of an inch long ; the wings transparent and gauzy, with a 
 violet tinge; head, antennae, and thorax, black; abdomen, 
 brown-barred and dull transparent yellow ; feet, reddish 
 brown ; mandibles, ditto ; but the insect being very small, 
 these particulars are distinguishable through a microscope 
 only. They build in the decayed hollows of prostrate or 
 horizontal trees, and deposit their honey, not in combs, like 
 the bee and the massie, but in a comj)act mass of oblong 
 globules, some sections of which are devoted to the brood, 
 and other sections as reservoirs for the honey, but are not 
 receptacles for the larva. The eggs are deposited in clusters, 
 or bunches, against the sides or roof of the chamber. The 
 eggs are transparent, and the insect is visible through its 
 yellowish shell when nearly ready to burst, at which time 
 they are a little longer than quail shot. The massie has 
 been already described in the course of my journey from the 
 Falls. The monga (or tobo of the Bechuanas) has its hive 
 in the earth or ant-hills, and the honey is deposited in a 
 bunch of large cells or bladders. 
 
 At night a host of wolves (Syxna crociita), such as I do 
 not remember having heard before, besieged our camp, 
 making the most demoniacal noises one can imagine. It
 
 232 CHAl'MAN'S TBAVELI^. [chap, ix 
 
 was too dark to see them, though they were prowling within 
 a few feet. At length the lions commenced, and, tired as 
 I was, I went off to sleep in spite of their music. I had 
 compelled the Makalakas, much against their will, to make 
 a sort of shelter from the rain. They have great faith that 
 it will not rain. When it did come down they were de- 
 lighted, as it was daylight, and they could run about and 
 frolic in it. At length the river flood came rolling down 
 the rocks, and they fairly danced for joy in the midst of it. 
 At night they lay down on the wet ground outside, in pre- 
 ference to the shelter. 
 
 21st November. — Bill not coming yet, I give him up alto- 
 getlier, and proceeded making a short cut to the Luluesie 
 river, striking it eight miles off instead of four, and at right 
 angles. I had hopes of finding some elephants in the 
 neighbourhood, as there were spoors when we last passed ; 
 but now there is no sign of any. At the Luluesie river we 
 found spoors of cows and calves, but not a bull spoor any- 
 where. I begin to think the bulls have been nearly, if not 
 all, killed in these districts, so that there is no choice but 
 to shoot cows when a chance offers. I expected to find the 
 Makalakas ill this morning after their wet mattresses, but 
 they were as lively as possible. The rain, we found, had 
 not extended half a mile east of us; and from there the 
 country was as parched as we left it two weeks ago. The 
 ashes of the burnt grass had been swept away by whirlwinds, 
 and the stubble devoured by ants, leaving not a vestige 
 behind ; not a leaf is yet budding from the trees, and the 
 bare trunks and cracked and burnt earth look truly dismal. 
 We fall in occasionally with wild boars. I shot three fine 
 specimens, and, having taken their dimensions, left the men 
 to cut up the meat, whil(3 I hurried on to the next camp to 
 get my blankets under cover. 
 
 The wild hogs, which, when full grown, bear tusks twelve
 
 CHAP. IX.] WILD BOARS. 233 
 
 inches long, have a very imposing look with their long and 
 tufted tails erect in the air, bristling arched mane, and 
 daring attitude. They are very brave, and will not easily 
 forsake a companion ; but threaten the enemy with a rum- 
 bling growl, and even approach him with a very menacing 
 aspect. I shot a fine specimen to-day. 
 
 The prophetic speech of one of the Makalaka boys, who 
 ascribed the absence of rain to the want of population here, 
 predicting its occurrence now that we were come into the 
 district, was fully realised, for before we had reached within 
 two miles of the hut it poured so that we were all drenched, 
 and walking ankle-cleep in running water. It did not matter 
 to the Makalakas, for they were naked, and had, moreover, 
 my blankets, &c., on their heads. As we reached the hut 
 the rain ceased, and the swollen streams were rushing into 
 the Luluesie from the hill-sides, so that I had some difficulty 
 in crossing the river after five buffaloes which passed within 
 100 yards opposite. I waded knee-deep through the stream ; 
 but, after sending two unlucky snap-shots after them, re- 
 turned to the huts. I had scarcely rested, when we fancied 
 we heard elephants to the northward, and 1 started off in 
 that direction, walking till sunset without falling in with 
 them. The fact is, that after a shower sounds travel very 
 far ; and the lower animals, as well as man, refreshed and 
 invigorated, give way to their feelings in rejoicings. The 
 elephants participate fully in the universal joy which 
 reigns throughout the wilderness after the first shower — 
 young and old alike giving playful vent to their feelings by 
 thrilling notes of delight, which may be heard for miles 
 around. On these occasions, too, the lion, who otherwise 
 does not deign to raise his voice in the day-time, makes his 
 gruff tones heard. Leopards and wolves are also heard every- 
 where around. Perhaps it may be that, as all the traces by 
 which the carnivora and other tenants of the wilderness
 
 234 CHAPBIAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ix. 
 
 reassemble (the spoors) have been washed away by the rain, 
 they adopt this method of collecting their companions again. 
 Birds of beautiful plumage and song seem at such times 
 to feel no dread of man, but come, sitting on or hopping 
 about the branches over his head, eyeing him askant, and 
 entertaining him with a burst of melody, such as their own 
 throats have been strangers to for many months past. Pretty 
 beetles come out of their shells, and crawl about, busily com- 
 mencing life ; especially I noticed an exquisitely beautiful 
 scarlet, bright, velvety tick or mite {Tromhidium tindorum). 
 
 The wet weather, however, has its disadvantages for us. 
 Last night a large, swift, hairy spider, six inches long, ran 
 over my face several times, but was so quick that we could 
 not catch him until he had run the gauntlet of everybody ; 
 and although the boys did not care much about him, saying 
 he didnt bite, I did not feel at all easy until I had secured 
 him. Hardly was this done when another nuisance was 
 discovered, and my bed was found swarming with a kind 
 of ant, half an inch long : body, brownish-red ; abdomen, 
 brown: these, although they do not bite, are disagreeable 
 bed-companions. Being in search of cooked food and sugar, 
 for which they have a strong predilection, they had got the 
 smell of the elephant lard with which I had anointed my 
 limbs; and as I could not jump into a warm bath to 
 obliterate the traces of it, I was obliged to put up with the 
 nuisance as well as I could, slaying as far as I was able. In 
 the morning I found a scorpion in my shoe, and another in 
 my haversack. 
 
 The Makalakas brought in to-day a small tortoise, one 
 of those fresh-water turtles elsewhere mentioned as having 
 a kind of trap-door in front, by which it can lock itself up 
 securely, and which I have already described as found on 
 the Botletlie river. This one is about a foot long. They 
 are very different to the other small kind, which I do not
 
 CHAP, IX.] SOUTH AFRICAN FISHES. 235 
 
 think ever exceed six inches, and are more flat. The 
 fish which the l^Iakalakas procure are all barbers {Clarias 
 capensis, Smith), as they are called in the colony. They 
 sometimes attain a very large size, four and five feet, and 
 have a very large, broad, flat head, with long feelers, and, as 
 they are constantly rooting in the mud for worms, &c., are 
 not at all delicate eating. They are easily caught with a 
 hook ; flesh will do for bait, but worms are more certain, and 
 frogs are still better for the larger ones. The other little 
 brindled fishes,* and a kind of carp, may be taken with 
 mud-worms, grasshoppers, dough, maize, or corn ; but the 
 natives liave no Icnowledge of hooks and lines. 
 
 All the little streams here contain fish, although they are 
 not perennial rivers throughout. It is matter of surprise to 
 some persons how fish come into them again after the water has 
 dried up. I have heard people express their belief that the 
 spawn is carried on the feet and bills of birds from one stream 
 to another ; but I observed at Lake Ngami that the fish there 
 (very much resembling the anabas of Ceylon) had regular 
 burrows under the ground, where they deposit their spawn 
 previous to the drying up of the waters, so that it is 
 left for a considerable season on dry land without injury, 
 and is hatched when the flood takes place. The barbers lay 
 in a state of torpor under the mud, like frogs and crocodiles ; 
 but it seems that in this respect some of these reptiles, both 
 fish and crocodiles, are not endowed with equal instinct of 
 self-preservation, and their lives are sacrificed in conse- 
 quence. The barbers are generally from two to three feet 
 long ; brownish mottled colour above ; belly white ; fins 
 having a reddish colour : they have eight antennas or feelers, 
 
 * These seem to be viviparous, to judge from the intensity of the solici- 
 tude they evince for a shoal of very young fish which generally accom- 
 panies the old one, and the great vigilance and activity displayed in 
 protecting them from any I'eal or fancied danger.
 
 236 ailAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ix. 
 
 four under the chin directed forwards, two middle ones on 
 the muscles lying backwards, and the other two, the largest, 
 extending horizontally out, which gives it a formidable 
 appearance in the water ; eyes small and brown. 
 
 23rcZ November. — We are confined to our camp, owing to 
 the serious illness of one of our Makalakas, who has an 
 attack of the native fever, the symptoms of which are de- 
 scribed by Dr. Livingstone. I shot a waterbuck close to 
 camp. I notice the pastern joints of these bucks are so long 
 and bent, that the little hoop of the fetlock makes distinct 
 impressions on the ground, like that of a pig. 
 
 Although the atmosphere seems clear since last evening, I 
 observe this morning that a stick of tobacco, which I took 
 out of a tin box last night as dry as snuff, is perfectly satu- 
 rated with moistm-e this morning, and swollen to twice its 
 original size, though it has lain inside my hat. My bedding 
 and clothes, of course, feel also damp. 
 
 2-ith November. — Still detained by the continued illness of 
 our patient, whose case is really serious. The Makalakas, 
 and even Bill and April, are quite gloomy since they find me 
 going so far towards the river, grumbling amongst themselves 
 all day that there is no game that way, in which opinion 
 they are quite correct. But I am obliged to keep within a 
 moderate distance of Baines and his party, who are dependent 
 on me for supplies. I may, however, have to go back to the 
 last place, if I do not get anything at the next station. I 
 sent Bill and Katwa on with four bundles of meat, to meet 
 the messengers from Baines, who must be on their way hither 
 by this time. Bill shot a fine wild boar (2 ft. 9 in. at 
 shoulder), and April a young male waterbuck. 
 
 There is a large black wasp (1^ inches) building its nest in 
 my hut. It commenced yesterday morning, and seems now 
 to have finished. The whole is of a globular form, two inches 
 long, but there are four or five, or more, different chambers
 
 CHAP. IX.] UNEXPECTED VISITORS. 237 
 
 inside. She is now going in and out every five minutes, but 
 I cannot say what for, unless looking for a place to build 
 another. (Steel-blue, expanded wings, body black, legs 
 brown, antennae red.) 
 
 An exquisitely bright green bee is also very busy. It has 
 a sting double the length of its own body, with which it 
 inflicts a very painful wound. They are looking for ready- 
 made holes. A still larger wasp than the one I have men- 
 tioned runs about the ground like the beetle. Wings closed, 
 and of the same steel-blue. 
 
 2Qth Noyemher. — Last night, about 9 o'clock, as I was pre- 
 pared to go to rest, I heard a great rush of feet towards my 
 hut. I looked out to see what was the matter, and every 
 individual took shelter behind me, unable to speak. I 
 thought, indeed, with them, that we must be surrounded 
 with Matabele. The Bushman seized a gun, and was in the 
 act of aiming at two men who were approaching the entrance 
 of the kraal, when I put it away, and discovered they were 
 two Damaras from the wagons ! The Makalakas recovered 
 their alarm, but showed great indignation against our visitors 
 for omitting to signify who they were, by calling out as they 
 approached. The Damaras brought a note from Edward, 
 saying that the messengers had returned from Mashotlaan's, 
 where they had met with a civil reception. John is better. 
 The cattle, he thinks, are getting thinner. 
 
 Three shots were heard this morning close by, to the north. 
 Sent the Damaras back to the wagons with four bundles of 
 meat, each about fifty pounds. 
 
 At about 3 o'clock a storm of wind came up from the 
 north with tremendous fury, and soon brought rain, which 
 fell in large drops. Another storm met it from the south, 
 small drops this time, but falling so thickly that my hut, 
 which I had imagined quite secure, Avas entirely swamped, 
 and a stream running through. It lasted only about twenty
 
 238 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ix. 
 
 minutes. The river conies rolling- down with great fury, 
 wave upon wave, and the little torrents from the hill-sides 
 leap into it with a noise like thunder. 
 
 A six-petaled amaryllis has sj)rung out suddenly by 
 hundreds ; it has a sweet odour, and has a blush of red 
 down the middle of each petal, outside. It has small grass- 
 like leaves. 
 
 21tli Novemher. — Yesterday I felt an inflammation coming 
 on in my eye. I walked out after the rain to hunt, and it 
 was very much worse. Ophthalmia seems very rare here, for 
 a wonder. I have scarcely seen a case of it amongst the 
 Makalakas. To-day my eye is worse, probably from lying 
 so near to the wet ground at night. I wallced over the 
 range of hills five miles north (running east and west), in 
 the hopes of getting something, but, notwithstanding I made 
 a great round eastward, saw not a spoor. The game has 
 evidently left for the desert — at least the natives say so; 
 and I fear I shall have some difficulty in keeping Baines 
 supplied. I saw this morning the pretty white flower which 
 I admired so much on the west side, and a peculiar kind of 
 grass plant, a perennial, the blade springing out of a branched 
 trunk, like a tree, made up of fibrous sheaths, the growth of 
 preceding years. It has clusters of pretty flowers, of a bluish- 
 white or pale lavender colour, and an exquisite odour. It is 
 astonishing what progress the vegetation is making since we 
 had those two showers. Trees which a week ago were quite 
 bare, are now densely clad. The raopani leaves, at first, are 
 of a very warm, red dish -bro\vn, then glossy, unctuous-looking 
 olive, then dull green, which becomes brighter towards winter. 
 The large sterculias have two large, glossy, two-lobed leaves ; 
 and the sorokaan, rosettes, or bunches, of serrated oval leaves. 
 The maruri papierie is a trefoil, with scalloped margin and 
 downy surface, and smooth bark. Elephants are fond of it. 
 These trees snap off like carrots; the branches are rigid.
 
 CHAP. IX.] INSECT ABCHITECTUBE. 239 
 
 short, and spinous. The small cactus, which I have men- 
 tioned as ahounding amongst the rocks, exudes a white milk 
 (eu]j]io7-bia?), and the large tree-euphorbia is four-winged 
 and scalloped, the notches reversed. It is the same one we 
 find in Natal. 
 
 In the evening, the people being in want of food, I shot a 
 pallah and a waterbuck, and on my return to the camp 
 found that the sick lad's father had at length arrived. It 
 rained throughout the whole night, and several successive 
 thunder-storms passed over, the peals frequently very loud, 
 and the lightning very vivid. At daybreak the rain ceased, 
 and (Saturday, the 28th) I walked out about a mile, and shot a 
 waterbuck. These animals have drooping ears, like a donkey, 
 which the females somewhat resemble Avhen grazing and at 
 ease. They will soon kid now ; likewise the paUahs, which 
 I observe only in small parties of three. I have lately 
 seen eight or ten parties of only three does together. The 
 waterbucks are also more scattered now. The pallah, 
 though one of the swiftest antelopes in the world, is run 
 down by the Bushmen, who capture all animals. To them 
 the doe pallah s, at this season, when heavy, are not diflScult 
 to catch. With the giraffe they require the aid of good 
 dogs. It is, however, a terrible chase, and one in wliich no 
 ordinary man can engage. 
 
 Several of the wasps are building now. They make several 
 cells, one over another, in each of which they put two or 
 three caterpillars. It is interesting to observe how clever 
 they are — how they survey the ground, build the cells, lay 
 the eggs, bring the caterpillars, and again go for clay to seal 
 up the door. These actions seem guided by human sense. 
 They carry w'ater, also, to moisten the clay, and are so indus- 
 trious that they become quite w^eak, and at length stagger 
 over their work. In conveying the caterpillars (which are 
 two or tlu'ee times their own weight) to their hives, they
 
 240 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELH. [chap. ix. 
 
 sometimes fail to rise high enough with the impetus they 
 have on ; when this is the case they return, and rise in 
 the air outside to obtain a greater impetus, and come in 
 with a longer swoop, but they often make several attempts 
 before they succeed, going farther and In'gher every time 
 for a starting-point, until success crowns their perseverance. 
 Having reached the hive, and having stung their prey, and 
 so rendered it insensible, they systematically insert the head 
 of the grub, and then hoist him in farther and farther. 
 When they have thus placed the poor caterpillar in his 
 coffin, they go away, in perfect confidence as to his security, 
 to fetch clay wherewith to shut up the door. These w'inged 
 gaolers are accommodating, adapting the shape of the cell to 
 that of the caterpillar. I opened one : tliere were five cells, 
 with generally three caterpillars in each ; but some four, and 
 others only two. The larva is transparent and green : the 
 youngest alone had the power of motion. The caterpillars all 
 alive yet, though they have been shut up three days. As each 
 cell is finished, the female wasp lays her egg, which occupies 
 her a minute and a half. She then leaves her house for an 
 hour or two to dry perfectly, and then goes for caterpillars. 
 When all the cells are finished, the whole gets a more sub- 
 stantial plastering of clay. The walls of the cells, in the first 
 instance, are scarcely thicker than an egg-shell. She is 
 gone four or five minutes for each pellet of clay, and the last 
 layer is then sufficiently dry to receive another. To find the 
 caterpillars is not always an easy matter. They always let the 
 cells dry for about two hours before they introduce the grub ; 
 they build and close one cell every day. 
 
 Yesterday I observed several large balls of froth sticking 
 to the side of a rock, which looked like insect production. I 
 examined one, and found it to contain a mass of some hundreds 
 of little tadpoles swimming about in the inside. I notice also 
 several beautiful scavenger and other l>eetles here which I did
 
 CHAP. IX.] A BABOON TREE. 241 
 
 not get on the west coast. Each insect has its own peculiar 
 instinct or sagacity, but the scavenger {scarahmus), in addi- 
 tion, possesses a good deal of cunning. 1 have seen two 
 globes meeting from different directions, and a dispute arise 
 for tlie mastery of both. The strongest seized the other 
 world, and, plastering them neatly together into one, sent 
 his adversary sprawling on his back, and then ran away with 
 his globe before the other knew where he was. 
 
 2'lnd Novemher. — A buck which I shot last night was 
 brought in this afternoon. Just as I had been writing to 
 Baines, Bill arrived with a letter from him, which contains 
 news of successful shooting. He had himself had some luck ; 
 the boys had killed a buffalo ; and Anthony (a juvenile Dutch 
 emigrant) actually killed an elephant, the first thing he has 
 shot. To-morrow I send Baines ten bundles of meat (about 
 500 lbs.), with a bag of nails, and four hides to cover the 
 decks of the boats. 
 
 In the evening I saw the removal of a swarm of young 
 white ants, or termites. They are, however, of a different 
 kind to those inhabiting the ant-hills, and only half the size 
 — not so dark, and are not eaten by any of the natives. Tliey 
 live in the ground, and are just as destructive to property as 
 the larger kind. 
 
 SQth Novemher. — As April left, I started in the opposite 
 direction, where I heard elephant spoors were plentiful, and 
 all sorts of game. After walking about 15 miles, however, 
 I had seen only crocodiles and baboons. A very large tree 
 by the Crocodile Island was swarming with the latter, and 
 looked for all the world like a ship's mast and yards full 
 manned. It was, indeed, ludicrous to see them hurry down, 
 big and small, some 300 or 400 in number. This is the 
 second time I have seen them on this tree (the kukoomga). 
 There is nothing on it for them to eat, but the natives say it 
 is tlieir home and their " look-out," and that they have lived 
 
 VOL. TI. R
 
 242 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ix. 
 
 there for years. After they have roamed about in quest of 
 food, they resort to it en masse, and pass the remainder of 
 tlie day and night on it. This tree stood near the Crocodile 
 Pond and Crocodile Island, and I was sorry to observe it had 
 not rained here yet. I approached the pond, which is against 
 the southern sandstone cliff of the island, with caution, having 
 determined on shooting one of its tenants, in order to get a 
 proper description of them. To my surprise, not one was 
 visible, and I concluded that the baboons had given them due 
 warning. This was indeed so, but in a different manner to 
 what I had expected. On looking about 200 yards beyond 
 the pond, I observed a number of the loathsome reptiles 
 running towards the pond. It was a race between us, but, 
 finding they had got too much a start of me, I stopped to 
 count them as they tumbled into the green and stagnant 
 pool. I counted twenty-seven, all nearly two-thirds or full- 
 grown. I could only account for this strange daylight migra- 
 tion by supposing that they had gone so far up the bed of 
 the river to feast on the leavings of the lions, and hastened 
 accordingly in search of the sjjoil. On rounding the corner, 
 however, the sound of running water broke upon my ear, 
 and I saw the Daka river in full force rushing down like 
 a wave. The crocodiles had scented the fresh water, and 
 were going in procession to give it a hearty reception. One 
 unfortunate fellow had gone a little in advance of his com- 
 panions, and, now too far to retreat, went onwards. I shot 
 him just as he plunged into the fresli stream. But the 
 loathing with which all native races, savage or otherwise, 
 regard these disgusting reptiles is universal. My Damara 
 would not touch it, the Makalakas would not look at it, and 
 I was obliged to pull off my boots, and drag it to the bank 
 myself. This one was but eight feet long. I have often 
 shot them eighteen feet long, and as bulky as a buffalo. 
 The fig-trees here have four or five times the woody
 
 cnAP, IX.] A SAD ACCIDENT. 243 
 
 substance in their roots that they have in the trunks. You 
 see them traversing the bare walls of basaltic rock for a 
 hundred feet or more, with several thick roots, each as thick as 
 the trunk. The tree seems to imbibe nourishment from the air. 
 
 13th December. — April returned from Chuma-Ohukeroo, 
 whither I had sent him to engage porters : he brought two 
 miserable wretches, mere skeletons, with the promise of a 
 further supply of this questionable article on tlie morrow. 
 Next day, conceiving it a duty incumbent on him to feed 
 the poor hungry fellows, April went out, of his own accord, to 
 hunt. At night, after I had retired to bed, one of our people 
 arrived in great distress, having been sent by April to ask 
 assistance. His gun had burst, and injured his hand, and 
 the poor fellow was so weak from loss of blood that, being 
 unable to walk any farther, he had lain down under a tree 
 about 10 miles off. I called up all the men to go to his 
 assistance, taking with them food and water. I feared lest 
 the lions and wolves, which are very abundant, and even 
 now roaring about us in great numbers, should devour him ; 
 but Shapatani insisted that he should not be able to find the 
 place again in the dark. It was indeed pitch-dark, cloudy, 
 and drizzling. I tried hard, however, to get them to go off at 
 once, as April had no fire, and it would be a miracle if the 
 lions were to miss a wounded and bleeding man : but all to 
 no purpose. 
 
 'Ibth December. — In the evening April was brought back 
 on a stretcher, carried by three men. The rest of them did 
 not forget to bring the quagga which April had shot ; and 
 Jem had killed two rhinoceroses with one shot from my big 
 gun. I liave never heard of such an achievement before. 
 Poor April's hand was in a frightful state : the tliumb gone, 
 and all the fingers smashed, and a large piece of iron had 
 evidently gone through the palm. It presented, indeed, a 
 
 e2
 
 244 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ix. 
 
 horrid spectacle, and, seeing that there was no remedy but 
 amputation, I had it dressed for the present, and sent him to 
 bed after a good mess of milk and porridge, the first thing he 
 has eaten. 
 
 Next morning, after a restless and anxious night, I rose 
 early, for the purpose of taking April's hand off. The poor 
 fellow made no objection. I could not perform the operation 
 without John's assistance. He did not like the cutting, but I 
 made him take the knife while I held the stump, put back 
 the integuments, and caught hold of the arteries, while the 
 hand was severed from the wrist. John did his best, yet at 
 best it Avas but a clumsy job, as may well be imagined, for 
 neither of us had ever seen anything of the kind done before ; 
 and when I had, Mdth much difiSculty, secured the arteries, 
 which were constantly slipping, the ligatures could not be 
 found. However, we were not ten minutes about it, ban- 
 daging and all, and there were not two tablespoonfuls of blood 
 lost. The poor fellow bore it all very patiently, and that 
 was a great matter. It may easily be imagined what I felt, 
 especially as my nerves are at best not very strong, and I 
 was now very ailing myself. But it was a case of emergency, 
 and my sense of duty carried me through. Heavy rain fell 
 during the night. Some of our people went off to the rhino- 
 ceroses. The chief came to say farewell. I was obliged to 
 take to my bed, and was soon unconscious Avith fever. I 
 was very ill all night and next day, and, as they tell me, 
 delirious. 
 
 l^th December. — It rained heavily all night, and to-day 
 again, so that all the plains are flooded. JMy fever did not 
 abate till this morning. Rain ! Nothing but rain ! with 
 thunder and lightning. I have never experienced such rain. 
 The whole country is deluged, and our watercasks washed 
 away, probably into the Zambesi. The cattle and sheep 
 stand every night in a puddle up to their knees, and the
 
 CHAP. IX.] FIRE-FLIES. 245 
 
 Damaras' huts seem to be in a frightful plight. By some 
 mischance, they always choose a hollow to build in. Several 
 are sick of fever ; only two men and a boy are well. My 
 amendment had been only for a short interval, and I had 
 a relapse, when the symptoms became still more violent. I 
 was raving for a whole day, and have no recollection of any- 
 thing that occurred. The third day (Sunday) I was so much 
 better that I was able to write to Baines, at the other camp, 
 and to my wife. 
 
 23rtZ Decemher. — I had a sleepless night ; lions prowling 
 about the house frightened the cattle twice out of the kraal. 
 It was very dark, and the herdsman, while turning the cattle 
 back, stumbled over a lion, which growled, but fortunately 
 did not attack him. 
 
 The lions came within ten yards of the wagon, but were 
 driven off by the barking of our dogs, whose behaviour is 
 very different in the case of a lion from what it is in that of 
 a wolf They do not care for the latter, but when a lion 
 comes, they will not even follow the people after the cattle, 
 but shrink within the enclosure. 
 
 A kind of fire-fly is very plentiful, sparkling like diamonds 
 on these dark nights. It is a small brown insect, one-sixth of 
 an inch long, very narrow, and has the extremity of the 
 abdomen tipped with a brimstone colour underneath as far 
 as the second wing. Its flight is like the dancing of a lan- 
 tern, for which it might be mistaken, and the more intense 
 the darkness the greater the light emitted. I have seen 
 thousands of these small insects illuminate a large tree on a 
 dark and stormy night. The effect of this multitude of 
 flashing lights is something wonderful, and must be seen to 
 be appreciated. There is also a larger kind, which evidently 
 belonj^s to the Elateridse. 
 
 I still keep my bed, feeHng extremely weak. 
 
 2^th Decemher: — Incessant and heavy rain all yesterday,
 
 246 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. ix. 
 
 and again, without intermission, all night. It is impossible 
 to keep anything dry. The wagon smells mouldy, the bed- 
 ding feels damp, and everything becomes rotten. Around our 
 Avagons there is nothing but mud and water. Last night we 
 had a storm from the north-west, a quite unusual quarter. 
 
 25^/i December. — Christmas Day. Dull and cloudy. 1 have 
 headache, and feel very unwell. Try to write, and fail, from 
 weakness. Some of the sick people crawl out of their huts. 
 A lonely day. Jem and Kajumpe return from Bill, who left 
 his camp yesterday for the river, with all the goods and traps, 
 including my portmanteaus, &c., &c., destined for the east 
 coast. I intend following as soon as I am strong enough. 
 
 Next morning I was up again, but all the Damara women, 
 wives of the only servants we had now got here, are very ill 
 with fever. At 10 o'clock Dikkop's wife was reported to be 
 dead or dying. Distributed a sheep amongst the sick women, 
 and superintended the building of a new hut for some of 
 them. On speaking seriously to the Damaras on the folly of 
 bringing their wives with them, contrary to my orders, and 
 of the inconvenience and misery they had brought on them- 
 selves in consequence, they laughed heartily, and wished to 
 know whether they would not have died at Otjimbengue as 
 well as here. " Don't people get sick and die in Damara 
 Land ?" It was a touching spectacle to see the little child 
 of the deceased, mounted on Pompey's shoulders, following 
 the corpse as sole mourner. Tlie corpse itself, tied up in 
 a skin, was carried, like any other bm'den, between two men, 
 one having hold of the loop of a rim tied round the feet, and 
 the other at the head. 
 
 27th December. — My birthday, on which I complete thirty- 
 one years. The day now brings with it a melancholy train 
 of thoughts, unsuited to one who undertakes to be the leader 
 of an expedition across this continent, with all its perils, 
 obstacles, and difficulties ; but away dull care ! I must
 
 CHAP. IX.] LIZARDS. 247 
 
 banish home-sickness, all those vain regrets and longings 
 which tend to deaden a man's energy and breed despair. 
 
 29th December. — John brought in one of the large scaly 
 lizards. It measures eighteen and a half inches in length, 
 which is about equally divided between body and tail, the 
 latter being square, broader above (at base) than beneath, and 
 scaly above, rough, and raised in the middle into projecting 
 ridges, glossy, and of the consistency and colour of tortoise- 
 shell. The head is divided, like that of the male water-tortoise, 
 by sectional indentations or divisions, and from the back of the 
 head the body is covered with transverse rows of square, hard, 
 and horny scales like those of the crocodile. Legs covered 
 with imbricated triangular scales, rich dark brown wdth yel- 
 low spots, somewhat assimilating the colour of tortoise-shell. 
 Tail the same. Back and head, dull light brown, with a dark 
 streak down either side. The belly protected by a glossy 
 armorial plate of irregular or lozenge-shaped scales termi- 
 nating in the corner of the mouth, projecting beyond the 
 sides, and quite distinct from the scales of the body, by a 
 longitudinal division on either side from the vent forwards. 
 Belly scales, brown ; of the throat, yellow, large, with white 
 patches across ; chin, white ; inside of legs, yellow. Five 
 toes on all four feet; two middle toes of hind feet very 
 long; all the claws or nails very small. Eyes, brown. 
 Ears, large. Nostrils, round. Broad and fleshy tongue. 
 Short, thick, and regular teeth, like rows of pearls. The tail 
 is laterally indented on either side. It is edible. 
 
 There is a large blue tree-salamander here which I cannot 
 get hold of, and a smooth rock-lizard more than two feet long, 
 of a deep glossy brown with longitudinal yellow stripes. 
 They inhabit steep and rocky clifis. 
 
 The butterflies in these parts are very similar to those found 
 on the western side of the continent ; but a very pretty one 
 taken here to-day has not been observed there. Its primary
 
 248 CHAPMAN'S Tit AVELB. [chap. ix. 
 
 wings are of a deep velvety black, tipped with white and 
 spotted with bright golden yellow. One large spot near the 
 extremity, then three smaller, then again two, these latter 
 arranged in rows transversely. The secondaries are bright 
 vermilion margined with black, tipped with white, and 
 pointed yellow near the junction. Abdomen deep velvety 
 black, barred transversely and boldly with six bright golden 
 or orange-yellow bars ; vent pointed with yellow. Each bar 
 has a white spot on the side. Body and head black, spotted 
 with white. Breast and belly, the same. Legs, the same ; 
 the latter having, moreover, each a yellow bar across the 
 middle. The vermilion of the secondaries bright underneath. 
 
 Since Saturday we have had very fine weather ; though 
 the thermometer never rose higher than 96° at 3 or 4 p.m. 
 But after so much rain and clouds the air is as piercing at 
 96° as it Avas before at 110°. Towards sunset the tempera- 
 ture is very pleasant. At sunrise the thermometer is gene- 
 rally about 71°. 
 
 Some of our boys saw a lion while out searching for a 
 wounded quagga, and the day before Jem's party came upon 
 a whole troop running before them on the spoor of buffaloes. 
 To judge from their spoors, lions are very numerous in this 
 neighbourhood just now. We frequently hear them in the 
 night near the cattle-ki-aal, and the people often stumble on 
 them while out hunting. Jem came close upon one fast 
 asleep the other day, and woke him with a bullet in the ribs ; 
 but the lion roared, and all the party ran away, without stop- 
 ping to see whether he was killed. Quaggas are all we 
 see or hear of besides. 
 
 The virulent stinging-ant already mentioned is about 
 an inch long. Thorax reddish-brown, or dull red. Body 
 hard, black, pitted and covered with short rigid hairs, 
 and marked with two square (oblong) and four round white 
 spots regularly placed on the back. The extremity of the
 
 CHAP. IX.] STINGINQ-ANTH. 249 
 
 abdomen is composed of three or four overlapping scales, 
 more distinct underneath. One of these insects cut in two, 
 seven hours ago, still shows signs of sensibility and vitality 
 in the severed extremity, which applied to Jem's hand stung 
 him so severely that it was swollen in a few minutes ; and 
 whenever I handle it the sting is protruded as in life, 
 searching actively for my hand to sting it. I have laid it 
 by to see how long it will retain this power. The sting is 
 long. 
 
 There are some smaller kinds of this ant wliich are barred 
 red, white, and black; but the sting is equally painful. I 
 was yesterday stung by one of the green wasps. They are 
 three-quarters of an inch long (hump-backed), bright glossy 
 green and gold ; abdomen blue at the end ; eyes black ; and 
 the sting the length of the body ; the wings brown and trans- 
 parent. They look for little holes in the wagon in which to 
 deposit their larvae. They are not so thin in the waist as 
 other wasps. The ant above mentioned makes a buzzing 
 noise like a bee. 
 
 To-day the thermometer rose to 96° ; day fine, with few 
 clouds. 
 
 In the evening John fell in with four buffaloes close by, 
 and shot one of them ; but he brought the terrible news that 
 there were thousands of the " fly" on the one he had killed. 
 I gave orders that the cattle should go out early to graze on 
 the open to the south, while he returns to the buffalo, and 
 endeavours to catch some tsetse for my inspection. 
 
 olst Decemher. — John went off early, and soon sent me a 
 fly, which happily proved not to be the dreaded tsetse. The 
 Makalakas say the "fly" was brought into these parts by the 
 elands from the north, after they had been denuded of their 
 former inhabitants. Heavy rains are said to kill the " fly" in 
 the season when they prevail. I have leai'ned from the 
 natives that the tsetse deposit their larvae in the dung of
 
 250 CHAPMAN'S TEA VEL8. [chap. ix. 
 
 the buffalo. Snyman tells me, that when he was living at 
 Sekeletu's a rei^ort was brought in that tsetse had crossed 
 the river to a cattle post. The people in charge fled with 
 the cattle, and Sekeletu sent off a party to burn them back 
 again, firing the grass, and afterwards sent the cattle there 
 again. I do not quite understand this, for I know fields 
 burnt down regularly every year which are still infested with 
 tsetse. I think the only chance of exterminating them is to 
 keep up constant warfare wath the buffaloes until they are 
 driven out. Generally, when they have entered a new 
 country with game, they soon increase and extend them- 
 selves farther every year, if the country is suitable. 
 
 I find that the species of leopard or panther by which 
 one of our Makalakas was carried off some time since is 
 called 'mboomolo. It is the largest of the three named 
 'mboomolo, nyaliwali, and gwezago. The 'mboomolo catch 
 quaggas with the same ease as a lion, and bite them in 
 the neck like the lion. Man also, and all other prey, it 
 seizes by the neck. The 'mboomolo is larger and moi'e 
 robust, and has a more beautiful skin, with larger mark- 
 ings in the form of rings. The hunting leopard, as well 
 as the mountain leopard of the colony, are equally dangerous 
 to man in these parts, as also the kosie and other inferior 
 carnivora, as hyenas, &c. The 'mboomolo is known by its 
 large spoor and the manner in which it seizes its prey. 
 The common leopards are in the habit of scalping and biting 
 through the skulls, first feasting on the brains, and then 
 severing the jugular vein and licking the blood. In these 
 parts, they have been so accustomed to feeding on human 
 corpses, owing to the Matabele invasions, that they are all 
 rendered highly dangerous to man, and prey regularly on 
 them. I have often been astonished at the precautions taken 
 in some of the villages I have passed through ; but did 
 not believe in their necessitv, until I had lost two men my-
 
 CHAP. IX.] PRECAUTIONS AGAINST LEOPARDS. 251 
 
 self by attacks of these ferocious animals. The native huts, 
 besides being made of strong piles placed close and lashed 
 together, are thatched or plastered, and protected by thorn- 
 bushes all round, and a strong door is secured in the inside 
 by a cross bar loosely attached to the middle with a thong, 
 and twisted up until quite tight across the doorway, and 
 secured further with thongs to prevent it slipping. 
 
 The hyenas worry us very much, running about all night 
 between the huts of our people and our wagons. They keep 
 our dogs constantly on the alert ; no sooner is one driven by 
 the pack for a few hundred yards, than he returns again at the 
 very heels of the dogs. Thus they keep us awake till day- 
 light, when they sometimes may be seen from the wagons, 
 dragging away or devouring a piece of hide which they have 
 succeeded in stealing. Jackals we never hear. 
 
 Therm, from 62° to 100° to-day ; at sunset it fell to 85°, 
 and remained nearly stationary until midnight. 
 
 I am now, I think, strong enough to begin the journey 
 towards the river, as soon as the Makalakas return from 
 Baines.
 
 252 CHAPMAN'S TRA VELS. [chap. x. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Progress of the Boat-buildiug — Continued Illness — Our Distressed Condi- 
 tion — More Sickness — Knob-noses — Disasters at the Boat-building 
 Establishment — Eesolve on moving the AVagons — The Tsetse again — 
 Send for Baines— Night Attack of Wolves— Meteorological Phenomena 
 — Distant Smoke-Cloud of the " Falls " — Baines arrives from the River 
 — Abandonment of the Camp on the Zambesi — Sufferings among the 
 Men — Move to the Westward — Weather Observations — Increasing Dis- 
 tresses — Difficulties of the Keturn Journey — Native Credulity — At 
 Daka again. 
 
 1st January, 1863. — The beginning of another year. May 
 it bring good fortune to us ! A shower to-day has reduced 
 the thermometer to 90°. 
 
 Messengers returned from Baines, who writes to say that 
 three or four of his men are sick. He has commenced 
 planking the boat, but his principal assistants are ill. I 
 had hoped to have been able to give him some help, but the 
 more anxious I am to get away from here, where there is 
 now nothing to interest me, the more things conspire to 
 retard me. It harasses me to hear that, notwithstanding the 
 trouble I took to send Baines a good supply of meat, our 
 people must have robbed him of half, no doubt in order to 
 buy tobacco, which I find they send up in quantities to their 
 wives. Therm, to-day, 75'' to 80° Fahr. 
 
 Sunday, 4th. — Just recovered from a frightful headache, 
 which I suffered from the last few days, accompanied with 
 strong fever. I have had very little food or sleep for several 
 days past, and am suffering from dysentery. Therm, yester- 
 day, 70° to 90°.
 
 CHAP. X.] BAD NEWS. 253 
 
 Edward has got a pair of the Makololo fowls. They are 
 small, and not remarkable for beauty or plumage, but are 
 exceedingly prolific. Some hens lay two eggs regularly 
 every day ; and one of the hens now here, having chickens 
 only a month old, is again laying. 
 
 Since New Year's Day, we have had continued showers 
 day and night. The clouds are not so thick and foggy 
 as they Avere before Christmas. Some of the sick, I hear 
 — for I cannot leave my bed — are beginning to peep out 
 occasionally. 
 
 The green wasp mentioned before perforates, I find, a 
 small, shallow hole in the clay nest of the large wasp, then 
 turns around and pierces it very violently with the extremity 
 of the abdomen, depositing at the same time a glutinous 
 fluid, which, I suppose, is the larva; the large wasp then 
 plasters it over. With regard to the large wasp, I think the 
 larva thrives by absorption before it is able to eat of the 
 caterpillar. Their growth is very rapid. When iirst de- 
 posited they show signs of animation, and are capable of 
 wriggling themselves about, but when larger they assume 
 the form of the green and transparent chrysalis. I observe 
 they do not make more than five chambers to each nest, and 
 then commence another. They lay one egg per diem. 
 
 5th January. — Very weak with diarrhcea and constant 
 sickness ; can eat nothing. A letter arrives from Baines ; 
 nearly all there sick and starving, I send Jem off at once 
 with six oxen for slaughter, in order to keep up a regular 
 supply of food. 
 
 Sth January/. — During the last few days the weather has 
 continued cloudy, damp, and steamy. The prevailing winds, 
 clouds, fogs, mists, and rain all come from the north-east ; 
 they are floated over the hills, and the higher parts are then 
 generally nearly cloud-capped, and must account for the 
 steam iness. It is a frightfully unwholesome atmosphere
 
 254 CHAPMAN'S TEA VELS. [chap. x. 
 
 liere, from the quantity of vegetation and never-failing 
 clouds; and everything smells exceedingly musty, even 
 the clothes one has on. Therm, during the day, 70° 
 to 88°. 
 
 A Damara woman and little Karaoa were the next mes- 
 sengers that arrived from Baines, as all the people Avith him 
 were likewise prostrated. He has nothing for the sick to 
 eat, and is the only one who continues weW ; and I wonder 
 that he is so. To-day he will very likely get the relief I 
 sent him. In this state of affairs I must go and look after 
 them ; and if Baines is of opinion that he cannot finish the 
 boats in time to be available for this flood, we must leave 
 everything in charge of Waiikie, feed up and bring away the 
 people, who are murmuring very much at the long delay. 
 Not one of them, I hear, would now venture down the river 
 with me, even if Baines could get the boats ready, which, 
 from all I can learn, is utterly impossible. In the mean- 
 time, as I am unable to shoot, what will keep them alive ? 
 We have no food, no medicine, and my people are, besides, 
 thoroughly disheartened at the long delay and the disasters 
 we are experiencing. Perhaps, if Baines had laid aside his 
 painting for a while, and devoted more labour to the boats, 
 while the people were in health and game was plentiful, we 
 might now have been on our journey to the east coast. 
 
 Edward went out and sliot a fine male eland, which, being 
 in good condition, is decidedly the best prize we have got 
 since coming here. 
 
 9t]i January. — This is the first day I have been able to 
 rise, and that upon compulsion : Edward, like the rest, being- 
 prostrated by sickness. There is no one well but Sam, and 
 those who have gone after the eland. The mosquitoes, which 
 are Avorse than ever, add to our sufferings ; they are of a 
 small black kind, and avoid the light. I have taken the 
 cooking into my own hands. Had we nutritious provisions
 
 CHAP. X.] JNCREA8IN0 TROUBLES. 255 
 
 of any kind one would not so much mind. A little rice 
 broth, or barley, or sago, would now be worth more than gold, 
 and as for tea, I think there were times lately when I would 
 have given almost anything for only an ounce or two. If 
 one had a little sugar, a little vinegar, or acid of any kind, a 
 refreshing drink might be made ; as it is, the patient cries 
 for water, which when brought, is tasted, and rejected with 
 disgust. The water here, although from a spring, has a 
 peculiarly nauseous flavour, as of grass, and is quite stagnant. 
 Kej^t only twenty-four hours in a can it emits a very strong 
 effluvia, as of decayed vegetation. But, alas, for refreshing 
 fruits and cooling beverages, existing to us only in imagina- 
 tion ! The only fare to be found in our larder is quagga 
 flesh, and it is daily becoming more difficult to keep it sup- 
 plied at all. A Damara is of quite a different nature to a 
 white man, and has more appetite to eat during sickness than 
 we have ; when these people cannot eat we may believe that 
 they are really bad. The cattle and sheep lay about all day 
 untended, for all hands are down with fever. A little more 
 knowledge of medicine would be a great blessing to myself 
 and many others who are placed in similar circumstances. 
 Those who expect that all travellers in these lands are to 
 share the impunity enjoyed by Dr. Livingstone in the matter 
 of fevers and other ailments, forget that the worthy doctor's 
 profession had been that of medicine. He has had great expe- 
 rience in these parts, and possesses, besides, an iron constitu- 
 tion. As for his 114 men, they are not to be taken into 
 account at all. They came from one of the worst fever- 
 smitten countries in the world, were inured to the climate, 
 made their houses and beds in the mud amongst the reeds 
 and mosquitoes, and therefore every country that they entered 
 was more healthy and invigorating to them. 
 
 It is painful to reflect upon the expediency — I fear too 
 obvious — of such a step as that concerning which I have sent
 
 256 CITAP MAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. x. 
 
 John to consult with Baines, that is, giving up the remainder 
 of our long-contemplated journey. Now that we ought to 
 be nearly ready for a start it is a hard thing to be driven to 
 such a thought at all. The time thrown away, the boats, I 
 believe, half made, the great expense gone to, and the labour 
 expended, and all the hopes which I have built upon the 
 success of this trip, crushed, at least for the present. Every- 
 body is sick now excepting John, Baines, and E Iward. Baines 
 has not a soul to help him, John will not, and fever is only 
 beginning now, and will grow worse until May or June. The 
 demands upon my stock of medicines — unexpectedly great — 
 have well nigh exhausted my resources in that line, and it 
 is the same in Baines's case. It is therefore impossible to 
 wait longer before coming to a conclusion. If I ever make 
 up my mind to return hither, I must have four or six 
 white men, or else American negroes, instead of all this gang ; 
 plenty of medicine, and every comfort that I can bring with 
 me. I have nothing now but meat. If my brother has these 
 comforts when we meet, and three or four men to spare, we 
 may return at once from the lake. My fears for Baines, if 
 left to himself, are great. I hear that he goes down at night 
 to the sickly river to look for sea-cows ! If he falls sick, who 
 will nurse him ? 
 
 Therm. 70° to 82° Fahr. 
 
 January lOtJi. — Komeho's wife, Kakom, and Komoa (the 
 last messenger from Baines), are all sick of fever. Two of 
 these had a guide with them from Wankie's, but he got fever, 
 and they left him to himself and said not a word about it. 
 To-day the man turns up here in a very weak state. From 
 him 1 learn that the people who were at the river some time 
 ago with guns were Mashonas (or Knob-noses), from below 
 Sinamani's. These people belong to a tribe commonly known 
 as Knob-noses, real negroes, A\ho, fancying that Nature has 
 not made them ugly enough, must needs lend her a helping
 
 CHAP. X.] A NEW DISH. 257 
 
 hand ; with this view they decorate their foreheads to the 
 tip of the nose with a straight line of cicatrices, cut in a pe- 
 culiar manner with an assegai, so that the skin at each wound 
 contracts into the form of a large wart-like protuberance, 
 which, after healing up, shine like a string of black beads. 
 They trade with the Portuguese of Tete, and come here to 
 retail, but this is their first trip so far inland. 
 
 We had last night one of the most frightful storms of 
 thunder, lightning, and rain I have ever experienced. For 
 an hour the lightning played immediately around the wagon, 
 seeming never to strike more than a quarter of a mile from 
 us. Flash and report were so instantaneous as to be quite 
 appalling (therm. 7-4:°). The rain poured down, and the 
 wind blew with such fury that my bed was soon swamped, 
 and I had a most miserable night. Sam, the only one 
 hitherto free from fever, has taken it violently this morning. 
 
 In order to get an appetite I was obliged to institute a 
 new dish yesterday, a kind of spinach which I knew in the 
 colony. The natives here eat it, and the taste would satisfy 
 anybody that it is wholesome. I wish I had a messenger to 
 take a sample to Baines, with a note telling him how to cook 
 it. The roots (madadi) are also good, but they want peeling 
 and slicing. This root, I find, is the tuber of one of the Cuciini- 
 heracese. Therm, to-day from 70° to 82° max. In the afternoon 
 a heavy shower and loud thunder. All our stock of meat is 
 putrid. We have cleared all the neighbourhood of dry wood, 
 and have now to burn that which is green and smoky. The 
 mosquitoes are maddening : no sleep in consequence. 
 
 12th January. — Yesterday (Sunday), continued sickness 
 and headache nearly all day long. I was, however, compelled 
 to act as cook for all the party. Last night was exceedingly 
 close, the thermometer standing at 85° until past midnight. 
 The mosquitoes were frightful : no sleep. To-day at sunrise 
 and sunset the thermometer stood at 76° and 85° at noon. 
 
 VOL. II. s
 
 258 CHAPMAN'S TliAVELS. [chap. x. 
 
 Rain fell during the day. Old Dikkop is down with the fever, 
 so there is no exception with the Damaras. All the last comers 
 from Baines are down, and Edward keeps his bed. He took 
 quinine this morning, but his mouth is blistering. The erup- 
 tion on my head, whicb was nearly gone, is reappearing. These 
 are generally supposed to be good signs after fever, and ought 
 not to be checked. During the night wolves dragged a goat 
 out of the kraal, but we gave chase and recovered it. 
 
 l^th January. — Still the same record, both yesterday and 
 to-day. Eain all night. Thermometer ranging between 68^ 
 and 70° at sunrise, and 72° at noon. Another goat from the 
 kraal by a wolf, but we again recovered it. Lions roar 
 and prowl about all night. The thermometer falls to 68°, 
 and remains so* all day. The whole neighbourhood is turned 
 into a pool of mud, knee-deep, by the tramping of the people 
 and cattle. It is painful to see one or two ghost-like forms, 
 perfect skeletons, of Damaras, just up from tlieir beds of 
 fever, supporting themselves through the mud with walking- 
 sticks, attending, as well as they are able, to their daily 
 avocations. 
 
 \Qtli January. — Yesterday five koodoos came in sight, one 
 of which I wounded, and walked about a mile in pursuit, but 
 returned thorouglily knocked up. This morning, after 
 breakfast, I again ^^ent out in search of game. It was clear 
 and fine and warm, but I felt the heat very much. I shot 
 two fine male koodoos, and had an exciting chase over the 
 rocky hills, but came home with a frightful headache. At 
 sunrise therm, at 04^ ; max., 84° ; sunset, 70°. Gave each 
 of the Damaras their share of fresh meat. Lions disturb 
 us every night, and sometimes roar while it is still daylight. 
 l^tli January {Sunday). — Yesterday, therm. 70° in morn- 
 ing ; at noon, 90° ; sunset, ^b"". No news from Baines. I 
 fear that either he or John must be ill. Xow that I am 
 recovering strength myself I begin to appi-ehend the full
 
 CHAP. X.] DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 259 
 
 measure of my disappointment, should we not get down the 
 river this season. If Baines had only finished one boat 
 before the people fell sick, we might have soon been on our 
 way down ; but how he is now to do it without a single 
 hand to help him I know not. I know that he has done his 
 best since he has set seriously about his task, and any 
 hurrying from me would perhaps lead to exertions that 
 might very likely cost his life. 
 
 This morning the thermometer, when I awoke (about 8 
 A.M.), was at 78°. I did not fall asleep until morning, owing 
 to the mosquitoes. Lions about all night. They must get 
 plenty of quaggas, or they would not pass us by in this way, 
 witliout molesting us. 
 
 I notice that, fourteen days after the completion of two 
 cells by the large wasps which I spoke of the other day, I 
 examined and found in one an aurelia one-fourth of an inch 
 long, oblong, reddish-brown, banded with brighter glossy 
 bands of same colour. In the other the larva in a very 
 torpid state, and a dull brown, instead of that glossy or 
 crystal appearance. It will evidently now undergo a change. 
 The caterpillars are all devoured, and the cells are overrun 
 with numerous small insects, some white and some pale- 
 brown, which looked at first sight like lice, the abdomen 
 very large and rounded. They have feelers, or antennae ; 
 and at a cursory glance through the microscope they looked 
 like the grasshopper which is changed into the cicada. They 
 do not like the light, and are therefore very restless in search 
 of the darkest corner. 
 
 20^/i January. — Yesterday and to-day the thermometer 
 ranges about 72° to 74° at sunrise ; max. at noon, 90° ; 
 sunset, 84° to 87°. In the evening I saw tliree quaggas 
 about a mile off. I got there before dark, and shot a fine 
 male. 
 
 2\st January. — At length John arrives from Baines. He 
 
 s 2
 
 2G0 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. x. 
 
 reports very little progress with the boat, and gives a most 
 pitiful account of the condition of the people, all of whom are 
 ill, reduced to skeletons, and unable to move for some time to 
 come. Only one log is as yet sawn into slabs, which will have 
 to be divided again into planks. In this state of affairs it is 
 impossible that Baines can, single-handed, finish even one boat 
 before the flood is over; indeed he himself admits that it 
 will be impossible to get her ready for this flood. We seem 
 doomed never to attain our object. Nor would it be possible 
 to exist here another year without food and medicine. The 
 game has all been scared away, and I have only 100 bullets 
 left, besides a little shot. Some of the men are so ill that 
 John does not expect them to live, and it will be some time 
 before any will be able to move. Baines has, however, six 
 oxen, which I sent to feed them up with ; and as John has 
 brought up thirteen bundles of our goods, I daresay about 
 thirty more men will bring up what we care about having 
 with us. The remainder will remain with Wankie, who is to 
 build a 1 ut for their reception near his own. 
 
 The only chance of final success now left appears to consist 
 in the endeavour to get half a dozen fishermen from Walvisch 
 Bay ; but as I could not afford to pay them wages on a trip 
 of such uncertain duration, I should have to allow them to 
 keep the half or the whole of what they shoot, with perhaps 
 the promise of a passage to Cape Town. The present trip 
 has involved continual loss and disaster. The Damaras will 
 have to be well paid, and I have nearly exhausted my stock 
 of beads, wire, and a quantity of rugs and blankets, paying 
 a numerous staff of porters. All this must be repaid, if ever 
 repaid, out of a future trip, when I shall also have the 
 expense of bringing a wagon thus far for the sole purpose cf 
 conveying us, as there is no trade or other source of profit in 
 this country. 
 
 It seems to me the work of preparation must be done in
 
 CHAP. X.] A FINAL STOP TO PROGBESS. 261 
 
 the winter, the party waiting quietly for the flood. If my 
 brother has three or four suitable men who would accompany 
 me I might perhaps return at once, as he will probably have 
 with him such things as we stand most in need of; but I fear 
 that my presence can no longer be dispensed with in Cape 
 Town. Baines, happily, appears to be fever proof. 
 
 22nd January. — Move the wagons a little north, to be out 
 of the swamp and mosquitoes. When the oxen came back 
 for the second wagon I detected a tsetse on one of them. 
 This puts a final stop to our progress. Eain at night and 
 during the day. Two days afterwards we moved south to 
 the fountain of Chabalesa. As all of us were sick we were 
 only able to move one wagon ; the distance, about five miles, 
 occupied about half the day. It was then too late to go back 
 for the other. John went out to shoot something, as we had 
 literally nothing to eat — no pot, nor any utensil whatever. 
 In the meantime we set to work to make a kraal. Happily 
 John succeeded in killing a buffalo, which we sent the 
 people to bring in. The cattle decamped at night, and the 
 wolves annoyed us very much, trying to drag the Damaras 
 away. 
 
 2bth January. — The cattle arrive from the other wagon, but 
 not the trek-oxen. They were, however, brought in during 
 the afternoon, having been found on the borders of the 
 "fly" bush a long way off. Eain almost without intermis- 
 sion, sometimes accompanied by thunder, during this and 
 the following days. On the 27th Edward arrives with the 
 other wagon. In the evening Snyman visits us. I am 
 better next day, but the wolves prevent my sleeping at 
 night. I send Snyman off to fetch Baines and the people up 
 from the river. He takes ten of his own men, and I give 
 him twenty-four. It is some satisfaction to know that 
 Baines will receive the assistance he is expecting within 
 fourteen days after John left him.
 
 262 CnAPMAN')^ TRAVELS. [chap. x. 
 
 Oil the m'glit of the 28th wolves came on in troops, assail- 
 ing us from every quarter, and, notwithstanding the assist- 
 ance of Snyman's pack of dogs, returned every instant ; nor 
 did they cease for the report of a gun, or the whizzing of 
 bullets, but bit the dogs in return, and, like ventriloquists, 
 imitated every possible sound, from the bellowing of a bull 
 to the diabolical laugh of a maniac. Lions have not 
 troubled us here as yet, and as we have not the means of 
 making a proper defence, it is to be hoped they will not. 
 When lions do trouble us it would be some satisfaction to 
 have a fine pack of strong-lunged dogs to strike up an oppo- 
 sition chorus around our camp, but we have only very feeble 
 ones. The wolves do not make use of their burrows as a 
 habitation, excepting the females, when their young are 
 small. They lie concealed amongst bushes and rocks on 
 high hills during the day^ and watch the movements of the 
 vultures. 
 
 The jMakalakas brought in eight young guinea-fowls 
 (chickens), five of which have died. In their early plumage 
 they are not uolike the young of domestic fowls, yellow, and 
 striped over the cheek and around the eyes and neck with 
 deep brown, showing no symptoms of the peculiar spotted 
 plumage of their maturity. The mother roots up small 
 bulbs for them, and breaks grasshoppers into pieces. They 
 lay sixteen eggs : in a domestic state they lay a great many. 
 They are very delicate, and great tyrants amongst domestic 
 poultry. 
 
 29^/t January. — Send five other men to follow Snyman. 
 Last night the wolves as bad as ever. One dashed at a 
 circle of Damaras sitting around a fire, and seized from them 
 the buffalo hide on which they were regaling. I was sleep- 
 less from fever, accompanied by frightful headache, all night. 
 After daylight, when I had dropped asleep, a fearful thunder- 
 clap close alongside the wagon startled me exceedingly, and
 
 CHAP X.J EXCESSIVE MAINS. 263 
 
 the rain poured down, deluging everything, and making it 
 impossible to find a dry spot. In the afternoon I felt com- 
 pelled to go out hunting, but found myself too weak to 
 accomplish anything, and was obliged to return. Next day 
 we saw some quaggas and pallahs, but I could not get a 
 shot. Wolves continue to trouble us. 
 
 31st January. — Eain at daylight, the water pouring into 
 my bed. During the last week the thermometer has been low, 
 seldom exceeding 80° to 83°, and during the first three or 
 four days never more than 73° during the day, though the 
 evenings were close. There is an appearance as if the long- 
 continued and heavy land-rains will now disappear, and be 
 succeeded by thunder-showers. I hope it may be so. The 
 quantity of rain that has fallen during the last few weeks is 
 almost incredible, and tlie country is converted into a mere 
 swamp, swarming with frogs and mosquitoes, the noises of 
 which are insufferable. I imagine the cause of the abun- 
 dance of rain, and consequent unhealthiness of the country, 
 is owing to the fact of all the rain-clouds and fogs coming 
 from the north-east, and lodging against the high ridges 
 (running south-east) which lie south of Daka. All the 
 watery clouds driven up from beyond Sinamani's receive 
 here a check by these hills, over which they pour unsparingly 
 their watery contents in such quantities that although the 
 whole country is intersected by sloping ravines and valleys, 
 there is not suflScient drainage for the water. Many even of 
 the tabular hills, although with steep, abrupt, and rocky 
 sides, are now little more than a swamp, while the interven- 
 ing levels are almost impassable, and the black earth is con- 
 cealed by the profusion of sweet grass, which grows here six 
 feet in height, with an occasional sprinkling of tambookie 
 grass, a few feet higher. The higher, naked-looking hills are 
 covered with a short reddish sour grass, and the wooded hills 
 and slopes a little lower exhibit a profusion of grasses, shrubs.
 
 V64 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. x. 
 
 creepers, and wild vines, all matted together in an exube- 
 rance that can scarcely be imagined. The seeds of the tall 
 sweet grass are eaten by the Makalakas as a grain. 
 
 \st February. — An easterly and rather bracing Avind is 
 blowing. Visited l)y some Makalakas, who generally, when 
 they want anything, or smell anything, bring us a few roots 
 (the madadi). These are, however, quite a treat, and I have 
 some cooked every day when I can get them. In the after- 
 noon Kallokollo and Kamatudle, two of the men, with the 
 wife of the former, came up from the river, having been 
 ten days on the road. Baines writes that Wankie will not 
 take charge of our things, as he intends to remove after the 
 harvest. One of our men, and the best among them, had 
 died. 
 
 Weather tine, therm. 86°. I had a long walk, but saw 
 nothing : found a beehive. I asked a Makalaka, on hearing 
 the wailing of the Damaras, why they wail in that way. 
 " Are they crying ?" said he, " I thought they were dancing 
 or rejoicing (hiena)." 
 
 Mil February. — The weather continues showery ; to-day 
 it is cloudy, therm. 80^. We can find absolutely nothing 
 to shoot at. The Damaras are eating the wood of a three- 
 lobed sterculia, and we are obliged to kill sheep for ourselves. 
 
 At 2 o'clock I took my blankets, and went out for a day or 
 two west, Edward accompanying me. Waded through a 
 large vley, or swamp, where we saw snipe, and reached 
 a native village on its banks. The natives were friendly, 
 and gave us a hut, some roots, and sweet-reed. The mosqui- 
 toes soon drove us out of the hut, and the rain drove us in 
 again, but at last we decided that it would be better to 
 brave the rain than the mosquitoes. 
 
 5th February. — No game anywhere. Two young men 
 accompanied us seven miles farther west, to another village, 
 where, as well as at the last place, the corn was beginning to
 
 cHAi'. X.] A DISTANT GLIMPSE OF THE '' FALLSr 
 
 265 
 
 riljen. Saw two quag-gas and two pallahs, au 1 although 
 I got within twenty yards of them to make sure, my caps 
 were spoilt by the damp, and I got nothing. At night 
 encamped on a hill, I should think about 1,000 feet above 
 the level of the " Falls," and more than 50 miles from them. 
 My attention was attracted by an unusual sight for this 
 season, namely, smoke in the distance. I watched it for 
 some moments, and finding it quite stationary, exclaimed, 
 " Look at the Victoria Falls !" This was after sunset, and 
 
 VIKW KEAR THE ZAMBESI. — TROOP OF QUAGGAS. 
 
 the horizon then was clear. I asked the inhabitants of the 
 village, in order to make sure, what smoke was that ? " It is 
 Seungoe at Mashotlaan's ;" and on further inquiry I learned 
 it is visible every evening in clear weather after sunset. I 
 took the bearings by compass, and found it 30° east of north, 
 from a distance of about 12 miles direct west from our camp. 
 I had made another unsuccessful hunt farther west, blis- 
 tered my feet, and got nothing, although there were plenty of 
 quagga spoors. Was seized with a peculiar faintness, weakness
 
 266 
 
 CHAPMAN'H TliAVEL^i. 
 
 [CUAP. X. 
 
 in joints, and severe headache. Presented by the Makalakas 
 with a leg of a wildebeest. They had killed several animals 
 with the boleo lately. Mosquitoes on the hills very trouble- 
 some. Fearing an attack of illness, we returned next day 
 to the wagons, suffering much from faintness on the way. 
 On regaining the wagons, I found five Makalakas with pack- 
 ages from Baiues, but no letter. They report three Damaras 
 left behind on the road, too ill to come on. 
 
 Table of Temperature. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sunrise. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 4 P.M. 
 
 Sunset 
 
 Sunday, 
 
 8th 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Fine 
 
 — 
 
 70° 
 
 84° 
 
 m° 
 
 Tuesday, 
 
 10th 
 
 )j 
 
 Showery 
 
 70° 
 
 80° 
 
 90° 
 
 73° 
 
 Wecjnesday 
 
 11th 
 
 ■>■> 
 
 Showery 
 
 70^ 
 
 78° 
 
 80° 
 
 78° 
 
 Thursday, 
 
 12th 
 
 ?) 
 
 Cloudy 
 
 72° 
 
 80° 
 
 80° 
 
 75° 
 
 Friday, 
 
 13th 
 
 5J 
 
 Showery 
 
 72° 
 
 84° 
 
 84° 
 
 80° 
 
 Saturday, 
 
 14th 
 
 5J 
 
 Showery 
 
 70° 
 
 76° 
 
 82° 
 
 78° 
 
 Monday, 
 
 16th 
 
 » 
 
 . Cloudy 
 
 68° 
 
 82° 
 
 86° 
 
 82° 
 
 Tuesday, 
 
 17th 
 
 ,, 
 
 . Thunder, 
 
 &c. 70° 
 
 83° 
 
 86° 
 
 82° 
 
 Wednesday, 
 
 18 th 
 
 >> 
 
 . Eain 
 
 69° 
 
 68° 
 
 75° 
 
 82° 
 
 Thursday, 
 
 19 th 
 
 )> 
 
 Fine 
 
 70° 
 
 80° 
 
 82° 
 
 86° 
 
 Friday, 
 
 20th 
 
 )> 
 
 Fine 
 
 68° 
 
 82° 
 
 84° 
 
 75° 
 
 Saturday, 
 
 21st 
 
 J) 
 
 Eain 
 
 66° 
 
 84° 
 
 86° 
 
 76° 
 
 Sunday, 
 
 22nd 
 
 5> 
 
 Cloudy 
 
 70° 
 
 80° 
 
 80° 
 
 76° 
 
 Every morning the day commences fine ; as the heat 
 increases at 10 or 12 o'clock large white clouds gather 
 around, alternately shading and heating us. 
 
 lOth February. — In sj)ite of illness I have been obliged to 
 go out in search of food ; but yesterday, as on several recent 
 occasions, I returned unsuccessful. To-day, after breakfast, 
 a note came from Baines to say he was near, and had shot a 
 fine koodoo. I went out to meet him ; he had, however, left 
 the point indicated in his letter, but in returning I stumbled 
 across him in the veldt. He looked well, in fact he is the
 
 CHAP. X.] REJOIN BAINE8. 267 
 
 strongest of the party, though he was last year more suscep- 
 tible of fever than any of us. He has left Snynian on the 
 Zambesi, to bring up the sick people and the porters with 
 the goods. Two of the men, who cannot be expected to live, 
 have been left with Wankie, Baines having entered into 
 arrangements with Wankie, on my belialf, for their keep, 
 Jem and Anthony he has also left at the river, but has made 
 arrangements with Snyman to go back with his men and 
 bring them away. Jem was very weak, and Anthony had 
 a fit of ague coming on. Three of the men whom he had 
 sent on some time ago, with guns and pistols, are not to be 
 traced. Lukoba, a native chief, sends to sell me a tusk 
 of ivory of an elephant, whicli I myself shot, and Nechengi 
 sends me a present of one, and a request that I will come and 
 buy his ivory. I tliank him, and say I am not in the habit 
 of running after ivory, but that people come to trade at 
 my camp. 
 
 On the 13th, a Mashapatani, in great glee, came from the 
 west, bringing sweet-reed and green mealies. Shortly after, 
 Snyman, at the head of fifty-seven carriers, made his appear- 
 ance, to my great gratification ; but the news he brought 
 soon made me as sad as I ever felt. Four of our party are 
 still at the river, unable to come on. Anthony was left in a 
 sad state, making desperate attempts at suicide, about one 
 day's journey this side of the river, and Kano, though nearer, 
 is not expected to reach us at all, having gone mad ! Anthony 
 has, moreover, had another fit of epilepsy. Dokkie and 
 some others arrive, the former suffering from fever. I cannot 
 attach blame to any one about the desertion of the sick 
 people. Baines says he would have stayed there, had not 
 Snyman urged him on to the wagons, promising to look after 
 Jem and Anthony, but he failed to do so. Anthony came on 
 about 20 miles from the river, when he fell into a fit, borrowed 
 a knife, and began cutting his own throat with it. In this
 
 268 CHAi'MAyS TliAVELti. [chap. x. 
 
 state of affairs I immediately made arrangements with Syn- 
 man to start off early in the morning to the assistance of the 
 sufferers, with men to carry them, if necessary. He takes 
 eight men, and I give him five more. I also send by him 
 3 lbs. of beads to Jem, 3 lbs. to Anthony, and 1 lb. to Kano, and 
 make him a present of a double-barrelled gun, for overseeing 
 the Makalakas who went to bring up the party. 
 
 Snyman starts on the 14th, about 9 a.m. I pay off twenty- 
 two Makalakas, and began to pack the wagons. We will have 
 to try and get over the Chowe, to be near the native gardens, 
 where we can get corn, although it is about the most danger- 
 ous place in the world at this time of year, for this is the 
 season in which the Matabele commence their depredations 
 and massacres, and the natives live in a state of constant 
 anxiety and fear. 
 
 Dokkie and Bill maintain, in opposition to Baines, that 
 they never were really starving, or even suffering from hun- 
 ger. They say there was always plenty of meat and corn, 
 but they were too ill to eat corn, or anything else. In fact, 
 they give Baines credit for more attention to their wants than 
 he had believed himself to deserve. 
 
 One thing, at any rate, is sufficiently obvious : the work 
 that has been done at the river is literally next to nothing. 
 One block of wood is cut up into thick slabs, which, accord- 
 ing to John, requires dividing. Three planks are nailed on 
 one boat ; twelve or fourteen large blocks, upwards of twenty 
 feet long, are lying about, all to be lifted on the trestles, and 
 cut up, before the boat can be commenced in earnest. 
 
 IQth Februanj. — As thewagons were packed ready for a 
 start to some more healthy locality, where we should stand 
 a chance of getting corn, I went on, leaving orders for John 
 to follow with the wagons next day. I took my blankets 
 with me, carried by two lads, sons of the Makalaka chief
 
 CHAP. X.] A SEW SPJDEB. 269 
 
 residing at Cliowe. On reaching Chowe found no signs of 
 people ; fired a gun, and in about a quarter of an hour five 
 Makalakas, each carrying about five spears, made their appear- 
 ance and conducted me to the village, situated about two miles 
 west of the wagon drift. For the whole of this distance my 
 path led up the valley, through corn-fields and long rank grass 
 considerably higher than my head, from the roots of which — 
 besides the resinous smell of the tambookie grass — arose a 
 nauseous and rotten odour, very unpleasant to travel through. 
 All the low lands or valleys, which have a thick crust of 
 vegetable mould, overlying pot-clay, are now covered with 
 tall grasses, some patches attaining the height of an elephant, 
 and conveying the idea of relationship to the bamboo. Other 
 narrower and deeper valleys, through which run sparkling- 
 streams, contain grasses with almost the density of the 
 broom. So compact is this mass of exuberant and now 
 decaying vegetation, that I was enabled to cross more than 
 one valley by walking on the grass, which formed a bridge a 
 foot above the ground, and passed over streams of water 
 without getting the soles of my shoes wet. 
 
 I found a very pretty little spider ; the abdomen shaped like 
 a conical ball, standing point upAvards, and having the appear- 
 ance of shining silver ; underneath it is reddish-brown. I ob- 
 served everywhere on the stems of the grasses a great many ol 
 the insects (kolokoe) which envelop themselves in a ball of 
 froth. A. pair are always to be found inside tlie ball of froth, 
 which is the size of a small walnut. The largest of these insects 
 is about a quarter of an inch long, or less. It is of a bluish- 
 white ground colour, or pale slate, darker about the middle, 
 and a white stripe down the back of the body, which is ratlier 
 abdominous. The back of head or neck is spotted with 
 brown or black. Belly underneath, ditto. It has six legs, 
 each of which has a white spot at middle joint. Eyes sherry- 
 coloured, seated far back, and two short, rigid antennae, like
 
 270 CHAPMAN'S TUA VELS. [chap. x. 
 
 two short Imirs. Seems to have embryo wings, or a short 
 jacket, covering- tlie junction of thorax. Abdomen erectile, 
 and is forced out to double its ordinary length every few 
 seconds, with what view I do not know. Abdomen faintly 
 and narrowly striped transversely. 
 
 On arriving at Tsebojewa's I was welcomed on approach 
 by the notes of the m'biela, a mark of respect. I was, how- 
 ever, too ill to make proper acknowledgment of the hospitality 
 of the chief, who brought me a water-melon, sweet-reeds, a 
 large dish of pap, and a made dish of melon tops and melons. 
 Next day, feeling better, I made a wide circuit in quest of 
 game, but found nothing, although spoor of quaggas was 
 plentiful. I came round by the wagon road, but found no 
 wagons had arrived : walked to Reader's old camp ; saw 
 nothing of them, so returned with my blankets to Tsebojewa's. 
 Presently after Baines arrived, more dead than alive, having 
 had nothing to eat all day. 
 
 On the 18th I started at sunrise in the very necessary 
 search of game, and after a tramp of five hours through wet 
 grass, returned unsuccessful. I found here a peculiar fungi 
 growing on the w^ood of the mopani. It is honey-combed on 
 the underneath side, like the working of bees in hexagonal 
 cells ; the outside has the usual wavy-wrinkled appearance of 
 wood fungi. 
 
 The wea,ther during the past months, since the rain fell, 
 has been on the whole exceedingly wet. For the last three 
 or four weeks, however, the heavy clouds and long-continued 
 fine rains have left us, and since then we have had what 
 seems to us fine weather, the day generally commencing 
 with a clear, unclouded sky, which, as the heat increases, 
 soon becomes dotted over with large white clouds. A little 
 after noon these clouds seem to diminish, or are driven to the 
 westward by the breeze, generally coming from the east, 
 sometimes a little northerly, and sometimes southerly.
 
 CHAP. X.] THE RAINY SEASON. 271 
 
 Towards evening- tliey condense again, and generally bring 
 down a shower about 4 or 5 p.m., though showers some- 
 times fall in the forenoon, and sometimes in the night, owing 
 to the drawing together of these clouds; but after their 
 watery contents have fallen to the earth all is clear again. 
 
 Previous to the month of November, the wind, which 
 blew pretty regular from the east and e.n.e., came in hot, 
 scorching blasts, in comparison to which the heat of the sun's 
 rays itself was mild. When the sky began to look watery, 
 the wind seemed gradually to veer round to the north and 
 north-west, and, rising in strong gusts and meeting the 
 storm from the east and north-east, would clash, and pour 
 down its flood, generally accompanied with thunder and 
 lightning ; not, however, excepting on one occasion, exhibit- 
 ing the continuous and terrific force which is met with on the 
 south-east coast, but generally passing away. The months of 
 November, December, and part of January, were extremely 
 wet, the rain falling sometimes four to six inches in a few 
 hours, yet always leaving the sky as black and watery as 
 possible, and the daylight as gloomy and obscure as the dusk 
 of evening. 
 
 Edward came up to say the wagons were both stuck in the 
 mud some few miles back, and an axle broken. Both Baines 
 and I are suffering from alternate fits of ague and fever. 
 Tsebojewa has been no niggard in his hospitality to me. He 
 sent abundance of food regularly every night. Now that the 
 fever has become regularly intermittent, I always know when 
 it is coming on by slight aching pains in the bones of all 
 my limbs. I do not always get a regular shaking fit of ague, 
 but sometimes only a slight cold tingling. 
 
 19th February. — After a substantial breakfast, concluded 
 with a water-melon and some s\\ eet-reeds, Baines and I started 
 back to the wagons. I found the latter more than a mile 
 out of the road, and in the midst of a nasty swamp. The
 
 272 (JHAPMAN\S TBAVELS. [chap. x. 
 
 people were encamped not a foot above it, so I sent them 
 to form a new camp a few hundred yards away, wliile the 
 others went off to the more agreeable task of fetching the 
 flesh of a quagga which I had shot. Some Damaras were 
 left at the last camp not able to come on yet. Sent 
 back a share of meat to them. Next day we commenced 
 a false axle, and got the front half of the carriage out of 
 the muddy swamp up to the camp. The wolves troublesome 
 at night. 
 
 21st February. — Sent April to some Makalakas to try 
 and get corn. Baines very poorly. John, who alone is able 
 and willing to work, is cutting the wood for a new axle. 
 There are but four or five adults among the Damaras that 
 are not sick now, besides three mere lads, and those that 
 are sick seem to feel no interest in recovering or getting out 
 of this swamp. When the least sickness overtakes these 
 savages, they lie down and remain down, enfeebling them- 
 selves by their own inertness. A fearful wound in the hand 
 is nothing, nor are they sensible of the most severe castiga- 
 tions: indeed, I believe that a Damara will voluntarily 
 submit to a few dozen with a shambok for the sake of a day's 
 good feeding. I have known some in service with the 
 Hottentots run the risk of a great deal more for very much 
 less. When my men are not smoking or eating they are 
 coiled up sleeping, and their time is pretty equally divided 
 between these three employments. 
 
 The reddish-brown ant, which I have mentioned before, is 
 here a perfect nuisance. They do not bite excepting when 
 seized, but they crawl over one in a most unpleasant manner. 
 They are most ravenous and persistent animals, and dine 
 with us regularly. Sometimes I have the margin of my 
 plate covered with them, making most violent efforts to 
 carry off a piece of meat fifty times their own weight, and at 
 length the whole plate is covered with them. They are
 
 CHAP. X.] A JACKAL. 273 
 
 reddish-brown, abdomen deep . brown, v/ith longitudinal 
 stripes, and fine greyish down. 
 
 22nd February. — I noticed John's teeth very black this 
 morning, and expected he was not all right. He did a little 
 to the axle, but soon had to lie down. Pompey and Sam 
 also sick. My body is beginning to have a very strong and 
 unpleasant effluvia of fever, yet I dare not go into water. 
 My gums and jaws are very sore, and I feel at intervals sharp 
 stinging pains, like ant-stings, all over, especially when dis- 
 turbed. I always feel the fever first approach by pains in 
 the points of my elbows, joints of knees, &c. Last night, as 
 I dozed off, something bit me in the arm. The pain was 
 like a fire-burn; it flew up my arm and into my side in 
 spasmodic stinging pains, which continued for a long time. 
 The arm is quite benumbed and painful this morning. 
 
 In the afternoon Anthony is brought up, carried by Maka- 
 lakas. He speaks in the greatest admiration of the hospi- 
 tality of the Makalakas, and the chief, Mashafi, and of the 
 abundance of food they gave him. Kamatudle left the other 
 party to get into the Daka road, and has not been heard of 
 since. He was alone. Anthony has had the fever badly. He 
 looks miserable, is in good spirits, and eats well, but has lost 
 the use of his legs. 
 
 23rd Fehruarij. — Get Snyman to liel]3 with the axle. 
 Therm, (in our tent) at sunrise, 64" ; at 8 a.m., 88° ; at 
 3 P.M., 88° ; at sunset, 85°. Took a long Avalk, but got 
 nothing. Heard the cry of a jackal for the first time in 
 this country. The Bushman says it is a sign the rain is 
 over. 
 
 2A.th Fehruary. — Therm, at sunrise, 80° ; after breakfast, 
 97° ; noon, 95° ; sunset, 85°. Visited by Tsebojewa, with 
 present of corn, &c. Other visitors to trade with ditto. Tt 
 is quite a relief to see tliese first fruits come in so bounti- 
 fully — an earnest of a good supply. The axle is repaired, 
 
 VOL. II. ^
 
 274 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chai-. x. 
 
 and the wagou pulled out with great trouble. At night 
 Baines got a latitude: 18° 30' 30" s. Next day again 
 visited by Matalakas, with corn, &c. Pack the wagons. 
 Therm, at 8 A.M., 92° ; at noon, 100°. 
 
 An ox fell into the swamp, and the men were half a day 
 trying in vain to dig him out, until John was obliged to go 
 to their help. It became cloudy, with thunder and a 
 sprinkling of rain. Therm, at 4 p.m., 80°. Caught some 
 pretty spiders (silk-making), and preserve them in collodion. 
 Therm, at sunset, 80°. 
 
 This afternoon the Damaras set up a melancholy " keening." 
 I thought somebody was dead. On inquiry found they were 
 weeping for their country. Two Makalakas, whom I had 
 sent to the Zanrbesi for some powder which had been thrown 
 down at the Zambesi and left there, returned. They report 
 Jem and company at ]\[ashanga's, still eating corn. Two 
 Avomen came up from the last camp, stating that Dikkop and 
 his wife are still there. Dismiss Snyman. Learn from our 
 people that there is no doubt of the fact that three of the 
 six oxen sent to the river had real lung-sickness. Here is a 
 new calamity, which shows plainly that the inoculation of our 
 cattle was ineffectual, and if so, a large proportion are affected. 
 What will become of us ? 
 
 2Qtli February. — AX sunrise, therm. 70°. On waking found 
 that Kamatudle had been brought in by a Makalaka, who 
 picked him up. He has thrown away the only thing he 
 had to carry — a light parcel containing my case of mathe- 
 matical instruments and sundry maps, amongst which was a 
 neat little pocket map, the gift of Sir George Grey, which I 
 prized more than all the rest. Baines also had in the parcel 
 three or four pocket-books, containing thermometrical obser- 
 vations. We travelled on to the farthest end of the sand 
 hills beyond Chowe (seven miles), where we halt to buy corn, 
 and make a new axle altogether. The march is most
 
 CHAP. X.] (SUPPOSED POWER OF DIVINATION. 275 
 
 straggling and disorderly. Those who felt well this moriiiDg 
 are all laid up again, and many have not come in. 
 
 At dinner we had rather an unceremonious intrusion of 
 Makalakas squatting themselves before the tent door. Their 
 looks denoted some communication of importance. They came 
 from Tsebojewa's in haste, to tell me the news that the Mata- 
 bele had yesterday attacked their village near Daka, and 
 murdered many of its inhabitants. Two or three had escaped 
 and passed the wagons an hour ago on their way to Tsebo- 
 jewa's. They do not know how many were killed, or how 
 many taken, having fled in the greatest terror, leaving all 
 behind them. In consequence of this calamity Tsebojewa 
 has sent this embassy over, with an urgent request that I 
 would " di\ine " (bola) for him, and let him know his fate, 
 whether the Matabele, when they move from them, will come 
 liither or go elsewhere. He says that my word will decide 
 whether he will stay here by me (his father), and eat his corn 
 without fear, or fly to the mountains, I believe he would 
 be fool enough to do so, such confidence have they in the 
 " Book," and the white man's power of divining from it. I 
 of course denied all powder of divination, and told him I 
 could give him but poor advice or consolation. He knew the 
 Matabele and their ways, and could form a better judgment 
 of their possible intentions than I could. The only thing 
 that I could say in the matter is, that, if certain of his infor- 
 mation, a wise man would keep spies out watching their 
 movements, who could give them timely notice of their plans ; 
 that was the only way w^hite men found out such things ; and 
 that all else was beyond man's power, and belonged to God 
 alone. At this reply they were rather crestfallen. Shortly 
 after, as I could not remember the name of a place I wished 
 to inquire after, I referred to my journal. They, being- 
 familiar with the name, looked upon this as an act of divina- 
 tion, and exclaimed, " Hear him ! he says he cannot divine, 
 
 T 2
 
 276 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELFi. [chap. x. 
 
 and yet who told liim that name ? The Book — but never 
 mind," said they, consoling themselves, " his heart will soften 
 when Tsebojewa comes over himself in the morning." 
 
 As the distance is only eight miles, we made preparations for 
 such defence as might be required. This is the most likely 
 place for the Matabele to come to, as it is the next village ; 
 and here are two or three chiefs assembled who made some 
 resistance last year, and escaped with a portion of their 
 families. This morning a very pathetic parting took place 
 among the Makalakas, some of whom were going home from 
 my wagon, where tliey had been employed for some months. 
 April also wished them " God speed !" " Don't," said they, in 
 a pathetic tone, " hope so well for us, or think that you will 
 ever see us again, for we go to death ; and whenever you hear 
 of us again you will only hear that we have been killed by 
 the Mapoona." These, and similar exclamations, are common 
 at partings ; and now that the corn is ripe is the time of dread 
 to all the tribes. 
 
 21th Fehruanj. — Last night, rain, with thunder and light- 
 ning. The wolves troubled us very much, first dragging away 
 a goat. I fired, and it let go its hold ; tlie dogs then gave it 
 chase. It soon returned, however, and seized another ; and, 
 foiled in this also, next seized a woollen blanket from off a 
 sleeping Damara, with which it went off and satisfied its raven- 
 ous appetite. I received a water-melon from Tsebojewa, by the 
 hands of April, who says the women and children have all fled 
 to the bushes, the men alone standing guard at the village. As 
 he did not make his appearance this morning by 10 o'clock, 
 we concluded he had also fled. As Ave could find no suitable 
 wood for an axle, we prepare for a start to Daka, where John 
 had cut and left an axle when last we were there. The 
 Matabele are said to be somewhere in the neighbourhood of 
 Daka, destroying the people and devom-ing the corn-fields be- 
 fore making another move, so that they may soon be expected
 
 CHAP. X.] ALAPiM OF MATABELE. 277 
 
 here. If they intend violence to us I fear we are not in a 
 condition to offer much resistance. I went ahead to recon- 
 noitre, but saw no signs of life. While resting under a tree I 
 heard footsteps close behind, and, with my imagination full of 
 Matabele warriors, started up in some alarm. A waterbuck 
 bounded away in affright from within a few feet, and halted at 
 a hundred yards. I had just time to seize my gun and knock 
 him over, on the spot where the wagons are to camp. We 
 got two bottles of milk from this animal, Avhich was the more 
 welcome as our cows' milk was curdled. It is of a greenish 
 colour, but tastes well. About 4 o'clock the wagons arrived, 
 Baines not with them. I got foul of a large nest of hornets, 
 which attacked and stung me all over the neck and face. I 
 feel some considerable regret at having to leave the hill-top 
 this morning, the pure air being very invigorating after our 
 recent experiences. This morning we overlooked the whole 
 Daka valley far at our feet. Now we are encamped at the 
 very bottom of it. Therm, at sunrise, 66°; mid-day, 85°; 
 sunset, 60°.
 
 278 VIIAL> MAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Camp at Daka — Native Flora — Night Encounter with Lions — Damara 
 Snperstitiontj — Makalaka Customs — Abundance of Native Vegetation — 
 Progress Westward — At Juruga — Native Fruits and Insects — Charac- 
 teristics of the Desert — Small-pox. 
 
 28 Ti? February, 1863. — Last evening a great deal of 
 thiiuder, after which a clear, quiet moonlight. Our camp at 
 Daka is about fifty feet above the water, which thunders past 
 in a strong torrent over smooth and slippery rocks. Since 
 descending the sand-hill, on this side (south), the country is 
 more open, less bushy. The base of the hill on the north side 
 is stre^An with black and white pebbles of agate, quartz, and 
 fragments of hard reddish stones of fine grain, with lumps of 
 a rusty-looking conglomerate cro[)piug out of the sand on the 
 edge of the sand-hills. On the south edge a hard, fine, 
 whitish, and cavernous-looking sandstone crops out, beneath 
 the same brittle dark grey rocks as on the north. 
 
 Near Daka we come to vertical strata (dip declining slightly 
 northwards) of mica schist, rising 400 or 500 feet high, with a 
 broad belt of white quartz on the south. I took a long walk 
 over the hills to the nortli, and came round by the head of the 
 Daka fountain. The sun was exceedingly hot, and my head 
 ached severely ; finding a very pleasant shade amongst a pro- 
 fusion of aromatic herbs near the margin of the stream, I 
 ])lucked bunches of wild peppermint, and of another lierb 
 with a delicate geranium olour (used by me as a substitute 
 for tea), and enveloping my head and face for half an hour
 
 CHAP. XI.] AT DAKA AGAIN. 279 
 
 inlialed a most invigorating odour. This last is a dwarf, 
 straggling plant, found on old homesteads ; leaves ovate, 
 margin indented. Colour light green, margined with red ; 
 the seeds look like farthing rushlights, rising three or four 
 inches from a folding sconce. The whole is downy, excepting 
 the upper side of the leaves, which have straight indentations, 
 leading obliquely from the margin to the midrib. The leaves 
 are one inch long. The flower, pink, streaked with darker 
 red, is about the size of a threepenny-piece. It has five 
 petals, five sepals, and I count about fifteen stamens ; tlie 
 latter form a whorl round the pistil, and are divided into five 
 sections of three filaments each. The coronet on the pistil 
 is composed of five yellow anthers larger than those on the 
 stamens. 
 
 In the evening, April thought he saw some quaggas. We 
 went in pursuit, and, crossing two deep streams, came up at 
 sunset with a troop of more than a hundred elands. The cap 
 of my rifle snapped, after I had stalked them half a mile 
 barefoot. Tliey bounded over one another with the lightness 
 of kids. I ran after them barefoot until dark. I got two 
 long shots, but, killing nothing, return, and lose my way 
 in the dark. Tlie ]\rakalakas seem all to have fled the 
 country, doubtless from fear of the Matabele. 
 
 The vegetation here is very rank. Cattle fatten faster in 
 the summer: for sheep and goats it is rather wet. The 
 former get inflammation of the lungs and liver, the latter 
 foot-rot. There are two varieties of the murutongue of the 
 lake ; the one has a large oblong downy leaf ; the branches of 
 the other are short, rigid, and spinous. The fruit of the 
 larger is best ; the smaller is bitter and acrid. The natives 
 obtain from it an oil for anointing, by pounding and separat- 
 ing with hot water. The gwarrie, here called shangulie, 
 seldom bears. Gourds, eatable and uneatable, everywhere 
 clothe the ground. Ombuka, a kind of spinach, grows near
 
 280 CEAPMAl!PB TRAVELS. [chap. xr. 
 
 the water's edge ; and mint, and a fragrant herb with geranium 
 odour, line the hill torrents, or sites of old townships. Under 
 tlie shadow of the " wagt-een-beetjee " grows the dalasinte, a 
 straggling hybiscus (?), with beautiful yellow flowers, like the 
 cotton flower. TJie bnlushadiimulu, a delicious little greenish 
 bi-own fruit (of the matangula family), grows under the shade 
 of the mopani. A large, oblong, purple-staining berry, on a 
 short and rigid shrub, grows in stony ground. N'kwedzi, a 
 similar dark-purple, but downy, berry grows in the sand, 
 where various sweet and acid berries and medlars (maramas) 
 are found. From between a profusion of low bushes, matted 
 and tangled with convolvuli, chiefly lilac, yellow, and white, 
 and the sweet pea, the earth sends forth its denser harvest 
 of nameless grasses. Coarse and rank in the valleys, and 
 soft and sweet against tlie slopes, and fine, though tough and 
 acid, towards the higher summits. Amongst the grasses the 
 seeds of the shonda and manga are, with the natives, a substi- 
 tute for grain. The petawalie or egg-plant, but with small 
 and insignificant white flowers, grows in the rocks, climbing 
 the sandal-tree with the wild grape-vines, and magulie 
 blossoms, and a large-leaved passirlura conceals every vestige 
 of the tree it embraces, while here and there, near the site of 
 an old village, camp, or garden, whose inhabitants have been 
 murdered, stalks of corn and millet are found spontaneously 
 ripening, and pumpkins and calabashes hanging like monster 
 pears from large and shady trees. 
 
 1st March, 1863. — The beginning of another month, and 
 the worst for fever. Baiues and John at work on the axle, 
 which advances but slowly. I sent April to Tsebojewa to get 
 information about the Matabele, procure guides if possible, and 
 inquire about corn, &c. 
 
 Therm, this morning, 77°. Yesterday morning the same. 
 From mid-day till the afternoon late, it is stationary at 90°. 
 Yesterday evening at sunset, 80°. To-day, 85°. Clouds high.
 
 CHAP. XI.] NIGHT ATTACK BY LIONS. 281 
 
 Yesterday wind northerly. To-day westerly. A good deal 
 of thnnder gathering every morning ; clearing at noon, and 
 gathering again in the afternoon. This appears to be a 
 healthier locality, though lower, than those we have lately 
 left. The vegetation is not quite so luxuriant, the ground 
 more stony, and a good drainage in the swift streams running 
 into tlie Luluesie. In the immediate vicinity of the streams, 
 however, the grass is rank enough, and as this is a noted 
 place for lions, one is in constant danger of stumbling over 
 some in crossing the long grass. 
 
 2nd March. — Last night three lions, cra^\ling up to within 
 a few feet of our fence, were assailed by the dogs, who went 
 boldly at them, thinking they vsere wolves, as usual. They 
 retreated at first, but speedily returned, one of them giving 
 a startling growl within a few yards of my wagon. I seized 
 the first gun I could, lay hands on ; but it was a shot gun, 
 which I would not discharge at his retreating figure, which 
 appeared, white as snow under a bright moonlight. Again 
 the dogs took courage, seeing me with a gun, but the lion 
 came bounding after them, and upset one, whom I at first 
 thought was killed. He howled, but was after all only 
 frightened. I called the dogs off, and sat watching for 
 the foe, gun in hand. Hardly five minutes elapsed ere I 
 sav/ the lions crouching within forty yards. The moon 
 was slightly obscured when I attempted to fire ; the gun 
 missed, but disturbed them a little. Two turned as if 
 ready to fly, the third stood still, and I fired into tlieir 
 midst. They bounded off in the long grass, and I heard no 
 more of them. 
 
 Tsebojewa arrived, bringing some corn as a present, and I 
 gave him some little things in return. The Matabele have 
 fortunately returned homeward : it proves, after all, not to 
 have been a regularly organized commando, but a marauding 
 party under Zalela, an under-chief, from one of his outposts.
 
 iJ82 CIlAi'MAN'ti TRAVELS. [chap. xi. 
 
 comprising eliicfly ]\[a]valakas. They killed all in the village 
 (about three miles from here), except the few who have escaped 
 to Tsebojewa's. Therm, at sunrise 70°; mid- day (thundering) 
 85° ; sunset 80°. 
 
 ^rd March. — Dikkop, who reached the camp yesterday, 
 came to ask me for a kid, saying that when his wife died, a 
 few days since, her sickness entered his body, and that he 
 must have the paunch of a young goat to rub the dung over 
 his body, and thus drive it out. Not wishing, at the present 
 moment, to run counter to this prejudice, which he shares in 
 common with his fellows, I gave him one. He did not, it 
 appears, bury his wife, but left her in his hut. The Damaras 
 are very superstitious in these cases ; when Kagelmmba died, 
 and Baines buried him, they upbraided him that he did not 
 throw tlie body to the wolves, for they say he cannot rest in 
 the grave. They went several times to Kahechie (the man 
 whom Baines left in the dying state at the river), and slap- 
 ping him on the thigh, said, " Kahechie, come ! you must 
 come to me ; I want your company, for it is lonely in that 
 hole !" In like manner, pointing to two of their sick comrades 
 who formed part of the company, they said to Baines, " You 
 must throw them away, and let the wolves eat them, then 
 they won't come and bother us." This morning I overheard 
 Dokkie, the wagon driver, abuse Baines for merely marking 
 the left and right wheels to know them again, saying he was 
 bewitchino- his wagon to make it break. 
 
 In the afternoon I killed a water-buck. During the march, 
 April said, " I smell fire, father ! there are people near," and 
 keeping up the face of the wind, he soon sniffed it out. Two 
 men bounded away through the bushes, and, fijllowing quickly, 
 we discovered two of my Damaras, whom I had sent back 
 tliis morning on the track of the wagon, to look for a lost 
 skein, the iron mounting of one of the axle arms ; instead of ' 
 doing which they had been lying here all day roasting
 
 CHAP. XI.] SICKNESS OF FOLLOWERS. 283 
 
 lunchies. To-day, tlinnder, and a shower of rain. Therm, at 
 sunrise 6G^; max. 90^; sunset 85°. Water boils at 206^',,°- 
 
 Wednesday, 4th March. — Last night rain and successive 
 thunder-storms. I have for some days been suffering from 
 headache, and return of a stinging eruption on the forehead, 
 neck, breast, and shoulders, whicli I had fancied was the sign 
 of returning health after the first attack of fever ; a great 
 soreness of the gums and mouth inside. Anthony is as yellow 
 as a guinea, and though well enough in spirits he cannot get 
 the use of his limbs as yet. His has been a combination of 
 fever and epileptic fits. Several of the Damaras, whose 
 appetites, at least, are good, still display their foreheads 
 daubed all over with cow-dung every morning, or tied round 
 with a leathern thong, and perhaps another round the breast ; 
 the women have the same appendages over their pendant 
 bosoms. Bill is still very low. He and Anthony suffer par- 
 ticularly from palpitation of the heart. After the first fever 
 whicli I had, the cuticle rubbed off my whole body. Bill 
 has suffered in the same way. Edward has had no more 
 than the first slight or partial attack of fever. He has an 
 almost constant prickly heat all over. Therm, max. 90°; 
 at sunset 85°. 
 
 bth March. — Baines has been busy putting false cheeks to 
 the tongue of the wagon, and is making a good job of it. I 
 put the skein in the axle. The Damaras are becoming per- 
 fectly indifferent to my commands, and I sent two of tliem 
 about their business tin's morning. Therm, at sunrise 70°; 
 max. (3 P.M.) 90° ; at sunset 85°. 
 
 March 1th. — The temperature sank to 62° during the 
 idght. \ heavy shower in the afternoon, with scarcely any 
 clouds, the sun shining brightly on tlie large sparkling 
 drops. 
 
 Some Makalakas arrived with shields and spears, which 
 they leave at a distance, as well as their sandals, and
 
 284 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. xi. 
 
 relate the whole affair of the Matabele attack, and how 
 they happened to escape by being from home at the time. 
 How men, women, and children were carried off prisoners to 
 Moselikatze, while the Matabele went off in quest of other 
 villages to the north and north-east. Other Makalakas 
 brought corn, and, as usual, some as presents, some for sale. 
 The pumpkins are a treat, and the water-melons too, though 
 of very inferior kinds. 
 
 The Makalakas have the same prejudices with regard to 
 the flesh of certain animals that other tribes have. One man 
 starved himself for a whole day because it was his motu^o, as 
 they call it — not to eat the water-buck ; another, because he 
 worshipped sheep, and could not eat the flesh. The Maka- 
 lakas generally hiena* the ewhobo (meerkat). The Masha- 
 patani biena the shoko, or baboon ; others worship the 
 crocodile, and other animals and reptiles, which they will 
 not defile themselves by touching. 
 
 When settled, and not driven to the precarious mode of 
 life followed by the Bushmen, who hunt all day for roots, 
 bulbs, tortoises, &c., and meet together in the evening to 
 share and devour their spoils, the Makalakas have two 
 meals per day, one on rising in the morning and another at 
 full noon. The men have separate huts ; the head-man, or 
 chief, never visits the houses of liis wives, excepting that 
 of the principal one, whom he married first, and then does 
 not enter it, making but a short stay, and saying but few 
 words. The women visit him with pots and dishes of food, 
 and, on invitation, share the honours of his bed alternately in 
 his own hut. The principal men, and also groups of old men, 
 eat together ; young men just entered into manliood do the 
 same ; these will pass their dish, with the leavings, to younger 
 brothers, who are also found grouped together. The male sex 
 eat out of dishes ; females eat out of pots ; young girls eat in 
 * A superstitious reverence.
 
 CHAP. XI.] MAKALAKA CUSTOMS. 285 
 
 pairs, who are generally comrades. Their ceremonies in 
 love-making and marriage are something similar to those 
 of the Beehuanas and other black races. A man wishing: to 
 marry a certain girl, sends a deputation to her father to treat 
 for her ; when a favourable or hopeful answer is returned, he 
 sends again, but this time pays down something, an earnest 
 of the bargain ; and after this he visits her occasionally at 
 her father's village, always taking with him beads or any 
 other valuables. These payments are made by instalments 
 while the girl has been growing up — for she may have been 
 a babe, or even unborn, when first betrothed — under the care 
 of her own family, who are bound to bring her up until 
 the age of puberty or circumcision. Some tribes of Banamjua, 
 to the east and south-east, circumcise, others chip the two 
 front incisors. Beyond Sinamani lives a tribe, Madomwe, 
 who wear only twisted cords, made up of tree bark, in front; 
 the women wear them behind also. The Banamjua, like 
 some other tribes, have a superstitious prejudice against 
 deformed or ill-born children, and put them to death. If 
 twins are born they kill both. They have no recollection 
 of Albinos. The mother requires purification. They kill 
 their own offspring thus occasionally on religious, or rather 
 superstitious grounds, but cannot conceal the horror they 
 feel at a Damara abandoning his wife before she was dead. 
 They entertain a great respect for Englishmen, who they say 
 have a " moya," which means something more than a heart 
 — a soul. 
 
 Tsebojewa came to pay me an affecting farewell visit. 
 He made a most sensible and very pathetic speech on part- 
 ing, so much so, that I had some difficulty in keeping my 
 eyes dry. He drew a touching and melancholy picture of his 
 own probable fate, and that of his race, before I could return 
 to this country again. He has always been civil and obliging, 
 his people honest and exceedingly hospitable. Since they
 
 286 CHAPMAN'S TEA VELS. [chap. xi. 
 
 have planted and reaped, be has never visited me without 
 bringing \Yitb him some corn, pumpkins, and water-melons. 
 I have ordered the people belonging to his village about on 
 long errands, as if they were my own, and have never lost 
 the most trifling thing, althougli they, conscious of their own 
 innocence, often allow their curiosity to master them so far 
 as to handle and squat down in the midst of numerous and, 
 to them, useless, as well as useful things, which in any Be- 
 chuana or Makololo village would not be safe for five minutes. 
 I have had a few hundred Makalakas in service at various 
 times lately, and they have never stolen anything that I 
 have missed. They have frequently brought up articles lost 
 from the wagon, and to-day even a tin pannikin, lost some 
 days ago. In defence of their innocence, when charged with 
 any dishonesty, they swear by fire (moto), 
 
 Tsebojewa, at my request, sent off to look for Jem and com- 
 pany, and bring them up. He shared with all his followers 
 a leg of mutton I had given him, and smoked incessantly the 
 mbanje (dagga). At home, these jieople smoke through a 
 comfortable oblong gourd half filled witli water, narrow at the 
 top end, where a reed is inserted, on the upper end of which 
 the bowl is fixed. The lower end of the hollow reed descends 
 to the bottom, and they inhale from a square hole, cut in 
 the side. This pipe is called elesha. The chief made many 
 apologies for not having been able to supj)ly me witli water- 
 melons in the quantity he could have wished, as the gotutu 
 (a wild bush-boar of nocturnal habits) nightly comes to 
 destroy his melon fields ; at which time he assures me it 
 would be almost as unsafe to encounter one as a lion. A 
 trait in Tsebojewa's character, which made a favourable 
 impression on me, was his exemplary affection displayed 
 towards a deformed son, who is constantly at his side, and 
 is not suffered to be insulted or maltreated by anybody, 
 every one seeming to render him service equally witli his
 
 CHAP. XI.] BETURN-ROUTE TO THE WESTWARD. 287 
 
 father. Unlike all the other natives south of this, tlie Maka- 
 laka men here build the huts, make fences, and take the 
 most prominent part in "chopping" up the ground, planting- 
 weeding, &c., and, indeed, at this sort of work neither man, 
 woman, or child are sluggards. 
 
 Sif/i March. — Start with two guides for the road ^^ hich goes 
 due west into the desert, by way of a vley called Masammi, 
 occupied by a Bushman chief. Gave the sick Damaras food, 
 telling them to keep together and to come on slowly. I 
 walked ahead for eight miles, and waited in vain for the 
 wagons ; and then returned and found them still only two 
 miles from the camp, where they had stuck in a gully, and 
 one of them had broken a dissel-boora, or pole. Owing to 
 the uncertainty of finding water, I changed my mind in 
 favour of the southern route ; but the guides refuse to ac- 
 company us, as it is in the route of the Matabele. ^'e 
 mended the dissel-boom next day, but were prevented by a 
 heavy shower from starting. 
 
 lOtli March. — Start at sunrise. Therm. 70°. Stopped by 
 the Daka swamp, and had to go north to get into our northern 
 road and cross at the stony ford. Buffiilo spoors numerous, 
 and the grass is laid as if by the feet of elephants. The 
 Matebele army has left traces of its passage this w^ay within 
 a few davs. Waited some time in vain for the wagons, when, 
 returning to the war-path in the evening, I found one wagon 
 stuck against a tree. Two oxen lost last night were recovered 
 this morning. Therm, at sunset 70°. 
 
 IWi March. — Start early ; cross the turfy plain, lose the 
 path. In fear of tsetse, as Reader says he lost some oxen by 
 sending them down to a valley east, to drink ; which valley 
 we can see from here. There are two salt-pans, or two rivu- 
 lets or vleys, having a saline incrustation, bearing about 
 30° east of north from this, where game of all kinds go to 
 lick, even elephants: it used consequently to be a great
 
 288 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELB. [chap. xi. 
 
 resort of hunters to waylay game. The road from Data 
 bears on the average about one point east of south. After 
 crossing the hill, we descended for about three and a half 
 miles through sand, with kushe trees, seringas, and wild vines 
 with ripe grapes — two kinds of the latter. 
 
 Water boils at a vley on the edge of the forest at 206^^^°, 
 therm. 74°. Found here a small black tree-frog, painted 
 with vermilion in blotches and spots. The odour of the 
 large black ants comes new and strongly to one's olfactory 
 organs, since they seem not to exist below the ridge to 
 the north. 
 
 Vltli March. — This vley proves swampy, and the mosqui- 
 toes plagne us. Road iu part through grassy flat, the grass 
 very high, with proteus and heath-like shrubs ; afterwards 
 through sandy forests of kushe and motsebe, to a large vley^ 
 from which mmierous lotus-flowers reared their delicate 
 heads, very pale blue, sepals five, petals indefinite, stamens 
 ditto, and yellow, pointed Avith the same delicate blue, six 
 inches in diameter, leaves very large, cordate, pale bright 
 green. Here the grass was twelve feet high, and each joint 
 three feet. I found a field of pumpkins growing wild, and 
 secured about a dozen, each twenty pounds in weight ; also a 
 few small water-melons. The belts of sandy forest here run 
 in parallel lines, like petrified waves. Ripe grapes hang 
 in clusters from the trees, around which the vine climbs. 
 There are two kinds, one a very deej) purple, nearly black 
 and round; the second a pale red oblong grape, so dense 
 on the bunch as to squeeze each other out of shape. They 
 have both a tolerable flavour of the real grape, but the ob- 
 long is the best. The skin is thick, imparting a roughness 
 and irritation to the tongue. The branches die away every 
 winter, and from the tuber springs forth the new foliage after 
 the rains. I have had them growing in Cape Town, but they 
 did not bear fruit. The afternoon's trek brought us to a vley
 
 CHAP. XI.] LUXURIANT VEGETATION. 289 
 
 in a valley running east. Several Damaras have again 
 slunk away behind, so that I am now left with only one 
 man to drive cattle and slieep. There are now twenty- 
 two souls behind ; some sick, and others left to take care of 
 them. 
 
 The valley east of the road which we followed next day is 
 studded with very large mopani trees, some attaining ten or 
 twelve feet in circumference. Grape vines cluster every- 
 where, with three descriptions of a kind of bulbous flower, 
 called at the Cape, Africanders ; the first, red ; second, yellow, 
 spotted all over with red ; the third is plain yellow. A lily 
 of the same family as the tiger-lily, but not spotted, which 
 hides its blushing face from the sun, also abounds. Marigolds 
 and bachelors'-buttons make the fields perfectly yellow in 
 places ; the wagon-road, in particular, whicli is now what we 
 consider dead, being overgrown with grass, is in some parts 
 only traceable by following the golden serpentine field of 
 bachelors'-buttons. Occasionally we come across trees which 
 have been broken by the almost irresistible strength of the 
 wild elephant ; trunks of even three feet in diameter being 
 sometimes snapped in two. 
 
 In the afternoon, when about to inspan, it was found that 
 the unmounted arm of the axle was cracked, and very much 
 bent. It is doubtful whether we shall get more than a mile 
 or two farther with it, but we w^ill go while it lasts, or until 
 we see a dry locality and wood to make a new one. Water 
 boils, 206^0° ; therm. 80°. 
 
 Sunday, liili March. — Obliged to travel. Make about 
 3^ miles to the baobab, passing through the same kind of 
 alternate sandy forest and mopani fields, with adjacent 
 uncleared bush and sickle-thorn. The wagons make slow 
 progress, owing, in part, to the incurable indolence and 
 apathy of our followers. We advance, however, at the rate of 
 seven or eight miles a day, which is a^> much as we care about 
 
 VOL. II. u
 
 290 CHAPMAN'S TliAVELS. [chap. xf. 
 
 doing, as it will give the sick time to come up. Owing, 
 probably, to the inroad of the Matabele, there are no signs of 
 human life, in consequence of which the fruits of the field 
 are abundant. We are impeded at every step by the creep- 
 ing moramas. The root of this plant, which is edible, 
 resembles a yam, but is more juicy, and somewhat stringy. 
 The beans, two in a pod, are the size of a halfpenny-piece, 
 enclosed in a hard brown shell ; tastes like cocoa-nibs when 
 roasted ; Ave substitute it for coffee. The beans are called 
 tamani ; flower yellow, cruciform. There is a profusion of 
 vegetation : convolvuli of every gradation of colour — white, 
 yellow, pink, and lilac (none variegated), entwining with the 
 yellow-blossomed hybiscus with a prickly down, combine to 
 oppose our progress. Toda is the Bushman name for another 
 grass, of which the seeds are eaten as grain. It is the best 
 resemblance to real grain of all the three kinds that I know. 
 A berry, which the Bushmen call chumkow, of a combined 
 sweet and acid taste, and of which elephants are very fond, 
 grows on these sandy billows. In this country the mice 
 seem to have the same instinct they have in Damara Land, 
 that of nibbling grasses off at the base to get at the seeds ; 
 only here the grass is from six to twelve feet high. From 
 under the stems of the sickle-thorn a reddish-brown ant, half 
 an inch long, rolls out the soil in circular terraces, which he 
 excavates when he makes his home. This insect, called 
 gamsteko by the Bushmen, is a great nuisance and torment 
 to the lion, whom it compels to leave its prey as soon as it 
 has been secured. 
 
 A few giraffe spoors were seen to-day, as well as qualata, 
 koodoo, and quagga. Yesterday April trod on a snake 
 which lay basking in our path. According to the Bushmen, 
 pythons attain a very great size in this desert. From these 
 accounts they must sometimes be not less than thirty feet 
 in length, for here they are described as swallowing a young
 
 fHAP. XI.] THE PYTHON. 291 
 
 giraffe, or a koodoo, while in other parts the pallah or the 
 steinbuck forms their prey. I have heard this so frequently 
 corroborated that I firmly believe it. They say that the 
 bellow of the koodoo, enveloped in its muscular coils, often 
 leads them to the detection of both. Those who have seen 
 the reptile and the quadruped contending together describe 
 a fearful picture of muscular power on the one side, with 
 impotent and unavailing struggles on the other. They tell 
 me the python seizes its prey by the hind legs first, as they 
 say, tying them together, then the body, leaving the head 
 and neck quite free. They seem to believe in the reptile 
 having two stings (lumas — Sechuana for needle) in the fun- 
 dament, with which it actually kills ; and that while it is 
 crushing the animal behind, it faces the victim, darting its 
 forked tongue into its nostrils, and precipitating its death. 
 They crush their prey into the shape of a flaccid bag of meat, 
 and cover it with saliva before swallowiuor it. 
 
 We rested during the next few days at a long and deep 
 vley, to cut wood for a new axle, and also to give time for 
 our sick Damaras, who had been left in the rear, to join u?;. 
 Baines and I both suffered from slight attacks of fever. Our 
 halting-place does not seem to be a healthy spot, although 
 the thermometer shows high. The vegetation is very rank, 
 and the dew heavy. Large mopani trees abound, from which 
 we are, morning and evening, regularly entertained with the 
 cackling of pheasants, the loud whistling of owlets, the 
 clamour of jays and creepers, and frog-like notes of the 
 toucans, with the fainter and more harmonious tones of the 
 lesser tribes. The partridge's loud call is the first and last 
 sound of the day. The mother toucans, now broken forth 
 with their broods of young ones, are no more indulged by the 
 male birds, but have to provide themselves and their off- 
 spring with food. I have lately seen as many as forty of 
 these birds in one flock. They have a slow, undulating 
 
 u 2
 
 292 CBAPMAN'S TBAVELS. [chap. xi. 
 
 flight of very short stages; on a flat tliey may be caught by 
 tiring them out. The female bird is very fat during lier 
 enforced confinement to the nest. 
 
 20th March. — The missing Damaras arrived, all well, with 
 the exception of two families, who had not been found by the 
 men sent in search. Baines finished the axle, and next day 
 I started ahead in search of water. Still alternate mopani 
 groves and sandy forests, succeeded, after upwards of 12 
 miles, by kushe forest and sand-hills. My search proved 
 fruitless, and I had a most fatiguing walk of 16 miles without 
 a drink, nor could grapes satisfy thirst or dispel weakness. 
 I saw two wild boars. I left two more families, with a supply 
 of corn, to wait for and help those that are behind. I noticed 
 here a very small brown ant, which emerges from a hole an 
 inch broad. On looking into this entrance I perceived a 
 rounded cavity, from which rises in the centre a conical 
 column, a small aperture on the summit of which is the true 
 gateway to the abode of the insect. The empty space 
 between the column and sides of the cavity I cannot 
 find the use of. It is constantly filling with sand, which 
 the little busy creatures are as eager to expel, and carry 
 out four or five inches all round, forming a circular terrace, 
 on the brink of which they are constantly rolling the yellow 
 sand. 
 
 My sufferings from fever and headache, aggravated by a 
 severe cold, caught from getting wet through with dew, still 
 continue. On the 23rd I shot a female koodoo, very red, front 
 legs white from above, knees with only a streak of Avarm or 
 raw sienna on the outside and back of fetlock, hind legs 
 white inside altogether. This is the dijBference between the 
 desert and mountain koodoo, these being much warmer 
 coloured all over, and the mountain koodoo more blue. 
 
 On reaching a vley, which I recognised as my hunting- 
 ground from Chenamba in former years, I fell in with a troop of
 
 CHAP. XI.] NA TI VE INSECTS. 2'J3 
 
 about twenty giraffes, white as ghosts — a sign that they are 
 fat. I had a shot at 500 yards, and wounded one severely. 
 I sent April after it, but he failed to secure it. 
 
 I have been hunting about for the fruits known by the 
 names of bododo and shesha, but have only found one of the 
 latter. It was ripe and luscious. From some unknown 
 cause these shrubs are not bearing this year : they grow 
 only in or near valleys with subterranean water. On our 
 farther trek from Thamafupa to Juruga I saw camel and 
 elephant spoors, and also the trails of the war party. The 
 wagon road goes south from here to Motlomoganyani, one 
 road to the westward. 
 
 A small black-beetle, with a powerful odour, flies into 
 the wagon at night. The road is so crossed with the silken 
 web of large spiders that it is difficult work getting 
 through them. I generally have April before me with a 
 branch beating it down. Sam, who took his place on one 
 occasion, is so short that he only half did the work, and I 
 had constantly to hold my hands before my face. In spite 
 of this precaution, my hat was coloured yellow, and my face 
 frequently covered over as with a veil. The silk, when 
 taken from the branch, is dirty, full of flies, beetles, butter- 
 flies, and locusts. I have even seen birds securely bound in 
 these strong silken cords. It has a very unctuous feel, and 
 to this property is due the spider's great success. I have got 
 a small sample of clean silk also. 
 
 25th March. — Inspan at noon, walk ahead, find abundance 
 of ripe grapes, of which I gathered a large hamper- full for 
 Baines and Edward, and wait for the wagons. After six 
 miles and a quarter, came to a vley, with some dirty water, 
 full of water-beetles (distichus f), of which I made a good 
 collection. Outspanned here, and left a large bag, contain- 
 iuo- about forty pounds of corn, in a tree for the sick 
 Damaras. Next day, we passed Gumkabie at noon. Afte
 
 294 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. xi. 
 
 leaving the valley we travelled about five miles through 
 heavy sand and thick mohonono bush, seringa trees, and 
 thorns; three miles more down the same valley of Gum- 
 kabie and Juruga, and reached a large vley on the north 
 side of a sand-hill. Saw giraffes. Elephants and rhinoceroses 
 are in the habit of drinking here. 
 
 The wild fruits are more abundant here, owing to the 
 absence of man. The tlokeja dry on the bushes ; the egoomi 
 (mogooma of Sechuana) ; the bosho (ledoza of Sechuana) ; and 
 moretloa berries, of which the elephants and Bushmen are 
 very fond, are here in abundance. Passed some very magni- 
 ficent motsebe trees ; a bauhinia, with a saffron-grey bark, 
 with black, rusty-looking blotches, dark, glossy, green leaf- 
 lets, with midrib and veins white ; margin simple. The 
 fruit, in green, clustering pods, tinted with carmine, in 
 bursting discloses scarlet beans (with black eyes), the size 
 of a shilling. The dry skins of the beans are eaten, and 
 are highly prized by all the natives, but the bean itself is 
 very hard and horny. I have had some roasted as an experi- 
 ment, and find it a good substitute for coffee. 
 
 Butterflies are plentiful, and amongst the variety of 
 insects here nothing is more interesting than the great 
 variety of caddis-worms and their various dwellings, and the 
 surveying caterpillars standing on the points of their tails, or 
 bolt upright, and swaying their body aloft, like the trunk of 
 an elephant. The Damara women are collecting a small bulb 
 they call ondomboro, to sell to the Hottentots, who powder 
 themselves with it under the arms, &c., as Europeans do 
 babies with violet powder ; but the Hottentots do it for the 
 purpose of destroying the odour exuded by the glands under 
 their arms and other members, which is so offensive when 
 they perspire or get excited. To me the remedy seems as 
 bad as the evil. 
 
 The mogonono (or mohonono) leaves are covered with a
 
 CHAP. XI.] BETURN ROUTE. 295 
 
 disease in the shape of small red tubercles, which, however, 
 give it quite a brilliant aspect. 
 
 21th March. — Found that April had yesterday lost my 
 pocket-book, containing all my notes on the geography of the 
 country since November last, besides measurements and 
 descriptions of animals and birds, of trees and plants, bear- 
 ings, &c., &c. Stay over to-day to look for it, but the search 
 was in vain. Make a skaarm, which Baines occupies. It 
 rained from midnight till daylight ; no sleep, and all wet in 
 the wagon. Pocket-book not found. Water boils at 206-j^°, 
 therm, at 78°. The grass abundant, and everything that 
 grows here at perfection, grapes includer], particularly around 
 the vley, which being a large one is much frequented by 
 game, whose manure fertilizes the earth exceedingly. From 
 our present halting-place, Garuga bears south, Metsi Botluko 
 260 W., Tkuakams, 260 or 250 W., Shua south by east. Travel 
 next day down the camel-thorn valleys. Open road and 
 many vleys, rank, sweet grass, and pretty trees with birds'- 
 nests. Having ascertained that this valley leads to Metsi 
 Botluko, and judging, from the nature of the country and 
 bearings, that it will be a better and shorter road, I prefer 
 taking it rather than go round by Motlomogonyani, which is 
 a very heavy road. We made only 6^ miles, owing to the 
 several stoppages, and sleep without water. 
 
 2dth March. — Trek to the vley water Tkuakams. Learn 
 from an old Bushman whom we found there that people are 
 fast dying of fever, which has been very bad this year. 
 
 The vley where we outspanned is on the border of a bushy 
 plain called Chuda, on the margin of a valley called Am, 
 which comes west from Zoutharra, and goes about south-east 
 into the Shua. We hear that there is a fine spring half-way 
 between this and Zoutharra direct, but we have no guides, 
 and our drivers are, besides, too lazy to make any efforts 
 eitlier on our or their own behalf. The incurable indolence
 
 296 CHAPMAN'S TEA VEL8. [chap. xi. 
 
 of a Diimara driver, of whom Jem may be taken as a type, 
 must be seen in order to be appreciated. 
 
 There is a ground-spider in this country which is fatally 
 poisonous. It is large, brown, and hairy ; no other spider 
 that I can hear of shares its venomous qualities, although 
 there are some bearing a very hideous appearance. 
 
 The desert here consists of a succession of sandy zones or 
 
 bults, as the Dutch call them, of whitish sand, running 
 
 parallel to each other in a direction nearly east and west. 
 
 These bults are covered generally in the highest parts by 
 
 large forest trees, such as the kushe, motsebe, the mokala, 
 
 and others ; the former growing in regular forests, and often 
 
 interlaced with briars and dense underwood, the favourite 
 
 retreats of the elephant and giraffe at noon. Next to these 
 
 bults run parallel compact forests of mohonono bush, which, 
 
 by their thorough leaflessness have a most dismal aspect in 
 
 winter, as it is of a pale ashy-grey colour. Occasionally a 
 
 green-crowned acacia {A. giraffe) towers above at intervals, and 
 
 these are invariably chosen by the elephants as a shade at 
 
 mid-day, and their footprints are visible in such places for 
 
 months after. Tiie forests are also interspersed with briars of 
 
 sickle-thorn. The mohonono bush grows generally to an 
 
 average height of from ten to twelve feet. Its dense growth, 
 
 and yet more the fact of its branches spreading nearly from 
 
 the ground, render it a great impediment in hunting on 
 
 horseback. The bush grows also in sandy plains, not quite 
 
 so loose or so elevated as the bults. Between these two kinds 
 
 of forest, or beside them, are found sometimes large flats 
 
 dotted with small patches of young mopani, mozoana, or 
 
 moretloa, and interspersed with grass ; these are called 
 
 bonteveldt or eland flats, being the' general resort of those 
 
 animals, though the giraffes, at this season, frequent them 
 
 very much for the sake of the berries, which they may be 
 
 seen patiently picking, with their heads and long necks
 
 CHAP. XI.] THE SOUTH AFRICAN DESERT. 297 
 
 bowed to the earth. These plains are of a firm consistency 
 — a dark subsoil, resembling pot-clay, sprinkled over with 
 white sand. 
 
 Vleys, or natural reservoirs of rain-water, are to be found 
 throughout all these tracts, the largest and deepest gene- 
 rally occurring in the depressions in the mohonono forests, 
 or beside the higher bults. The vleys are generally sur- 
 rounded by sombre-looking acacias {A. giraffe) with three or 
 four large motchuerie trees, at high-water mark. From 
 each vley there radiate paths, large and small, made by 
 the game, and leading in every direction to the various 
 grazing grounds, or to the nearest adjacent supply of water. 
 Through every such tract of country there are one or more 
 paths, which, though not travelled for a whole season by 
 man, are readily distinguished by the natives from any game 
 path. In the sides of some of the bults, or sometimes on the 
 summit, are found spots where water may be obtained by 
 digging. These spots are known to the Bushmen only, and 
 yield abundance of water after a good rainy season ; but 
 sometimes the water recedes deep into the earth, and the 
 Bushmen then suck water from the damp sand several feet 
 below the earth, by means of a tube of reed buried in it, 
 having a sponge-like tuft of grass inserted at the end ; these 
 water-yielding localities are indicated by the green colour of 
 the grass in the dryest season, and are always in the most 
 loose and white sand. 
 
 The desert yields fruits for the use of man in greater 
 abundance than might at first be supposed, but they require 
 collecting and husbanding for times of scarcity. Berries of 
 several kinds are to be found, edible roots, bulbs, luscious 
 fruits, such as shesa and bododo, beans, such as manchonoha, 
 &c. During the greater part of the year it is overrun by 
 thousands of elephants, giraffes, rhinoceroses, elands, and 
 other animals, who stay in it until driven away by the drying-
 
 298 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. xi. 
 
 up of the waters : but no sooner do the clouds begin to gather 
 than they turn their faces thither again, lingering on its 
 borders until the rain falls on its loose and thirsty sands, 
 when they enter triumphantly, and, dispersing in every direc- 
 tion, soon fill it with life, revelling in the sweet luxuriant 
 vegetation. The thunder now rolls through the sky, and the 
 flood that pours upon the ground during six months is usually 
 more than enough to compensate for the short period it has 
 really suffered from absolute drought, since vleys often still 
 contain rain-water in August and September. 
 
 31s^ March. — Arrived at the pit called Ndeche, 10 miles 
 from Metsi Botluko, to which point our yesterday's trek 
 of 11 miles had brought us. Weather dull and cloudy, 
 the thermometer being 80° before sunrise. We found at the 
 pit the spoors of from 150 to 200 Makalalas, who had 
 evidently fled from Moselikatze, but had been detained here 
 by fever.* They had left behind them a young girl, with 
 life still in her. Such a practice is common enough amongst 
 Bechuanas, but I did not think the Makalakas had been so 
 heartless; perhaps, however, their departure was urgent in 
 this case. Bechuanas frequently leave their parents who 
 have become a burden to them to die in their huts, while they 
 only remove a few miles, giving them a dish of corn and a 
 calabash of water, when they think they have done all that 
 duty requires. 
 
 Wednesday, 1st April. — Made a trek of about 5^ miles, 
 skirting the mopani bush on the left ; passed several vleys 
 with water. The country is now quite green and blooming. 
 April was so fortunate as to fall in with his friends, and he 
 suddenly became very stupid about the road ahead, and in 
 the evening he leaves us altogether. None of the Bushmen 
 
 * The disease devastating the country, and which I all along took to be 
 fever, turned out to be small-pox — a thing hitherto hardly known to the 
 people of this country.
 
 CHAP. XI.] NATIVE SOUP. 299 
 
 here came to see us, as they were still weeping over two of 
 their small community, who had died to-day of the prevailing 
 disease. I have suffered severely from fever during several 
 days past, and at times am hardly conscious of what is passing 
 around. I am, however, compelled to act as guide now that 
 April has left us. 
 
 3rcZ April. — Good Friday, which we stay over. Two 
 Damaras went out in the night and must have lost them- 
 selves, for they have not returned. The berries of the 
 mogoma and moretloa are ripe now, and the branches are 
 weighted down by the abundance of the former. They are 
 sweet but hard, being nearly all stone, with a little fibrous 
 skin, in and under which lies a very small quantity of 
 saccharine and glutinous albuminized matter. The Damaras 
 swallow them whole, as they do even the large indigestible 
 berries, as big as marbles, of the " wait-a-bit." I had some 
 soup made of them yesterday, in the way that I have seen 
 the Bushmen practise, i.e., by pounding them, and pouring 
 cold water in, and then stirring the mixture. In eating it is 
 desirable to retain the husks and seeds in the mouth as much 
 as possible. This drink is pleasant and sweet ; it contains a 
 good deal of spirit, and soon ferments, but inclines to acidity. 
 A good syrup can be made out of it. 
 
 Mutu-maabye, for which I now sought, proved to be about a 
 mile off to the westward. The mopani forest contains a number 
 of little pits of water in limestone. These pits are in circular 
 indentations, 100 yards or more across, surrounded by tall 
 trees, and a dark cypress-looking acacia without thorns. On 
 the outside of the forest, to the south, the large hills of the 
 termites are white; in the mopani forests, which here are 
 suggestive of planted parks, strewn with coarse flat fragments 
 of limestone, they are black, taking their respective colours 
 from the soil. From Metsi Botluko westward, all the 
 country is limestone, as far as near the Botletlie.
 
 300 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. xi. 
 
 We trek hence to Tsagoobye, under the guidance of a 
 Bushman chief, whose village we stumbled on when we had 
 lost the road. He tells me that fever has swept the country- 
 clean, but that to the north it has not been so bad. The 
 game are now all on the pans to the south ; and the giraffes, 
 too, are on the plains eating the mogoana berries, of which 
 they are very fond. I met here Casse, an old Bushman guide 
 of mine in 1852. He confirmed the tidings as to the exten- 
 sive mortality which had occurred, passing his hand across 
 his mouth and blowing against it, by way of indicating a 
 clean sweep. I now noticed, for the first time, one of the 
 young Bushmen to be pockmarked ; it struck me at once 
 that small-pox must be here, and that it in reality was the 
 disease which I had mistaken from their imperfect description 
 for fever. I remembered at once John's telling me that Mr. 
 Hartley had forty cases of a like nature (none of which, how- 
 ever, proved fatal), in his camp on the road. We thus find 
 ourselves in the midst of small-pox ! Casse is very graphic 
 in his account of the ravages of this terrible disease, " there 
 are no people left, only stones." He says, also, "the cold 
 wind is cutting off the summer from the winter."
 
 CHAP, xu.] MIRAGE. 301 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Mirage — Native Salt — Eeach the Botletlie Eiver— Ford at Samaganga's — 
 Makato's Village — Boat Voyage on the Botletlie — Changes in the Ngami 
 Basin — At Lechulat^be's Town — The Author's Brother arrives at the 
 Lake — His Disasters — Projects for the Future —Proceed from the Lake 
 to Otjimbengue, 
 
 SuNDA Y, 5 TH April, 1863. — Anxious to get out of the reach 
 of the infected district as quickly as possible, lest any of onr 
 few remaining Damaras should take the disease, we continue 
 to move forward, following as nearly as possible the line of 
 route taken on the outward journey. We were obliged to 
 dispense in great measure with the aid of guides, as it was 
 difficult to obtain the services of any of the Bushmen for the 
 purpose ; indeed it appeared that most of those whom I had 
 formerly known in this part of the country had fallen victims 
 to the dreaded small-pox. We passed Odeakoe and Kowgnarra. 
 From the latter trekked onward through the dreary plains 
 where we had so much experience of mirage. The same 
 phenomenon is present, though it is now a month earlier in 
 the season than when we before passed this way. 
 
 Lakes seem to dance over the saline plains of the Karroo, 
 receding as we approach, and the smallest specks of water are 
 magnified to wonderful dimensions. Man and beasts appear 
 like tall black giants at a great distance, and large baobabs 
 seem suspended like castles in the air, or as thougli springing 
 up from an aerial lake ; troops of game, partially concealed 
 by the rising vapours, seem dashing out of a lake ; gnus seem 
 to be running over the clouds, their legs invisible in the mist.
 
 302 C'f/APMAN'S TliAVELS. [chap. xii. 
 
 Things are distorted into every imaginable form and shape. 
 The thirsty dogs run after the delusion in the vain hope of 
 quenching their thirst, but the salt dust they imbibe only adds 
 to their suffering, and blinds them. The illusions of mirage 
 are inconceivable to those who have never witnessed the pheno- 
 menon. I remember once, at N'chokotsa, having all our horses 
 saddled to give chase to a troop of giraffes apparently passing 
 within a mile or two of us, and which turned out to be 
 zebras, or springboks. On another occasion, Vilgoen, myself, 
 and others, gave chase for five miles on the Ntwetwe to a few 
 balls of rhinoceros dung, taking them to be rhinoceroses 
 themselves! 
 
 It became necessary, as our supply of corn got low, to em- 
 ploy our guns. I shot four gnus on the 10th, but it was a 
 work of some difficulty, Avith the few sickly hands now at 
 our disposal, to get the meat brought in. The Damaras 
 were in great glee at the quantity of milk they obtained 
 from the large udders of the gnus. If cattle had been 
 scarce in South Africa, no doubt gnus would have been 
 domesticated ere this. 
 
 12ih April. — The thermometer during the past week has 
 averaged in the early morning, 62°; mid-day, 91° to 98°; 
 sunset, 87° to 90°. Water boils about 206-^^°. This morning 
 the temperature at sunrise was as low as 43°; max. 84°; 
 sunset, 74°. We sent and got some beautiful salt. The salt 
 here is formed in beautiful snow-white flakes of fine crystals, 
 but it leaves a strong taste of carbonate of soda in the mouth. 
 The saH of the Shua river is three inches thick, of a pinkish 
 colour, and more compact, with coarser crystals. The boys 
 were back at 10 o'clock witli heavy loads from the south- 
 west. All the pools of water that we found here last year 
 in May are this year already dry in April, so that it is 
 probable we shall have to go all the way to the river 
 without water.
 
 CHAP. XII.] DAMARA IMPBOVJDENCE. 303 
 
 On the 16th we prepared for a start, but did not get away 
 until the afternoon. The Daraaras, with their usual improvi- 
 dence and apathy, have left large portions of the meat 
 unsalted, until it is lying about in a putrid condition. Our 
 Bushman guide was only going to take us a few miles north 
 by west, to a pit called Gwangow, where we should strike 
 the wagon spoors and proceed west. But he offered to take 
 us straight through west to a pan of water called Nwango 
 (which lies west from here) if we would give him time to hide 
 away his meat from the vultures, so that his wife can accom- 
 pany him. He says he cannot think of leaving her alone, as 
 lions are prowling round every night, and the natives assert 
 that lions and all other beasts of prey are more daring when 
 the men are away, which they soon smell out. I agreed to 
 his proposition. 
 
 The sick people have not made their appearance, though 
 we have now been eight days delayed here. It is the opinion 
 of the Damaras here that they will not come soon, as there is 
 too much food in the veldt, and the}^ urge me to push on. A 
 change in the shape of meat would, however, be very beneficial 
 to them just now. Yet it is perhaps better that they come on 
 at their own pace, as urging them to keep up with the wagon, 
 which sometimes travels 18 miles a day, would probably 
 do them more harm than good. We are all suffering more 
 or less from weakness, accompanied in some cases with fever. 
 In my own case, a painful eruption of the skin, accompanied 
 by an irritation (like the pricking of needles) which com- 
 menced on the forehead and thence passed downward by the 
 neck and over the whole body, has probably diverted exter- 
 nally some of the worst symptoms of the complaint. The 
 various acid fruits, which I have used plentifully, have perhaps 
 aided in bringing out whatever fever may have been in the 
 system. I have used a decoction of baobab-pulp with advan- 
 tage on a former like occasion.
 
 304 CHAPMAN'S TBAVELS. [chap. xn. 
 
 Saturday, 18th. — On tlie IStli, we make for our old road, 
 leaving Dwarf Palm vley to the north. We have thus, with 
 yesterday's trek, made a saving of about 12 miles on our 
 former course. In the evening, trek about 10 miles to the 
 edge of the bush, about six miles from the Botletlie river, 
 which we reached next day. Spoor of game plentiful. From 
 this height in the early morning one can see over an extent 
 of plain to the distance of 40 miles, the Karroo pans looming 
 like lakes in the distance. It is quite a pleasure to see the 
 fine stream of clear water, margined with reeds, Egyptian 
 papyrus, and fields of emerald green. The banks are en- 
 livened wath groups of Avarm-coloured leechees, and innumer- 
 able lotus blossoms float like stars on the bosom of the stream. 
 The lotus seed and root seems to be tlie chief food of the 
 Makobas just now, as fish is scarce. This lotus is not the 
 same as is found in the ponds or vleys lately described. The 
 roots are larger, and not inclosed in a shell as the others are. 
 The natives hook them up with an iron hook attached to a 
 long stick. In some parts I have seen the women diving 
 for them at the risk of losing their lives by crocodiles. 
 The steep white cliffs, with overhanging foliage and dense 
 patriarchal trees, spreading their huge branches over jungles 
 and impenetrable forests of lesser growth, stretch away in 
 the distance. 
 
 The river is now rising : it is two or three feet deeper than 
 when we were here last year, so that it is doubtful whether 
 we shall be able to get the wagons through. I hear nothing 
 of my brother's being at the lake yet, though he ought to 
 have been there in November or December, if the Hottentots 
 had not opposed him. As we are now reduced to a short 
 allowance of millet (about 1 lb. between five men per diem), 
 I encourage the Bushmen to bring berries and wild coffee. 
 The berries are pounded with a little water, to separate the 
 pulp from tlio seeds, after which boiling water is poured on
 
 CHAP, xii.] FORDINO THE BOTLETLIE RIVEB. 305 
 
 till it lias the oonsistency of paste. It has a flavour sorae- 
 v.hat like dried apricots, but the seeds are rather an 
 objection. 
 
 Our progress along the Botletlie was slow, in part owing 
 to the density of the bush. The wagon road was in places 
 overgrown with rank grass and thorns, and we seldom made 
 more than six miles in one trek. The motseara, sweet Rum, 
 and hack-doorn, replaced the desert trees. The river, though 
 not yet in flood, was two or three feet deeper, and the water 
 clearer, than when we were here before. By the 29th April 
 we had advanced as far as Samaganga's village, the last four 
 miles before reaching which lay through a dense jungle. No 
 elephants or other animals were drinking at the river at the 
 present season : they were all lower down the stream. We 
 fell in with some buffaloes, and I shot a koodoo. The goats 
 and sheep of the Makobas are in good condition : I saw one 
 day a wether that would have taken a prize at any display of 
 stock — either for bulk of body or tail. The people at the 
 various villages on the route have got splendid crops, ^v]li(•h 
 they are busy in gathering in. At one of these (Talies) we 
 found the usual trophies of heads and tails of slain animals 
 — amongst them, skulls and horns of gnus, with tails of 
 elephants, rhinoceroses, giraffes, buffalo horns, hoofs of 
 quaggas, &c. 
 
 On the 30th, by the aid of Samaganga, who sent a dozen 
 men for tlie purpose, we forded the river opposite to his 
 village, it being necessary first to cut a road down to the 
 bank for the wagons. I had both wheels locked, and we slid 
 down at an angle of 45 degrees, and tlien the water almost 
 immediately came almost half way up the sides of the wagon, 
 so that the oxen had to swim for 100 yards or more. Except 
 the steep descent on the north bank it is a very tolerable 
 ford, and the natives at once christened it Chapman's Ford, 
 The greater part is stony ground, excepting near the lianks, 
 
 VOL. IT. X
 
 306 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. xii. 
 
 where the native corn-fields are overflowed for 200 yards. 
 The whole breadth just now is nearly half-a-mile. John 
 brought the second wagon and the cattle over next day. 
 
 The people here have small flocks of goats of their own. 
 They plant corn, pumpkins, and water-melons, but depend 
 chiefly on the products of their pitfalls and the seine, with, 
 in times of scarcity, the lotus root and flower, tsietla (root 
 and flower), or bulrush, and the soft roots of the papyrus, the 
 inside of which they chew for the sweetish juice. They eat 
 as much as would serve four labouring Europeans. They 
 have already cleared and hoed ground for their next crop, 
 and this time, high up in the bush, where they have cut down 
 all the branches of the large trees and piled them in high 
 heaps with the grass and weeds, which they have burnt. This 
 will lie fallow until the rains fall in November or December. 
 They judge by the height of the water now what it will be 
 when the flood comes do^vni, and plant accordingly. 
 
 Samaganga refuses to take me to Lecliulatebe's Town, as 
 the chief will not allow Makobas, or even Baroas, to approach 
 from any village infected with small-pox, and I am obliged 
 to give up the point at present. Samaganga has not liad the 
 small-pox now, but his people brought it from the Tamalukan. 
 He had it, he says, when a youngster, and that it has been 
 here three times within the memory of man. He is about 
 forty-five years old. Three cases of death, to his knowledge, 
 have occurred at the town. The chief has the infected 
 persons sent away, even his own relations, one of whom died 
 shortly after. They say the small-pox always comes from the 
 south. 
 
 We got away from Samaganga's on May 2nd, travelling 
 through a valley running parallel with the river, amidst a great 
 exuberance of rank grass. The rich soil in the valley is of 
 an ashy-grey colour, full of vleys and tall ant-hills. The 
 pasture everywhere on the banks of the river is unequalled
 
 CHAP, xi!.] WHITE BUFFALOES. 307 
 
 for cattle, goats, and African sheep, but too bnsliy and thorny, 
 and too full of burrs, for wooled sheep. I saw one of the 
 flat-crowned mokala trees overthrown. The diameter of its 
 crown about fifty feet, and as flat as a planked floor all over 
 the top. The bark of the root is esteemed the best tan in 
 the countiy. I shot one of a herd of buffaloes with which we 
 fell in — a large cow, with a white face.* 
 
 On Monday (May 4th), we started early for Makhato's 
 village, which we found that the small-pox had not yet 
 reached. \Ye heard from Makhato of the dread inspired at 
 Lechulatebe's Town from fear of our being the means of in- 
 troduciug that disease, as well as of our bringing lung-sick- 
 ness ; also of the death of Lechulatebe's wife — the daughter 
 of Sechelli. There was a report of a great fight between 
 Sekomi's people and the Matabele, in which the latter had 
 been defeated with great slaughter. Sekomi had sent Lechu- 
 latebe the following piece of advice : " Buy guns, buy horses ; 
 do not let a gun go back from your town if you have a tusk 
 to buy it with." 
 
 Makhato's people supplied me with corn, and the chief 
 promised us guides to-morrow, to take us through the bush, 
 
 * There are some white buifaloes at Daka. I only heard of it too late, 
 or would have spared no pains to secure one. White quaggas I have seen 
 on two or three occasions, and they are said to be common. In the case 
 of the buffalo here referred to, the horns grow from the top of the head 
 downwards, sweeping outwards and backwards over the ears, then turning 
 upwards. The tips turn still more backwards. The base of the horns 
 was covered with hide and scattered haii's, and, not like the male, horny to 
 the base. The smaller kind of buffalo has a division of two or three 
 inches between the horns in the forehead, while the larger has nothing, the 
 horns meeting at the base ; the limbs more robust than those of an ox. 
 On asking Makhato about the white-faced buffalo, and about albinoes 
 generally, he said, buffaloes that are quite white all over, at other times 
 the face and tail only, were sometimes entrapped. He said he lately 
 caught a young bull white all over, and that generally it is only young 
 buffaloes they observe to be white. Whit« qiiaggas, he says, are frequently 
 trapped, without any indication of a stripe. 
 
 X 2
 
 308 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [cuap. xn. 
 
 as the river is too full to travel on the banks. This promise, 
 however, was not fulfilled, and we proceeded without them, 
 my own knowledge of the route enabling me to supply the 
 absence of any professed guide. The luxuriant growth of 
 grass had, however, in parts obliterated all traces of a track. 
 On our way we met parties of Bushmen and Makobas return- 
 ing homeward, after having been assisting in gathering in 
 the harvest, which had been more than usually abundant in 
 these parts. Food was in consequence so plentiful that the 
 wild animals were left almost undisturbed, elepliants and 
 buffaloes, it was said, roaming all day in the immediate neigh- 
 bourhood of Lechulatebe's Town. There was everywhere 
 great dread of the small-pox. On the 7th we reached our 
 old standing camp of last year. I was anxious to introduce 
 inoculation amongst Lechulatebe's people, as a means of 
 saving them, and begged old Motseara, the chieftain at this 
 place, to let me have a boat with which to go on at once to 
 the town, leaving the w^agons to follow. He professed alarm, 
 however, at my going forward without previous announce- 
 ment, and I accordingly waited till the next day. 
 
 The winds during the past month have been either west or 
 south — the latter exceedingly cold. The vegetation is every- 
 where luxuriant, and the animals seem to revel in it. The 
 birds, in particular, are seen in countless numbers and of 
 endless varieties. We see some (jibbaroos?) as large as 
 adjutants, with long red beaks turned upward at the ex- 
 tremity, the plumage black and white. Also three kinds of 
 demoiselle cranes, and a large and magnificent hawk, with 
 black breast and throat. It is dark sepia grey above, snow 
 white underneath, with black spots. Hundreds of grouse and 
 pheasants, with their young broods, run before us, and hawks 
 are all day snapping them up, while mice and lizards, coming 
 out to bask, are so plentiful that these rapacious birds have 
 no want of food. Wherever the water has pushed over the
 
 CHAP. XII.] ALONG THE BOTLETLIE. 309 
 
 banks, and formed little swamps and pools, we see hundreds of 
 ducks and geese of several kinds, also the large yellow-billed 
 duck, with glossy green wings, and the large whistling ducks, 
 of which descriptions will be found {see Appendix) amongst 
 my list of birds. 
 
 Next morning, which was bitter cold, with again a southerly 
 wind, I started early, cooped up in a middling-sized ill-shapen 
 canoe, \dt\i a Makoba and two little sons with him, one to 
 paddle and the other for company. We poled, or paddled, 
 or drifted with the stream, as chance offered, frequently 
 having to tear our way tln-ough the dense reeds which shut 
 up our path. For a mile or two the river would be quite 
 free and open, and often so shallow that we had to put back 
 and return by another channel, or get out and drag the boat, 
 so that I somewhat repented that I had not rather under- 
 taken the journey on foot. At times we forced our way 
 through large and picturesque basins, under perpendicular 
 white cliffs, crowned with o-jgantic overhano-iuof trees, while 
 the green slopes on the opposite side were clothed with a 
 carpet of emerald, on which cattle and goats were browsing. 
 The water in these little lakes was almost entirely hidden 
 under the profusion of immense lotus leaves, which lay on its 
 surface, and were buoyant enough to support the weight of 
 stilt-legs, snipes, and other aquatics, running about in quest 
 of their food. These leaves, large and oblong, are slit at one 
 end as far as the stalk, and though as thin as a sheet of paper, 
 receive their buoyancy from the fact of their outer edges 
 drying and curling up to the sun, so that they float like large 
 dishes on the water; excepting when the wind sometimes 
 lifts one up, causing it to flap like the wings of a bird. Thou- 
 sands of pretty lotus flowers enliven the scene, while they 
 emit an odour grateful and invigorating to the senses. We 
 passed over some beds of hard sandstone, worn full of round 
 cavities. At times I fancied we were about to bump up
 
 310 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. xii. 
 
 against a brown, coral-like reef, which, however, yielded 
 before us and proved to be a peculiar aquatic plant. We 
 started some lovely little kingfishers, with plumage of most 
 ethereal hues, and I shot a brace of white storks. I got 
 pretty well tired of the boat, and occasionally took a walk 
 on the banks, leaving the boat to pursue its course. At the 
 villages we successively passed I preached inoculation, and 
 the people seem to appreciate it, saying that they would be 
 delighted if the chief would take my advice and have all the 
 tribe inoculated, as in that case they might all sit down 
 together, and let the storm come and blow over, instead of 
 shattering the tribe's power by dispersing them throughout 
 tlie country. I was received everywhere with the most 
 friendly demonstrations, the ladies not failing, after a string 
 of the most endearing epithets, such as " sweetheart," " son 
 of my father," " child of my mother," " friend of the Baroas," 
 " mate of the chief," to ask what I had brought them, to give 
 them beads, &c. By-and-by we came to a large mokuchon 
 tree shading a large circle on the north bank, and I knew 
 another hour would land us at the town. Just here there 
 are many shallows, so that in many parts a Avagon can easily 
 cross. There are scarcely any reeds on the banks, and large 
 plains exist which were covered with water and reeds even so 
 lately as twenty or thirty years ago. 
 
 We passed through some broken reed-fences, or fishing 
 kraals, spanned across the river, called Leteta. At one spot, 
 where the stream seems to run at about 1^ miles per hour, it 
 was about fifty yards broad, with an average depth of about 
 two feet of water. 
 
 I have referred elsewhere to the mistake under which both 
 Livingstone and Andersson laboured in supposing the Botletlie 
 to be an outlet of the Ngami lake. About thirty years ago, or 
 more, this was indeed the case, when the lake extended over,
 
 CHAP. XII.] LAKE NGAMI AGAIN. 311 
 
 perhaps, nearly t\Yice the area it occupies now. Ever since that 
 time it has had two confluences, but no outlet. The waters of 
 the Dzo, dividing, help to supply the lake, but send the largest 
 quantity of water eastward through Chapo's lagoon, or reed 
 marsh (the size of which has been under-estimated), into the 
 large Salt Lake. When the Botletlie river is very low, the whole 
 of the water coming from the Dzo into the Tamalukan and Bot- 
 letlie first flows westward for some distance, until it has filled 
 up for a certain distance the deep channel leading lakewards, 
 and not till this is filled up will it have scope to run freely to 
 the eastward : the residue then going westward into the lake. 
 Neither the river nor the lake now ever attains its former 
 fullness. The position of the large mochuerie trees on its 
 banks will point out the original water-mark. These trees 
 always grow on the water's edge, and, now that the river 
 is receding so far, many die off every year. Andersson is also 
 mistaken in supposing the ebb and flow of the lake, which he 
 noticed, to be caused by the moon's attraction. How far 
 such a small body of fresh water can be influenced by the 
 attraction of the moon I am not aware, but the phenomenon 
 is merely caused by the prevailing wind at that particular 
 season (easterly in the morning) driving the water over the 
 very low beach on the opposite shore (as far sometimes as 
 half a mile), when it is said " to go out and feed," and then 
 receding when the wind subsides in the evening. The same 
 phenomenon extends even to the river opposite the town 
 (which is two miles east of the junction), rendering the water- 
 mark of the morning and that of the evening very different. 
 While on the subject of the lake, I may as well state that 
 " ngami " is derived from ngliabe (the Sejeje term for giraffe), 
 from ngliahha, to rock — the rocking motion of the girafie 
 being assimilated to the rocking of the waves, which in 
 former times, they assert, were large and powerful enough in 
 a storm to throw the hippopotamus on the shore.
 
 312 CNAPMJ2^8 TRAVELS. [chap. xii. 
 
 Oil laiuling opposite the town, I was followed into it by a 
 long- Hie of women bearing heavy loads of corn, which they 
 were bringing from their gardens, and Imndreds more could 
 be seen in other directions converging to the same point. 
 Lechulatebe received me with apparent cordiality, and we 
 were soon engaged in our usual style of bantering conver- 
 sation. He made some apologies for not having come or 
 sent to me, to "which I rejoined that he was always very 
 friendly and polite when I was coming from home, and he 
 knew that I had plenty of good things to eat and drink ; but 
 now, knowing that I had neither that nor trading goods, he 
 did not consider it worth while troubling liimself about me. 
 He was very much pleased to hear that I had come to teach 
 them about the medicine for the small-pox, and I was hailed 
 from all sides as a true friend of the Baroas and of the chief; 
 but Vi'hen he found that it was to be inoculation, the tables 
 were completely turned, and I was heartily laughed at for 
 my pains, not alone by him, but all his tribe, who take their 
 cue from tlieir chief, and must laugh or scowl, praise or 
 abuse, anything and everything which his majesty pleases 
 to applaud or condemn. I gave the matter up as a bad job. 
 I learned from the chief the death of his Mife, also that their 
 sheep, goats, and dogs had all died of n terra mani (lung- 
 sickness). The epidemic amongst dogs and sheep lias, as far 
 as I can ascertain, extended all over South Africa as far as 
 the Zambesi, and perhaps beyond ; and it is worthy of remark 
 that everywhere the epidemic breaks out at the same time. 
 Many people have also died here of dysentery, and some of 
 fever. 
 
 I also heard from the chief of the retribution that had 
 overtaken Gert in his unlawful career. It will be remem- 
 bered that this rascal stole my horses, the loss of which has 
 been so severely felt by us all. He had been caught by 
 Amraal's people, who were going to put him to death, but
 
 CHAP. XII.] NEWS FEOM WALVISCH BAY. 313 
 
 the missionaries interceded for him, and so, after receiving a 
 certain number of lashes with the shambok, he was put " on 
 the roads," in which position he had no difSculty in finding 
 his way back to Eiet Fontein, and then assumed the rights 
 and privileges of a chief over the Bnshmen. But his arbitrary 
 and despotic sway soon rendered him unpopular with his 
 subjects, and, after a brief period of success in the rapacious 
 career which lie at once commenced to indulge in, he was 
 betrayed by some of his followers. Being handed over to the 
 vengeance of a party of Barolongs from Kuruman, whose 
 horses he had swept off, he and two of his confederates were 
 killed with sticks. Thus died Gert ! 
 
 The season had been so favourable that in a day or two 
 we procured several hundred pounds' weight of corn. We 
 also obtained by barter (to the progress of which the usual 
 impediments which meanness, duplicity, and rapacity com- 
 bined, always suggest to a savage were continually inter- 
 posed) upwards of 1 000 lbs. weight of ivory. 
 
 My brother arrived from Walvisch Bay, and brought us 
 plenty of good things and plenty of bad news. He too, poor 
 fellow, had his troubles. After parting from us, his first 
 mishap was to lose some valuable oxen by the Makoba pit- 
 falls. Then his wagon broke down, becoming a mere wreck 
 in the wilderness, while a hungry lion attacked his caravan, 
 and, springing upon his oxen in the yoke while they were 
 travelling along the road, killed two on the spot. The same 
 ferocious brute followed him to Tlabala, where it killed 
 another ox : he laid to the carcase at night, and put a final 
 stop to the lion's career by shooting it. The lions had just 
 tlien killed twelve horses belonging to another party. Break- 
 ing no less than five axles, one after another, on his way from 
 the lake, he had reached Sekomi's in a nearly starving con- 
 dition, his goats having been all devoured by wolves. At
 
 314 (JHAPMAN'b TRAVELS. [cuap. xii. 
 
 Selvomi's he had been most hospitably received by the mis- 
 sionaries of the London Society. 
 
 In every other respect, the news brought by my brother 
 was most unwelcome, and to me personally most distressing, 
 on more aecoimts than one. Many deaths had occurred 
 during my long absence of friends and acquaintances dearly 
 esteemed, and other great changes had taken place amongst 
 the living of our little colonial world. 
 
 My brother brought the supplies of chemicals, clothing, 
 and provisions, for which I had asked, but few or no letters. 
 While in the midst of our sanguine anticipations, I had 
 ordered all letters to be sent on by sea to the mouth of the 
 Zambesi, and we had now the gratification of hearing that 
 there were " lots of letters lying there for us." 
 
 My brother had, besides, brought the tar, nails, &c., which 
 we had required for our boat-building, and Baines and I 
 seriously discussed the project of an immediate return to the 
 Zambesi. Baines was certain now, with the assistance of one 
 man, of being able to finish one boat at least. For a few 
 days we had no other idea but that of immediate return to 
 the river, but we found we had reckoned without our 
 host. Not one of the Damaras would for a moment consent 
 to return ; and it would have been cruelty to compel them. 
 My brother had not a man to spare, and if he had, I could 
 plainly see that the accounts given by our people of their 
 disasters and sufferings in the country to the eastward would 
 have the effect of making all desert us here, if pressed to go 
 on a similar excursion. It was evident they entertained the 
 greatest dread of the country we had left behind, and that we 
 must have a new batch of men altogether, if our purpose were 
 to be carried out. Baines could, no doubt, easily have finished 
 the one boat, which, indeed, was nearly half completed 
 already ; but even then, he and I would have had to under- 
 take the voyage by ourselves in the worst season of the year,
 
 CHAP. XII.] HOPES DEFERBED. 315 
 
 through many strange tribes, speaking strange languages, 
 perhaps to be again prostrated by fever. Considerations of 
 such a nature forced on our minds the reluctant conviction 
 that it would be folly — indeed, little short of madness — to 
 renew the attempt with our present means. For such a 
 purpose there should be at least five or six white men in the 
 party, so that one or two of the number might be fairly 
 reckoned on as being able to attend to the wants of the rest. 
 There seemed, in fact, nothing for it but my former plan of 
 getting four to six volunteers from the Cape, or fishermen 
 from Walvisch Bay. I therefore determined on running 
 down to Objimbengue in Damara Land, a distance of 700 
 miles, as well to attend to business matters of my own as to 
 treat with some friends in Cape Town to obtain for me a party 
 of five or six men on the most favourable terms, with the full 
 intention to return from there as soon as it can be possibly 
 managed, and prosecute to its final issue the scheme upon 
 which my heart was set.
 
 31() CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS, [chap. xiii. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 From Otjimbengue to Walviscli Bay — Geological Observations — Air-plauts 
 — Wilson's Fountains — Limit of Sea-Fog — Hykamgoub — Return to the 
 Interior — At Objimbengue again — Residence at the Schwagoup — Remove 
 into the Hottentot Coimtry — Interview with Jan Jonker — Proceed again 
 to the Bay — The Kaan Valley — Native Politics — Engagement between 
 Damaras and Africaners — Start again for the Interior — Final Determina- 
 tion to leave the Country — Voyage to Cape Town. 
 
 Feahing naturally that I sliould have some flifficulty in get- 
 ting away from Otjimbengue, if I paid off my Damaras before 
 getting to the end of the journey, and not feeling inclined to 
 lose the only hold I had upon them, I promised to pay them 
 when they had assisted me to the Bay. They became over- 
 bearingly insolent, exasperating me to the highest degree, 
 and at length refused to let my cattle out of the kraal, while 
 from one to two hundred stood guard there with spears and 
 knobkerries. In fact, Andersson's premises were covered with 
 armed men from morning till night. To avoid the neces- 
 sity of resorting to violence, perhaps terminating in blood- 
 shed, I yielded to the advice of my friend Andersson, offering 
 to pay them the half on the spot, provided the chief would 
 be responsible for their accompanying me to my journey's 
 end. This arrangement was concluded accordingly, and, in 
 the full confidence that the chief would abide by his promise, 
 I subsequently went even so far as to pay them in full, to 
 the utmost amount of their expectations. No sooner was 
 this done than every one of them disappeared, and Andersson 
 had to lend me some of his own servants to enable me to get 
 down to the Bay.
 
 CHAP, xm.] BETURN TO WALVISCH BAY. 317 
 
 My immediate object was to establish my camp somewliere 
 out of the reach of the Hottentots, where I miglit persevere 
 in a strict neutrality with respect to the subject which is now 
 convulsing the country — the dispute between the Damaras 
 and Hottentots. 
 
 On Saturday, 22nd of August, 18G3, I left Otjimbengue 
 for Walvisch Bay, whence I wished to forward my corre- 
 spondence to Cape Town. I regretted much that I had not 
 my camera and chemicals with me, for the granite hills 
 and formations between Otjimbengue and Tsoubis — those 
 immense spherical boulders, with scarce a fissure in them, 
 cropping out here and there between the schist, which is 
 tilted up on edge, and the conical piles of granite rock, with 
 sometimes large inverted pinnacles of many thousand tons in 
 weight, poised high above the plain — presented tempting 
 subjects for the photographer's art. In some places three or 
 four huge blocks have settled into the form of a bridge, 
 through the arch of which the clear blue sky is visible 
 beyond. 
 
 I reached Wilson's Fountain next day, the mountains on 
 either side increasing in magnitude, and exhibiting the same 
 characteristics — granite, sometimes red, sometimes grey, with 
 parallel veins of white quartz running at intervals through it. 
 At times the hills have smooth and solid peaks of granite, 
 without a crack, and destitute of verdure ; where the rock is 
 in process of rapid decomposition, as is often the case, the 
 hills are covered with the poisonous euphorbia, and other 
 kinds of milk-bushes. One of these, with a large tuberous 
 root, seems to be an air-plant ; though similar in appearance 
 to several milk-bushes, it does not, however, yield milk. Its 
 large tuberous root, a few hundred pounds in weight, looks 
 very like the block of granite on which it grows, so closely 
 resembling it, indeed, as to be easily mistaken for part of the
 
 318 CHAPMAN' H TRAVELS. [citat. xu:. 
 
 rock itself. It seems to derive its chief nourishment from tlie 
 air, since I have known several of which the roots have been 
 turned up some years ago to be still ilourishing. At most, a 
 small taproot alone penetrates some crack or fissure. I secured 
 here four or five different kinds, evidently allied to one another, 
 only one of which, however, has milk. I procured, also, a few 
 specimens of the gouty-looking plant called motiudi. This 
 plant at first springs up like a large tuber, of a pinkish- 
 yellow, or bronze colour. It is a trefoil, with large oblong 
 pointed leaves, with strongly decorated margin, each leaflet 
 being more than twelve inches long, thick, and pulpy. The 
 wood is very soft, brittle, and asteriated. When full grown it 
 attains the height of ten or twelve feet, and has the appear- 
 ance of a miniature baobab. 
 
 Tree aloes (kooker-booms), and many other productions of 
 a sterile soil, and saline or soda plants — from the lees of 
 which soap is made — are the products of these parts. The 
 water, also, is brackish, 
 
 Wilson's Fountain indicates, I think, the farthest point to 
 which the influence of the sea fog extends. From here coast- 
 wise very little rain ever falls. Last year was an exception. 
 All the country, from the coast to Lake Ngami, and beyond, 
 seems to have been inundated. The oldest inhabitants never 
 experienced such rains ; huts and hamlets, together with their 
 inhabitants, were swept away, and many of the cattle shared 
 their fate. The Kuisip has this year also flowed riglit into the 
 sea, clearing away the sand-hills which obstructed its path, 
 and fresh water is now to be found by digging within a few 
 yards of the beach. 
 
 From Wilson's Fountain made a trek of about nine miles, 
 during which we saw several zebras. This is not the small 
 black zebra, such as are found in the colony, but a larger, 
 duller, heavier animal, with a good deal of yellow ochre 
 about it, especially the stripes of the face. I am inclined to
 
 CHAP. XIII.] AT HYKAMGOUB. 319 
 
 think that two different zebras, or Equus montanus, have 
 never been described.* Springboks, in small groups, were 
 scattered about the plains, as if the lions had been amongst 
 them during the night, otherwise they would have been in 
 more compact bodies. 
 
 Five and a half miles more brought us, on the 25th, to 
 Onanie's Mouth, the junction of the Schwagoup river. The next 
 stage was "the Keeds," about seven miles, whence, fearing 
 attacks of lions if we stay during the night, we proceed by 
 moonlight to Davikop, about seven or eight miles farther. 
 From here we travelled the whole afternoon from 3 o'clock, 
 and the whole succeeding night, only stopping twice to make 
 coffee, and reached Hykamgoub. Here we received the usual 
 hospitable welcome from the Eev. Mr. and Mrs. Eckardt 
 and their household. 
 
 I stayed at Hykamgoub about a month, during which I 
 com]3leted, as well as my repeated attacks of fever would 
 permit, my correspondence, while my young friend Barry 
 wrote out a clean copy of my journal. As there seemed no 
 likelihood of my recovery in the fogs so prevalent at this 
 season near the coast, I determined, by the advice of my 
 friends, to remove into the interior, to some point about half 
 way towards Otjimbengue. Having first taken my friend 
 Barry to the Bay and seen him off, I returned to Hykamgoub, 
 in company with Mrs. Latham, Mr. and Mrs. Bassingthwaite, 
 Smit, and Hicks. 
 
 Before leaving Hykamgoub a very large snake was brought 
 me. It had been found in a Damara hut, within a few feet of 
 Mr. Eckardt's house, and in the Damara's bed. Mr. Eckardt 
 tells me that the python is also an inhabitant of these parts, 
 and that he has very recently seen the trail of one. 
 
 It was near the close of September that we journeyed on, 
 
 * See my descriptions of animals.
 
 320 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELH. [chap. xtit. 
 
 passing Oesip and the Ked IMoiintain, and enjoying an 
 exciting chase after giraffes by the way, in the direction of 
 Otjimbengue, whither I accompanied my friends. Arrived at 
 Otjimbengue, whicli we reached on October 14, Ave found the 
 people there in a great state of bustle and confusion. Men, 
 women, and children were running hither and thither. On 
 inquiry I learnt that "the Hottentots were coming!" Five 
 Damaras had arrived from Smit's cattle-post, and said they 
 had left the Hottentots there, still fighting, and that they had 
 killed several Damaras, and driven off all the cattle. Having 
 not a single bullet, and finding that nobody else had, I set to 
 work to make some, merely in order to set a good example, 
 for I did not believe in these reports, which have become too 
 common. In the evening, news was brought of its being a 
 false alarm. 
 
 In the course of the ensuing fortnight I removed to 
 Wilson's old place in the Schwagoup river, where my cattle 
 were grazing. I made a pit for the cattle, and one for our- 
 selves, with a garden, &c., and collected material for building 
 a house, in the hopes of yet being able to make peace between 
 the hostile tribes, and bring my wife and family to settle in 
 this country, with a view to prosecute for a few more years 
 my researches in natural history, &c. 
 
 The site at the " shambles," as the spot was called, was a 
 lovely one for a dwelling, surrounded by a park of most 
 gigantic and graceful anna trees. Over these trees, at the 
 back of my residence, peeps out a large smooth mass of 
 granite mountain, towering a thousand feet above the plain ; 
 and on the southern or opposite side is another reddish-looking 
 mountain, sparsely covered with green grass and bush. In 
 this hill copper has been found. To the westward the hills 
 are crossed with wavy streaks of quartz through soft grey 
 granite. The werft was overrun with dry burr-grasses, the 
 seeds of which, together with a wild vegetable, or spinach,
 
 CHAP. XIII.] RETUBX TO OTJIMBENGUE. 321 
 
 called omboa, constitutes an article of food of the Damaras. 
 Dark and heavy clusters of a creeping or parasitical plant 
 hang gracefully around the thick stems of the anna trees. 
 To the north there are open, undulating, hush-dotted plains, 
 extending for several miles, and terminated by sharp-angled, 
 serrated hills in the distant north and west. Pheasants run 
 cackling about on my homestead by hundreds, destroying my 
 garden, and guinea-fowls and korhaans are heard. The zehra, 
 the koodoo, the ostrich, and other tenants of the wilds, are to 
 be found on the station. The grazing and the water is good 
 and abundant, and nothing is wanting but peace in the coimtry 
 to make this, and a thousand other equally pleasant spots, a 
 delightful place of residence. 
 
 Continual rumours of immediate attack by the Hottentots, 
 however, forbid anything like repose. We are kept in a state 
 of constant alarm, and all exercise of peaceful industry was 
 rendered impossible. This state of suspense, which paralysed 
 all useful effort, was succeeded, after some weeks, by a lull, and 
 it was understood that an accommodation had been come to 
 on the part of the respective leaders, and that the strife 
 between the Damaras and Hottentots was virtually at an end. 
 Encouraged by these reports, and finding it impossible to 
 exist in Damara Land, I resolved upon removing my property 
 into the Hottentot country, and as the Damaras were again 
 gaining courage and moving up to Wilson's and JBessing- 
 thwaite's places, near the Hottentots, I succeeded in get- 
 ting a few to accompany me to the matchless copper-mines 
 near Jonker's place, — where they knew there was abundance of 
 food, and a prospect of trade with the Hottentots. Accord- 
 ingly, I packed up my things and started, on December 6th, 
 for Otjimbengue ; a thousand Damaras met me on the road, 
 and their moro! nioro! (good morning) was always accom- 
 panied with tutu lako (give me tobacco). 
 
 The country eastward was green and flourishing, the valley 
 
 VOL. II. Y
 
 322 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. xiii. 
 
 of the Kaan teeming with guinea-fowl, of which I shot a great 
 number. I reached Eimhoogte on the evening of the 8th, 
 and, with some delays consequent on the necessity of waiting 
 for my cattle to come up, arrived a few days later at my 
 destination. I found the houses at the mines in a terribly 
 tumble-down condition. But as Mr. Andersson, who had a 
 claim to the buildings, had given me permission to occupy 
 any of them if I felt disposed to run tlie risk of doing so, I 
 set to work at renovating the best of them, and made a 
 garden while waiting the arrival of Jan Jonker, to whom I 
 had notified my presence there. On the 17th, I received a 
 visit from the chief, who was accompanied by his uncle, old 
 Jan Jonker, with an interpreter and one or two attendants. 
 Jan Jonker himself looked very much improved since I had 
 last seen him : he was smartly dressed, had grown stouter and 
 more manly in figure, and exhibited, in the questions he put 
 to me, a degree of shrewdness and general intelligence which 
 I little expected to find in the debauched youth of bygone 
 years. He evidently sought to extract from me all the in- 
 formation at my disposal ; and I could not but admire the 
 assumed air of indifference with which he asked the most 
 important questions. We had much conversation on the 
 disturbed state of the country, and the disputed points 
 between the Damara and Hottentot nations. He denied the 
 alleged grievances of the former people, and resented warmly 
 the interference of English traders in native affairs. 
 
 Jan Jonker and his party left me next morning, the chief 
 promising that he would send to warn the Topnaars not to 
 molest my property, intimating at the same time that they 
 were not his subjects, but a perfectly independent jjeople, over 
 whom he had no direct control. I wished to give him a 
 letter, to be forwarded to Amraal's to meet my brother, who 
 is expected from the lake ; but he declines taking charge of 
 it, there being at present no communication with that tribe.
 
 CHAP. XIII.] TO WALVI8CII BAY AOAIN. 323 
 
 owing to the small-pox, which, he says, is making dreadful 
 ravages. 
 
 Having now made all the arrangements I thought neces- 
 sary to ensure the safety of my people, whom I left in charge 
 of my servant, James Harrison, I left, on the 19th, for the 
 Bay, in order to meet my wife, wlio was determined in future 
 to be my travelling companion. Passing a day at Mr. 
 Bessingthwaite's house (\vhere a pot of honey-beer,* or 
 methlegen, the favourite beverage of the Hottentots, was 
 hospitably brewed in my honour) on the way, and descending 
 by Kimhoogte into the valley of the Kaan river, I reached 
 Otjimbengue in time to spend the Christmas there. 
 
 The Kaan, which the road frequently crosses, is a very 
 turbulent mountain torrent ; it is one of the largest branches 
 of the Schwagoup river above Otjimbengue, and pours occa- 
 sionally a large body of water into that river, but, owing to 
 the quick drainage, never offers a long-continued impedi- 
 ment to wagon travelling. When, however, its turbid waves 
 come rolling down with thundering roar after the rains, the 
 traveller has only to wait patiently until its fury is spent. 
 
 The Kaan valley offers many a scene of striking interest to 
 the lover of Nature and the pencil of the artist. One of the 
 most striking features in the surrounding scenery is found in 
 the uniform parallel stratifications of schist projecting some 
 distance from the earth, and all bearing in one direction ; 
 
 * A pint of houey to a gallon of water is fermented by a kind of balm, 
 called moer. This mixture is made by pounding two kinds of berries, 
 and preparing it with the larvaj of bees. By putting an ounce or two of 
 this moer into the pot it is brewed in about eight hours, when the moer or 
 sediment settles to the bottom, and the brew is poured off. The houey 
 being now fermented, a vinous and acid taste is imparted to the brew, not 
 unlike hock, though not quite so potent. The Hottentots are more easily 
 excited by this drink than by a mcderate allowance of spirits, but they 
 stimulate its effects by smoking. On those, however, who are accustomed 
 to the real juice of the grape it has little or no effect, unless taken in very 
 large quantities. 
 
 y2
 
 324 CHAPMAN'>S TEA VELS. [chap. xiii. 
 
 the intervals are covered with a mixture of last year's crop 
 of dry grass, blending with the incipient crop of this. An 
 occasional white-stemmed, gouty-looking motiudi tree, with 
 its large, pointed, oval, pulpy leaves, strongly serrated, and 
 tall aloes, cacti, and euphorbias are seen. The round and 
 sometimes broken and cliffy hills, dotted with verdant sweet- 
 gums, their bases often washed by the flood, offer pictures 
 which it is pleasant to behold, surrounded, as 'they often are, 
 with pretty forests of blooming, sweet-scented mimosa, from 
 whose black stems the silvery gum is trickling, while their 
 bright blossoms perfume the morning air. The blue jay, 
 with heavy wing, hovers mockingly overhead, vociferating in 
 concert with gay-painted but screeching paroquets and dis- 
 cordant guinea-fowls, whose notes are further augmented by 
 the whir — r — r of pheasants and partridges, which rise on 
 every side, while insects of green and gold buzz and boom 
 amongst the foliage. 
 
 The least interesting part of this valley is clothed with 
 dabby [Tamarisk), a few pretty ebony trees, aged and wide- 
 spreading mokalas and anna-booms. Here graceful koodoos 
 are still found browsing, and the rock-buck perches on the 
 highest pinnacles, and the equally agile mountain zebra (the 
 small black one of the Cape), wary as a cat, barely shows 
 his head over the mountains, ere, tossing his mane and 
 rearing back, he suddenly flings out his heels and plunges 
 forward in mad gallop. The steinboks keep on the lower 
 plains, and baboons are found in large gangs grubbing for 
 bulbs (luncliies) and the roots of the purple-blossomed sorrel, 
 which is also abundant, and is a nourishing and wholesome 
 vegetable to man as well. Through such a landscape it is 
 an interesting sight to watch the red wheels of the white- 
 tilted wagons dragging heavily after the sturdy team of parti- 
 coloured oxen, often stumbling and kneeling over the sharp 
 flints ; now rolling with the roar of distant thunder down the
 
 CHAP, xiir.] THE KAAN VALLEY. 325 
 
 rock}' steps of the mountaius, with difficulty maintaining its 
 equilibrium ; now grating down the quartzy slope with the 
 drag on, the oxen dragging sometimes on their haunches ; 
 anon grinding over the pebbly bed of the stream, on emerging 
 from whicli the sore-footed cattle more firmly tread the soft, 
 red, sandy road, cut through a carpet of emerald, until they 
 bury themselves out of sight in the blooming groves, while 
 the mountains re-echo with the driver's harsh voice and the 
 crack of his huge whip. 
 
 We halted during the day at a spot where Isaak, a half- 
 witted Hottentot lad by whom I was attended, noticed a 
 plant of the cactus or euphorbia tribe, known by the name of 
 elephant's trunk. Isaak plucked several of the younger 
 shoots of the plants, and, rubbing off the prickles with a 
 stone, set me the example of eating some. Notwithstanding 
 that I knew -the plant to be freely eaten by the Namaquas, 
 I thought, on tasting the first mouthful, that Isaak was bent 
 upon poisoning me, and made some horrible wry faces. Isaak, 
 however, devoured several pounds of the nauseous plant. 
 
 1st January, 1864. — Having spent Christmas at Otjim- 
 bengue, I proceeded on my way to the Bay. I had good 
 sport, shooting a great many fine and fat pauws, springboks, 
 steinboks, hares, &c. I had advanced as far as Oesip, when 
 two Damaras overtook me with a letter from Mrs. Latham 
 (from near Otjimbengue), informing me that the Topnaars 
 had swept off all Wilson's cattle, had killed several Damaras, 
 and that a Mr. Cane had nearly lost his life in a personal 
 conflict with some drunken or lawless Hottentots on their 
 werft at Windhoek — intelligence which occasioned me no 
 little uneasiness and anxiety. Pushing on direct for the Bay, 
 I was delighted next morning at beholding from the signal- 
 hill at Sand Fountain a vessel lying at anchor. I was, how- 
 ever, disappointed in the hope of meeting my wife. It
 
 326 CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap, xm, 
 
 proved to be the brig " Emma," ou board of which was JMr. 
 Hahn, who had brought with him a party of missionaries and 
 colonists, or industrial agents, a wooden building for the bay, 
 merchandize, material, and supplies of food, &c., for a long 
 period in advance. 
 
 The arrival, on February 1st, of Mr. Hutchinson from the 
 interior put us in possession of later news from Otjimbengue. 
 There it was current that Wilson's cattle had been swept off, 
 as well as Bessingthwaite's and Smit's, by the Topnaars. 
 They had also shot some Damaras, men and women. My 
 place they had not molested. Jan Jonker and his tribe 
 are very much incensed at these proceedings of the Top- 
 naars, and have already recovered most of Wilson's cattle. 
 They have sent messengers to express their indignation at 
 these proceedings, and to say tliat they will not suffer a 
 neutral white man to be put to loss or inconvenience, if even 
 they have to make a subscription amongst themselves to pay 
 the damage. 
 
 On the 10th the barque " Good Hope" arrived in the Bay, 
 bringing, besides other passengers, my wife and two eldest 
 boys, to whom, after an absence of tliree years and three 
 months, I was reunited. 
 
 After a detention of several weeks, waiting the arrival of 
 a wagon which was to convey us into the interior, at least as 
 far as Otjimbengue, I received, on the 27th of March, a letter 
 from Mr. Andersson, containing the information that Mr. Green, 
 at the head of 1500 Damaras, had gained a victory over the 
 Africaners, destroyed twenty-two wagons, taken about 4000 
 cattle and 6000 sheep, and upwards of a ton of powder ; but it 
 appears that he had already experienced no end of trouble with 
 his Damaras, and had to shoot about a dozen for disobedience, 
 thefts, &c. By tlie same opportunity my brother writes me, 
 from the immediate neighbourhood of the seat of war, that
 
 CHAP. XIII.] NATIVE HOSTILITIES. 327 
 
 he has not a single servant, and about 200 head of cattle, 
 and double that number of sheep and goats to look after ; 
 that their lives have been placed in jeopardy by the pains 
 taken by the Damaras to circulate a statement that all the 
 white men were in league against the Africaners, but that 
 hitherto they have received nothing but friendly behaviour 
 from the Africaners (Hottentots), who do not seem to feel their 
 reverse, excepting in so far that amongst the few of their slain 
 was the chief's wife and daughter. My brother writes that 
 they were not in full force when attacked, and that, though 
 defeated, they have not left the spot, but visited him the next 
 day, and even followed up their enemies during the night. 
 
 On the oOth, we were visited by a large deputation of 
 Topnaars from Rovibank, or Sheppmansdorp. My wife 
 and children, who had never set eyes on such hideous objects 
 before, now opened them very wide indeed. They were led 
 hither by inquisitiveness, wishing to know sometliing about 
 the war, and we know, or strongly suspect, them to be in 
 league with those who have made themselves deservedly 
 obnoxious to us. Next day my brother reached the Bay 
 from Aaries, where he has left all his cattle, &c. It is to be 
 hoped that the Topnaars will not run off with them, for they 
 are a people who acknowledge no other law than that of 
 might, and whose character is a combination of fraud, perfidy, 
 and cruelty. 
 
 It is time, however, to bring this narrative to a close. My 
 stay in the country was prolonged until the ensuing Septem- 
 ber — the intervening period being one of continual and 
 harassing excitement and exertion, owing to the hostile 
 relationships which prevailed between the native races, and 
 which led to constant scenes of bloodshed and violence. The 
 record of these transactions, however important to the colonist 
 of South xifrica, would, I fear, possess little interest for the
 
 328 GHA P MAN'S TEA VELS. [chap, xi i i . 
 
 general reader, and the already overgrown limits of my 
 volumes forbid my descanting on them. In so far as I was 
 personally concerned, I sought to observe a strict neutrality 
 between the rival parties of Damaras and Hottentots. It 
 ■would have been well had all the white men who were resi- 
 dents in the country pursued a like course ; but allowance 
 must be made for the natural enlistment of sympathies on 
 one side or other of those amongst whom the life of a settler 
 in such a region has been passed, and with some or other of 
 whom his feelings, not less than his interests, may be mixed 
 up. I have referred to one bloody engagement between the 
 hostile tribes ; a second great battle was fouglit a few 
 months later — at the end of June. On this latter occasion, 
 ]\Ir. Andersson, who (with Mr. Green) had taken a leading 
 part on behalf of the Damaras, and had even entertained the 
 project of placing himself at the head of the Damara nation, 
 received a serious wound, his leg being shattered. 
 
 The unsafe condition of the country had caused me to send 
 my wife and family back to the colony in the early part of 
 May. I returned for a time to the interior, by the usual 
 route, in order to arrange my personal affairs. The silence 
 of the country as I passed through it was painfully depress- 
 ing. People were afraid to venture abroad, and the Damaras 
 had flocked into Otjimbengue as their head-quarters. Many 
 of the Europeans had already left for the colony, and the 
 missionaries, with their families, were in some cases exposed 
 to dangers which it is painful to think of. After the later of 
 the two engagements to which I have referred, my own 
 position was at times a most precarious one. I had removed 
 my station to Wilson's old place on the Schwagoup river, in 
 order to maintain the neutrality on which I had determined ; 
 but parties of Damaras were frequently prowling about, 
 attacks from the Hottentots were daily anticipated, and I 
 was obliged to send armed men to accompany the cattle
 
 plllllM^^^^^ 
 
 
 !iililiiiliillliii'iilhiii[riiiiii]iiliiiiiiiil:;i.i iiniNii.Mir!liiiilillillll|illllii'illl:|li:ilil«liHlliilillB^^^^^
 
 CHAP, xiii.] BETURN TO THE COLONY. 329 
 
 v\'hen they went to graze. It was useless to struggle against 
 such a state of things. All hopes of the re-establishment of 
 peace, and the restoration of confidence, seemed vain ; and at 
 length, findiDg that I could do no good, either for the people 
 or myself, I resolved on abandoning the scene — at least for a 
 time. On the 7th of September, turning my back upon 
 "Anna-wood Park," I again took my course towards the Bay. 
 Next morning, while outspanned for breakfast near Wilson's 
 Fountain, where we killed a sheep, I was fortunately enabled 
 to gratify my favourite pursuit by making a contribution to 
 natural history. I observed the shadow of a large bird 
 swooping over the wagon. Seizing my gun, I got out in 
 time to send a very long shot after him, and brought him 
 down at about 200 yards. It was a magnificent, large, dark 
 brown vulture, the expanse of whose wings was ten feet from 
 tip to tip. It is said, by the natives, to feed the Bushmen 
 and Berg-Damaras, who watch its motions, and constantly rob 
 it of its garbage, which generally consists of the leavings of 
 the lion. It is also the constant attendant upon lions, always 
 seeking them out every morning while eating their prey, 
 when they patiently perch on the nearest tree and await his 
 departure. The fat is considered a very excellent ointment 
 in all cases of rheumatism, &c. Its name in the Berg- 
 Damara is thoutkap. 
 
 On reaching the Bay (Saturday, 17th September), the cry, 
 " Sail, ho !" appeared quite a stirring event, and, straining 
 our eyes, we soon discovered, through the fog, an approaching 
 vessel. By her I received letters from the Cape, urging my 
 immediate return, and, accordingly, I took my passage for 
 Cape Town. But three days' experience of the " Benjamin 
 Millar" proved enough, and when we touched Sandwich 
 Haven I was glad (at the cost of forfeiting my passage- 
 money) to shift my quarters into the " Flower of Yarrow," 
 a smart, but dirty, schooner, engaged in the fish and guano
 
 330. CHAPMAN'S TRAVELS. [chap. xiii. 
 
 trade. At Sandwich Haven I paid a visit to the fishing 
 establishments, three in number, whicb were in active em- 
 ployment. During tbe brief voyage thence to the Cape, my 
 chief amusement consisted in catching and skinning birds, 
 with a view to add to the contents of the Cape Town 
 Museum — an occupation which, I was sorry to fiind, met with 
 disapproval on the part of the seamen and the second mate 
 (a Dane), whose superstitious fears ascribed every calm or 
 contrary wind to my unhallowed influences. A few days of 
 fair wind, however, soon brought us within sight of Table 
 Mountain, which loomed grandly before us, high above the 
 thick fog, and I was only too thankful to land at midnight, 
 again to enjoy the sweets of domestic life, after four years of 
 wanderiniT.
 
 APPENDIX.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 DESCEIPTIYE NOTES OF ANIMALS OF INTEK- 
 TEOPICAL SOUTH AFEICA. 
 
 THE PIED ANTELOPE. 
 
 BONTE BOK OF THE CaPE CoLONISTS. 
 
 (^Gazella pygarga.') 
 (From Hakkis.) 
 
 Rather larger than the Gazella albifrons. Head long, narrow, and shape- 
 less, with a very broad muzzle. Horns 15 inches long, black, divergent, 
 erect, very robust at base, with ten or twelve incomplete annuli broken in 
 the middle, and striated between. Forehead and face white, as in the 
 Blesbok. Ears long and reddish. Sides of the head, neck, and flanks 
 deep purple-brown. Back, bluish-lilac, as if glazed. Legs perfectly white 
 from the knees and hocks downwards. Belly and inside of thighs white, 
 and a large white patch on the croup. Tail reaching to the hocks, white 
 above, with a tuft of posteriorly-directed black hairs. Small detached 
 lachrymary perforation. Linear nostrils. Very indistinct muzzle. 
 
 Female precisely similar, but on a slighter scale, with more slender horns. 
 Mamma?, two. 
 
 Gregarious. Still found in Zoetendal's Vley, near Cape L'Agullias. 
 Common in the interior. 
 
 THE WHITE-FACED ANTELOPE. 
 
 The Blesbok of the Cape Colonists. 
 
 NuKNi of the Bechuana. 
 
 (^Gazella albifrons.') 
 
 (From Harris.) 
 
 Adult male, 3 ft. 8 in. high at the shoulder, and 6 ft. 3 in. in extreme 
 
 length. Head long and narrow. Muzzle broad. Horns from 12 to 15 inches 
 
 in length, white, very robust at the base ; divergent, with ten or twelve 
 
 semi-annuli on the anterior side. A patch of chocolate-coloured hair at 
 
 the base of the horns, divided by a narrow white streak, which suddenly
 
 334 APPENDIX. 
 
 widens between the eyes to the whole breadth of the face, down which it 
 passes to the nose. Ears rather long and white. Sides of the head and 
 neck deep purple chocolate. The back and shoulders hoary bluish-white, 
 as if glazed. Flanks and loins brown. Belly white. Legs brown outside, 
 white within. Croup and chest rufous. Tail reaching to the hocks ; 
 17 inches long, with much posteriorly-directed brown and white hair. 
 Linear nostrils. Very indistinct muzzle. Small circular lachrymary 
 perforation. 
 
 Female precisely similar, but slighter, less vividly coloured, and with 
 more slender horns. Mamma?, two. 
 
 Very gregarious. Inhabits the plains south of the Vaal river in im- 
 mense herds. 
 
 THE GEYSBOK. 
 
 (Tragulus melanotis.^ 
 (From Harris.) 
 
 Adult male from 20 to 22 inches high at the shoulder, and about 36 
 inches in length. Head very broad and short. Snout obtusely pointed. 
 Horns about 3 J inches long ; smooth, round, slender, and vertical, or 
 slightly inclining forwards. Ears round, oj)en, and broad. Colour deep 
 chocolate red, intermixed with numerous single wliite hairs ; beneath 
 rufous. A black horseshoe on the forehead. Detached suborbital sinus 
 and small muzzle. 
 
 Female similar, but hornless. Mammas, two. 
 
 Monogamous, or solitary. Common in the colony among the wooded 
 tracts along the sea coast. 
 
 THE SLATE-COLOUEED ANTELOPE. 
 
 Blaau Bok or Kleekebok. 
 
 (Cephalopus ccerula.') 
 
 (From Harris.) 
 
 Adult male about 15 inches high and 28 inches long. Head very long 
 
 and pointed, with a spacious muzzle, resembling a rat's both in shape and 
 
 expression. A bare spot round the eyes. Ears short and round like a 
 
 rat's. Horns black, conical, reclined, slightly turned inwards and forwards > 
 
 2 inches in length, closelj' and strongly annulated. General colour dull 
 
 brownish-buft", or mouse colour, above, beneath whitish. Legs and rump 
 
 rufous. Tail 2 inches long, dark above, white beneath. Ko suborbital 
 
 sinus, but a suborbital sack lower down, marked by a lengthened streak 
 
 upon the cheek. 
 
 Female similar, but hornless and more diminutive. 
 Solitary. Inhabits the forests along the sea coast.
 
 APPENDIX. 335 
 
 THE BUSH BUCK. 
 
 EOSCH BOK OF THE CaPP] CoLONISTS. 
 
 (^Tragelaphus sylvafica.) 
 (From Harris.) 
 
 Adult male, about 2 ft. 8 in. high, and 5 ft. 2 in. long. Form elegant, 
 somewhat receding from the typical structure of true antelopes, and 
 assuming that of the goat. Horns about 12 inches long, erect, spiral, 
 and sublyrate ; marked with an obsolete ridge in front, and one in rear ; 
 black, and closely wrinkled at the base ; points, a little bent forward. 
 General colour, brilliant chestnut, black above, marked with a narrow white 
 streak along the spine ; two white spots on each cheek, several on the 
 flanks, and two on each fetlock ; inside of thighs and chin white ; forehead 
 deep sienna ; a broad, naked, black band encircling the neck, as if worn off 
 by a collar. Tail 9 inches long, brown above, white beneath. Ears large 
 and round. Moist, naked muzzle. No lachrymary opening. 
 
 Female similar, but without horns. Mammae, four. 
 
 Monogamous, or solitary. Inhabits the forests on the sea coasts. 
 
 THE EHEE BUCK. 
 
 Ehee Bok of the Cape Colonists. 
 
 (^Eedunca capreolus.') 
 
 (From Harris.) 
 
 Adult male, 2 ft. 5 in. at the shoulder, and about 5 feet in length. 
 
 Body very slender. Neck long. Head small ; and ears pointed. Horns 
 
 about 9 inches in length, straight, slender, vertical, and pointed, with from 
 
 ten to fifteen rings at the base. Hair very soft and villous, resembling 
 
 wool. General colour, whitish grey, with a cast of buff ; beneath white. 
 
 Tail about 5 inches, grey, tipped with white. Muzzle naked and moist. 
 
 Suborbital low down, but distinct. 
 
 Female similar, but smaller, without horns. Mamnife, four. 
 Found within the colony in small troops amongst hills and rocks. 
 
 THE NAGOE. 
 
 PiOOGE Bhe Bok of the Colonists. 
 
 (^Redunca lalandu.') 
 
 (From Harris.) 
 
 Adult male 2 ft. 8 in. high at the shoulder, and 5 feet in length. Horns 
 
 about 6 inches long, approximating at base, sub-erect, nearly ])arallel, and 
 
 hooked forward at the point, with five or six semi-annuli striated between. 
 
 Legs, head, and neck, tawny. Chin and lower parts white. Body fulvous 
 
 brown, with a cast of purple. The hair long, loose, and whirling in vaiious
 
 336 APPENDIX. 
 
 directions. Tail 10 inches, grey, with long white hair along the edges. 
 Muzzle small. Suborbital opening barely perceptible. 
 
 Female similar, but hornless. Mamma?, four. 
 
 Found amongst rocks in small troops. 
 
 THE KLIPSPEINGEE. 
 
 (^Oreotragus saltatrix.") 
 (From Haeris.) 
 
 Adult male about 22 inches high at the shoulder, and square and robust. 
 Head short and broad. Horns about 4 inches long ; round, distant, vertical, 
 but slightly inclined forwards, obscurely wrinkled at the base, and 
 annulated in the middle. Legs robust. Pasterns very rigid. Each hoof 
 subdivided into two segments, and jagged at the edges so as to give it the 
 power of adhering to the steep sides of smooth rocks. Fur very thick and 
 long ; hard, brittle, and spirally twisted ; ashy at base, brown in the 
 middle, yellow at the ti^^s, forming an agreeable olive. Suborbital sinus 
 conspicuous. Muzzle pointed and small. 
 
 Female hornless, in other respects resembling the male. Mamma?, two. 
 
 Common in the colony. Inhabits rocks and precipices in pairs. 
 
 THE OUREBI. 
 
 SXTBOKOO OF THE MaTABELE, 
 
 (Sedunca scoparia.') 
 (From Haekis.) 
 
 Less than 2 feet high at the shoulder, and about 4 in extreme length. 
 Very slight horns, 4 or 5 inches long ; black, round, and nearly vertical ; 
 wrinkled at the base, with four or five annuli in the middle. A white 
 arch above the eyes. Tail short and black. General colour pale tawny ; 
 beneath white ; long white hair under the throat, fulvous tufts below the 
 knees. A small muzzle. Lachrymal opening well developed. 
 
 Female similar, but smaller and hornless. Mammje, four. 
 
 Found in grassy plains, usually in pairs. 
 
 THE EEIT BUCK. 
 
 Eeit Bok of the Cape CoLOiasTs. 
 
 Inghalla of the Matabele. 
 
 (^Bedunca eleotragiis,') 
 
 (From Haeris.) 
 
 Adult male about 2 ft. 10 in. high at the shoulder, and 4 ft. 10 in. long. 
 
 Horns 10 or 12 inches long, advanced beyond the plane of the face;
 
 APPENDIX. 337 
 
 divergent, and regularly curved, with the points forward; wrinkled at the 
 base, and annulated with obsolete rings in the middle. Ears, 6 inches. 
 Tail, 10 inches long. General colour of tlie coat ashy-grey, tinged with 
 ochre, beneath white ; hair of the throat, white and flowing. A small 
 muzzle, and imperfect suborbital opening. 
 
 Female similar, but smaller and hornless. Mammae, four. 
 
 Gregarious in small families, or solitary. Resides variously, principally 
 amongst reeds. 
 
 THE DUIKEE. 
 
 Impoon of the Matabele. 
 
 (^Ceplmlopus mergens.) 
 
 (From Haeris.) 
 
 Adult male about 2 feet high at the shoulders, and 3 ft. Sin. in extreme 
 length. Limbs solid. Horns 4 inches long, approximated, somewhat 
 reclining, bending outwards, with a longitudinal ridge on the front travers- 
 ing the wrinkles of the base. Forehead covered with a patch of long 
 bright fulvous hair. A dark streak on the chaffron. Three dark strise 
 inside each ear. A dark streak down the front of the legs, terminating in 
 a black fetlock, as if booted. Colour various ; usually cinereous olive above, 
 and white beneath. Tail 8 inches long, black, tipped with white. Spurious 
 hoofs, scarcely developed. A long sub-orbital slit down the side of the face, 
 and a small naked muzzle. 
 
 Female similar, with veiy small horns completely concealed by long 
 rufous hair. Mamma% four. 
 
 Solitary, or monogamous. Common in the colony, especially along the 
 coast, among bushes. 
 
 THE KHANAMETLA. 
 
 Extreme length, 3ft. 9in. ; height at shoulder, 11 inches; length of 
 head and body, without tail, 2 ft. 3 in. It has longish hairs, barred sepia- 
 brown and white, like the quills of the porcupine, with a warmer colour 
 near the points. Muzzle and throat dull white. Body covered with a 
 dense light brown fur underneath the longer hairs. Tail thick, and of a 
 warmer colour towards the extremity. Legs, deep sepia-brown. 
 
 It inhabits the reeds on margins of rivers, and, like the otter, which it 
 somewhat resembles, feeds on fish, but is not averse to young birds, mice, 
 insects, &c. It has an awkward heavy gait, and, though a small animal, 
 defends itself, when excited, against the attacks of dogs with wonderful 
 courage, often inflicting severe wounds, and uttering a peculiar sound like 
 tlie ratthng of a porcupine's (pxills, 
 
 VOL. II. Z
 
 338 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE TUANIA, or RED CAT. 
 
 Lynx. 
 
 Extreme length, 3ft. 9 in.; tail alone, 9§ inches. General colour light 
 reddish-fawn, interspersed with some white points ; white underneath from 
 the muzzle, with pale reddish spots on the belly aud legs. Thighs have 
 very slight indications of pale and transverse bars. Ears grey, with brown 
 at base, long and pointed, with a tuft of grey hairs an inch long. Corners 
 of eyes white. 
 
 It inhabits the desert, and feeds on mice, birds, insects, &c. Its fur is 
 warm and valuable. 
 
 THE SMALL OTTEE. 
 
 Extreme length, 3 ft. 4 in. ; tail alone, 13 inches, and thick. Height at 
 shoulder, 9^ inches. A rich, deep brown, short fur, lighter and softer 
 underneath. Throat and muzzle white and spotted. Inside of thighs 
 spotted white. Legs covered with very short, smooth hair. 
 
 Aquatic, and feeds on fish, crabs, &c. 
 
 THE TA-LIE. 
 
 General colour ou back dull yellow, imperfectly striped black or deep 
 brown. Sides spotted. Belly white. Inside of thighs white, barred both 
 inside and out with black. Smaller spots on the legs, which are dull 
 yellow outside, inside white; but the black bars continue throughout. 
 Muzzle and throat white, with small spots. Ears like those of a domestic 
 cat. 
 
 Food, mice, birds, and insects. 
 
 THE MACHUANI, or HONEY-EATING FOX. 
 
 General colour : — back, ashy-grey ; belly, black or dark-brown. 
 
 THE TOOKUE. 
 
 About the size of a fox, but much stouter. General colour, bod}' 
 brindled. 
 
 LEOPAED. 
 
 Killed by the dogs at Koobie. Extreme length, 5 ft. 8 in. From the 
 nose to the back of skull it measures 8 incheK. From there to the in-
 
 APPENDIX. 339 
 
 sertion of the tail, 2 ft. 9 in., and the tail itself 2 ft Sin. Tt measures 
 2 ft. 3 in. at shoulder, and about the sarue at the rump. The girth around 
 the fore part of the body was 1 ft. 10 in., and round the loins, 1ft. Gin. 
 The body is long and slender, somewhat resembling a greyhound's, but the 
 limbs still muscular and powerful. The paws massive, and the claws 
 retractile. Colour a pale brownish-yellow, with annular dark-brown 
 spots on the body, and disposed in rings around the legs. The tail 
 is ringed alternately with black and white. The throat, belly, and inside 
 of legs, white. The head is rather longish, and the forehead rounded. 
 
 ELEPHANT BULL. 
 
 Fore foot, circumference, 4 ft. 6 in. ; hind foot, circumference, 4 ft. 5 in. 
 Height, 11 ft. 7 in. ; height, standing, 10 feet. Trunk, length from tusks, 
 6 ft. 2 in. ; circumference of trunk, 5 feet ; circumference of trunk at point, 
 1 ft. 4 in. Neck, circumference, 10 feet. Length from top of skull to inser- 
 tion of tail, 11 ft. 6 in. Tail, length, 3 feet. " Half girth, 8 ft. 9 in. ; half 
 girth, behind shoulders, 7 ft. 9 in. ; half girth, before hind leg, 7 ft. 11 in. 
 Tail, length without tuft, 4 feet. Tuft, length, 1 ft. 3 in. ; length from inser. 
 tion of tail to top of forehead, 9 ft. 11 in. ; length from top of forehead to in- 
 sertion of trunk, 3 feet. Trunk, length, 6 ft. 8 in. Ear, breadth, 3 ft.9 in. ; 
 length, 5 ft. 3 in. Eyes, distance between, 3 ft. 6 in. ; length of eye, 3 inches. 
 Height, from centre of spine to fore foot, 11 ft. 6 in. ; actual height at 
 shoulders, 10 ft. 9 in. ; height at middle of back, 12 feet ; height, from 
 spine to hind foot, 9 ft. 3 in. ; actual height, 8 ft. 9 in. Tusk, projection 
 beyond lip, 2 feet ; girth of tusk, 1 foot. Fore foot, breadth, 1 ft. 6 in. ; 
 hind foot, breadth, 1 foot ; hind foot, length, 2 feet. Extreme leugth» 
 20 ft. 10 in. Colour, iron-grey. Skin reticulated, and covered with a few 
 small scattered hairs, eye-lashes ; and hair on the lower lip, and at end 
 of tail, where the number of stout hairs form a ridge of bristles. 
 
 THE GEMSBOK (Female). 
 Length, from base of horns to base of tail, 5 feet ; length, from nose to 
 horns, 1 ft. 3 in. Tail, length, 3 feet. Height at withers, 4 ft. 3 in. ; 
 height at rump, 4 ft. 3 in. Horns, length, 3 feet. Colour, light yellowish- 
 brown, nearly grey ; the bands of deeper brown, approaching to black. 
 Hair upon the head contrasted with pure white, being the deepest in colour. 
 A broad black patch begins at the base of the horns, narrowing to a mere 
 stripe between the eyes, spread out again over the whole width of the nose, 
 and terminating a couple of inches above the nostril, encircles the jaw just 
 behind the angle of the mouth. Other stripes, descending from the eye, 
 join those below each cheek, and unite in a dark band under the throat. 
 
 z 2
 
 340 APPENDIX. 
 
 Another band, commencing on the dewlap, passes between the fore legs, and 
 dividing them, spreads round the white of the belly to the flauks, passing 
 round the outside of the thighs, and, I think, again inside them, above the 
 hock. Tail black, but a small triangle of silvery-grey hairs on the under 
 side, near the base. Mane upright, and of deeper red than the grey of 
 the body, but not so black. A black stripe along the back, spreading 
 partially over the croup, but does not seem so large as in the sketch by 
 Mr. Wolf, in Andersson's book. 
 
 THE WHITE EHINOCEROS (Female). 
 
 Height at shoulders, 6 ft. 5 in. ; height at hump, 6 ft. 9 in. ; height 
 from hip to hind foot, 6 ft. Ts in. Half circumference, 6 ft. 31 in. Horn, 
 length, 3 ft. 11^ in.; shorthorn, 7 inches. Fore foot, 3 feet ; hind foot, 
 2 ft. Og in. Point of upper lip to between ears, 3 ft. 11 in. Ears, to 
 insertion of tail, 2 ft. 2 in. 
 
 THE LECHt: (Male). 
 
 Length from upper lip to back of horns, 1 ft. 1 in. Length to base of 
 neck, 2 ft. 7 in. Length to base of tail, 6 ft. 5 in. Extreme length, 8 feet. 
 Ears, length, 7 inches. Horns, length, 2 feet ; horns, spread, 1 ft. 6 in. 
 Neck, 2 ft. 6 in. ; neck at base, 3 feet. Height, 3 ft. 8 in. ; height behind, 
 4 ft. 3 in. General colour : — White spot round the eye, extending to the 
 ears ; chin, upper lip, throat, breast, and belly, and inside of legs and 
 thighs white ; front of legs, deep sienna-brown ; hind legs ditto. 
 
 THE LECHE (Female). 
 
 Length, from point of lip to ears, 1 ft. 2^ in. Length to base of neck, 
 2 ft. 1^ in. Length to base of tail, 5 ft. 6 in. ; length to point of tail, 
 6 ft. 92 in. Withers, 3 ft. 3 in. Eump, 4 feet. Ears, 6 inches. 
 
 THE BUFFALO (Cow). 
 
 Extreme length, 11 ft. 1 in. Tail, length, 2 ft. 8 in. Height at shoulder, 
 5 ft. 8 in. Height at rump, 6 feet. Girth of body, 9 ft. 8 in. Largest 
 girth of neck, 5 ft, 6 in. ; smallest girth of neck, 3 ft. 4 in. Head, from 
 back of horn to point of tip, 2 ft. 5 in. Ears, 1 ft. 2§ in. Head, length, 
 2 feet. Horns, length, including tip, 5 ft. 10 in. ; hoins, between tips, 
 2 ft. 5 in. Fore leg, smallest girth, 10 inches. Neck and breast, length 
 of, to tip, 3 ft. 7^ in. Eye, 2 inches. Windpipe to tip, 1 ft. 9J in.
 
 APPENDIX. 341 
 
 THE STEENBOK. 
 
 HiGHKAMKAP. 
 
 Height at shoulders, 2 feet ; height at hips, 2 ft. 5 in. Extreme length, 
 3 feet. Ears, broad and long, 6 inches. Head, small and tapering, 7 inches. 
 Throat white; chin white; around eyes white ; inside of thighs and legs 
 (as far as knees and elbows) white ; inside of ears white ; eyes black ; hoofs 
 and horns black, the latter bent forward at tops. General colour :— Pale, 
 red tipped, with white on back ; back ai'ched. Tail, short (scarce 2 inches 
 long). 
 
 THE HARE (Male). 
 
 TSOUBES. 
 
 Height at shoulders, 9J inches. Ears, 5i inches. Head, 4 inches. Tail, 
 3i inches. Extreme length, 1 ft. 81 in. General colour : —Dark ferruginous 
 grey above; belly dirty white ; upper part of tail black. 
 
 THE WHITE RHINOCEROS (Female). 
 
 KOBABA. 
 
 Dimensions : — Depth of upper lip, 85 inches ; length of long horn, 
 3 ft. 2 in. ; length of short horn stump, 10 inches ; length from nostril to 
 eye, 1 ft. 2 in. ; length from short horn to between ears, 1 ft. 8 in. ; space 
 between ears, 10 inches ; length of ears, 1 ft. 2 in. ; length between ears 
 to base of tail, 8 ft. 6 in. ; length of tail, 2 feet ; extreme length from 
 edge of upper lip to end of tail, 14 ft. 3 in. ; height at withers, 6 feet ; 
 height at rump, 6 ft. 3 in. ; actual height at rump, 5 ft. 7 in. ; circum- 
 ference of body at shoulder, 9 ft. 2 in. ; circumference of centre of body, 
 12 ft. 4 in. ; circumference at flank, 10 ft. 2 in. ; circumference of hind 
 foot, 2 ft. 9 in. ; circumference of fore foot. 2 ft. 11 in. ; circumference of 
 head at eye, 5 feet ; breadth between nostrils, 9 inches ; length of nostrils, 
 5 inches ; length of eye, li inches ; girth of leg at pastern joint, 1 ft. 7 in. ; 
 girth of leg at knee, 2 ft. 1 in. ; girth of leg below shoulder, 3 feet. Upper 
 jaw, each sis molars ; lower jaw, each seven molars. The skin is indented 
 with small wrinkles, crossing each other, and having lozenge-shaped spaces 
 between. The anterior horn points forward at an angle of about 45° from a 
 line drawn from the foremost angle of the eye to the posterior angle of the 
 nostril. The circumference at base is 2 ft. liin.; for about one foot up 
 worn and fibrous; at one foot from the base, circumference II5 inches, and 
 from which part, though nearly straight, it seems to have a slight curve 
 backwards. At 2? inches from the base the posterior side seems to bend 
 slowly forward. In front, from the same distance from the base, the point 
 is sooner to an edge, owing probably to fricture on the ground, &c. The 
 second horn is in circumference at the base 1 ft. 7 in. ; height, 10 inches ;
 
 342 ' APPENDIX. 
 
 aud about 1 loot in circumference at the point, slightly curved backwards 
 standing at an angle of 90° with the line before mentioned. In form it is a 
 stump, roughened and worn, apparently with age. The colour of the 
 animal is dull grey, and sometimes tinted with brown in parts where the 
 moisture allows the true colour to be seen, as the nostrils, mouth, round 
 the eyes, &c. The rest of the skin has a dry, whitish appearance, espe- 
 cially when the sides have been chafed by bushes. Three toes on each foot, 
 the middle one larger than the others. Length of middle toe, 9 inches ; 
 breadth, 2^ inches ; side toe, 6 inches long ; breadth, 6 inches. Eyes 
 black. Seven grinders in each upper jaw ; 7 grinders in each lower jaw. 
 No marked difference is perceptible in the conformation of these two heads. 
 The angle between the two horns of Kobaba a little greater, owing to age, 
 than that of Mohogu. In Kobaba the teeth transversely are a little nar- 
 rower than those of Mohogu, making the row shorter by about three- 
 quarters of an inch, and the two small molars in the upper jaw of Kobaba 
 are absent, probably through age. 
 
 THE TSIEPA, OR STEIPED CAT. 
 
 Extreme length, 3 ft. 95 in. Length of tail, 1 ft. 7 in. Height at 
 shoulders, 10 inches. From tip of nose lo insertion of tail, 2 ft. 2h in. 
 General colour : — Eyes, ground colour white, with a yellowish tinge over- 
 lying a grey down ; one black stripe from above the shoulders down the 
 centre of the back to insertion of the tail ; three or more stripes on either 
 side, commencing on the forehead, broken into irregular spots of dark- 
 brown, overlaid with reddish-brown ; these spots, decreasing in size, are 
 continued over the legs and thighs. Ears, dull white. Muzzle white, 
 sides of face black. Chin black, white spot under each eye. Face, pale 
 yellowish-grey, with a dark stripe down the middle ; long whiskers. Front 
 of. legs grey ; back and inside, deep brownish-grey. Tail barred alter- 
 nately with, deep brown and white, with a warm tinge. 
 
 THE EIVER-TURTLE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Length, 10 inches ; height, 3^ inches ; breadth, 5-2 inches. 
 This turtle, which is found in the Botletlie river, has the peculiarity, that 
 the front part of the shell of the belly is divided into two sections, the front 
 one loose and moveable, and the hinder fixed. To the front part, which is 
 more than one-third the length of the whole, is attached a strong cartila- 
 ginous substance, and it is moved by powerful muscles within, so as entirely 
 to shut up the front part of the shell, enclosing and concealing its head, 
 feet, &c. A finger inadvertently placed in this trap-door, -when open, is 
 liable to be cut to the bone, and not easily extricated. A powerful man 
 could not open, nor make the slightest impression on it with an axe he had 
 inserted, and which had been nipped by the reptile.
 
 DESCRIPTIVE NOTES 
 
 OF SOMB OK THE 
 
 BIRDS OF INTERTROPICAL SOUTH AFRICA.
 
 345 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE NOTES OF SO.^IE OF THE BIRDS 
 OF INTERTROPICAL SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 THE JAY, OR POLLER (JIale). 
 Dimensions: — Length, 16 inciius ; to toes, 9 inches; expanse of wings, 
 '23 inches ; the two outer tail features are 4^ iuclies longer than the inner 
 ones. The female in colour is exactly similar, but rather less in measure- 
 ment. Bill black, upper mandible slightly bent at the point. Legs light 
 yellowish-olive. Lips yellow, or raw umber. Top of head ver^' light warm 
 green, passing into light sienna-brown on the back, the two colours being 
 intermixed through their whole length. A Avhite stripe, beginning at the 
 bill, passes over and to the back of the eyes. Whiskers and beard white ; 
 under the eye a small patch of warm brown feathers directed backwards, and 
 ending rather abruptly about three-quarters of an inch at tJie back of the 
 eye, this changes into very delicate pale purjile, or puce, on throat and breast. 
 Hibs of white feathers on throat, forming a number of white lines. Upper 
 wing coverts beautiful ultramarine, of medium depth, mixed with a warm 
 brownish-green on the greater coverts. Three little feath.ers on the wings, 
 beginning with white and tinted with cobalt, passing into ultramarine and 
 black at the tips ; the third being much darker. Quill feather shafts dark- 
 brown, or black ; upper half are in some nearly white, changing in different 
 shades to a beautiful pale cobalt, or very delicate pale green. The points on 
 the outer with rather deep ultramarine, and on inner Avith nearly black ; 
 their colours are reversed on the under side. Upper points and under 
 coverts very pale blue, changing into delicate green. Belly and tail feathers 
 paler blue, shifting with the light into an almost imperceptible shade of 
 green. Two middle feathers of tail tinted on upper side with brownish- 
 green, the rest darker at the tips, and the two outer feathers end in long 
 narrow points, one-thiid of the width of the rest of the feathers, and nearly 
 black. Bars of tail feathers, also nearly black. Food, insects, such as white 
 ants. Rump feathers medium ultramarine, the feathers of the back over- 
 lap the wings on each side, excepting on the quill feathers, where the 
 difference of colour is ver}' strongly marked, and while the feathers of back 
 overlap the wings, all these colours pass into each other by the most gentle 
 and almost imperceptible gradations. 
 
 THE FLYCATCHER. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 9 inches ; from bill to tail, 8 inches ; 
 from bill lo toes, Tg inches; bill, three-quarters of an inch, hooked at
 
 346 APPENDIX. 
 
 point, and Blightly festooned. General colour, grey. Scanty feathers on 
 back. Head darker towards middle ; tail feathers dark grey, closely barred 
 with lighter grey ; a white stripe runs between two black ones from the 
 mandible over the eyes to back of head, but not joining. Wings and 
 coverts, rich cinnamon. Quills and secondaries brown-edged with cinnamon. 
 Belly, vent, throat, &c., from dirty white, pale grey, or dull yellow. The 
 outer tail feathers nearly black, tipped with white and edged with white. 
 Legs leaden grey. Bill horn colour. Under-wing coverts light grey. 
 Eyes brown. 
 
 A SPECIES OF SPKEW. 
 
 Bluish-green, or steel, gloss. Long tail, which it often elevates. The 
 body and tail of a purple, golden gloss, and barred. There are two other 
 kinds, one larger, with longer tail ; the other small, with swallow tail. 
 
 THE CRESTED EAGLE. 
 
 Ma'kkotloe of the Sechuaxa. 
 
 Bluish-slate colour. Tips of wings black. Legs and belly white. Beak 
 and tarsus yellow ; very large crest, parted in the middle, seems to be about 
 6 feet from tip to tip. The first of the kind I have seen. 
 
 THE FRUIT-EATER. 
 
 (Turdus Capensis.) 
 
 Dimensions: — From bill to toes, nearly 7 inches; from bill to tail, 
 71 inches. 'Jail sepia-brown. Head sepia-brown, deepening into black on 
 forehead. Body brownish-grey. Vent yellow. Breast grey, deepening 
 into black under throat. Abdomen dirty white. Iris dark yellow, or sherry 
 brown, a cerum of dark orange around the eyes. Bill black, slightly curved, 
 three-quarters of an inch long. Legs dull black. Feathers of head erectile, 
 which gives the head a larger appearance. 
 
 Female similar, but duller, colour ; had a long articulated kind of tape- 
 worm inside, 6 inches in length. Bird very lean ; small seeds in the crop. 
 
 THE WIDGEON. 
 
 (Podicej)s minor.') 
 Dimensious : — Expanse of wings, 1 ft. 3 in. ; lioin bill to tail, 9 inches. 
 Eyes gi'ey. Belly and throat glossy satin-white. Crown of head, and back 
 of neck and back, light sepia-brown. Wing coverts ilark sej^ia brown or
 
 APPENDIX. 347 
 
 grey, being a mixture of the lighter and darker filaments. Under-coverts 
 white. Quill feathers wliite, and largely tipped with brown or dark grey. 
 Shafts brown. No perceptible tail. Feet olive. Bill brown. Upi^er man- 
 dible brown, partially edged with dirty yellow. Lower mandible dirty 
 yellow. Bill shaped like that of a Rail. They carry their rump high when 
 swimming, dive with great facility. They never rise above the surface of 
 the water in their flight, and seem to obtain support both with their feet 
 and tips of their wings. They are found in rain pools, sometimes 100 miles 
 or more from any river, and breed there. How they get back to the river 
 I do not know ; they must go at night, as nobody sees them. Sides grey. 
 Under the wings a light grey mixture. The same in the female, only 
 lighter. 
 
 THE WHITE-HEADED EAGLE. 
 
 {Aquila Pandloii.) 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 6 ft. 4 in. ; length from beak to claws, 
 3 feet. Wing coverts rich brown. Wings and back dark-brown. Breast 
 reddish-brown. Head, neck, and breast white. Legs dark grisly yellow. 
 Beak yellow, with black point. Yellow cerum extends to base of bill 
 round the eyes. Litters a very loud sound, resembling an Ow-owlie. Feeds 
 on fish, &c., and robs the Pelican and other birds of prey. Sits upright. 
 
 THE HERON. 
 
 {Ardea atricolUs.) 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 5 feet ; length, from bill to tail, 
 3 ft. 1 in. ; length from bill to toes, 3 ft. 8 in. Slaty or bluish-grey 
 colour, darker on the quills and tail, warmer and purplish on the wing 
 coverts, and richer on the back and neck, with almost indistinct flushing of 
 green. Throat, breast, belly, and thiglis white, the latter greyish ; under- 
 wings, coverts, and tail, greyish-white. Underneath, the quill feathers 
 show white through the upper half. liCgs dark grey. Upper maudible 
 dark greenish-grey. Under mandible pale grey. Cerum round the eye 
 pale chrome-yellow. Shoulder knots white. 
 
 THE EEED HAWK (a kind of Cuckoo). 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 18 inches ; length, 16 inches. Beak 
 curved, and legs black. Crown of the head nearly black, in the male 
 having a purple-bluish gloss. John Laing says this is the Jungle Crow of 
 India. Tail barred with grey. Brown on back (in the male) tinged with 
 greenish gloss. Cinnamon brown on wings. Tail dark-brown. Bill,
 
 348 APPENDIX. 
 
 legs, and throat, dirty vvliite. Eyes bright red. Feathers thin, the quills 
 strong. Food, grasshoppers, &c. It has a very heavy clumsy flight, and 
 generally flies into the reeds when alarmed. Two claws in front, and two 
 behind ; the inner ones longest. 
 
 THE LAEK. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 11 inches ; length from bill to tail, 
 G2 inches ; length from bill to toes, 65 inches. Throat, belly, vent, &c., 
 dirty white. Breast speckled grey. Quill feathers and secondaries brown, 
 largely edged all round with light reddish-brown. Quill shafts black. 
 Tail largely edged all round with light reddish -brown. All the other 
 feathers of the head, neck, back, and wings, light grey, and darker 
 down the middle, especially the greater and upper-wing coverts. Under- 
 wing coverts dull reddish-brown ; insides yellow. Bill light horn colour, 
 half an inch long. Legs dull reddish-gre}\ Feathers covering the orifice 
 of ears reddish-brown. 
 
 THE LINKET (Male). 
 
 I'ooi Bekje. 
 
 (^Astrildof.^ 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 65 inches ; length, 51 inches : tail, 
 
 3 inches ; bill, quarter of an inch. Crown of head, breast, and abdomen, 
 
 dark cinnamon colour. Dark-brown under the tln'oat and by the vent. 
 
 Side of face bright purple. Forehead cobalt. Tail-coverts, upper and 
 
 under, ultramarine. Tail feathers (five pairs) dark-brown, with blue tint, 
 
 each pair a little shorter than the other. Eyes deep vermilion. Feathers 
 
 of the wings dark grey, edged with reddish-brown. Bill red. Eyes brown. 
 
 Cerum vermilion. 
 
 Female smaller. Back and wings grey. Breast and belly light-brown 
 and reddish-yellow, darker on head. Tail-coverts ultramarine. Cheeks 
 purple. Foreh^d cobalt. Eyes, bill, cennn, and legs as in the male. 
 
 THE BUSH PIGEON, or DOVE. 
 
 {Columba guinea.^ 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 1 ft. 10 in. ; length from bill to tail, 
 1 ft. 2 in. General colour dark grey-slate. Throat, neck, lower parts of 
 back and breast bluish-slate and light purple or puce tint. Tail feathers 
 dark grey, tipped with light ash. Legs dull purple. Bill dull black. 
 Purple cerum round the eyes. Black glossy crescent back of neck. Quill 
 feathers darker grey.
 
 APPENDIX. 349 
 
 THE OWL. 
 
 Dimeusious : — Exj^ause of wings, 3 ft. 3 in. ; length from beak to claws, 
 1 foot ; length from back of head to tail, 1 foot ; length over the head to 
 beak, 4 inches. Long-legged (monkey-faced Barn Owl). Face feathers 
 pale grey, scanty, covered or edged with vandyke brown, springing from 
 aroimd the eyes. Outer edge, from orifice of ear, white. General colour 
 raw or bare sienna. Upper parts grey (pepper and salt) with long spots, 
 half white and half black. Quill feathers barred with dark grey. Tail 
 ditto. Eyes bluish-black, and small. The inner or covered parts of quill 
 feathers white. Tarsus feathered, down to the toes, which are covered with 
 hairs. Beak dull white. Feet grey. 
 
 THE LARGE PHEASANT. 
 
 KOLEKWEBELO. 
 
 (^Francolinus tswainsoni.) 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 2 feet; length from beak to tail, 
 1 ft. 3 in. Dark grey. Quill feathers partially speckled. Breast feathers 
 edged with brown. Neck feathers painted black down middle. Throat 
 bare red. Skin, cheek, and round the eyes, ditto. Legs black. Eyes 
 dull brown. Upper mandible black, corners red. Spurs rounded at point. 
 (The female has a bill of light horn colour. The legs lead colour.) 
 
 THE KITE. 
 
 {Milvus ater parisiticus.) 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 4 ft. 1 in. ; length from bill to tail, 
 1 ft. 9 in. ; length from bill to toes, 1 ft. 6 in. Quill feathers deep sepia- 
 brown. Coverts, back, tail, and upper parts generally, dusky brown ; the 
 feathers of head and neck longitudinally striped with sepia-brown down 
 the middle ; all, excepting the outer tail feathers, barred. Feathers of the 
 belly have a warmer tinge, shafts black. Lip yellow. Bill ditto, inclin- 
 ing to orange. Eyes chrome. 
 
 THE GROSBEAK, oe SPARROW. 
 
 {Loxia socius.) 
 Forehead dark sepia-brown. Crown, neck, cheeks, and back pale ashy- 
 brown. Wings and tail sepia-brown. Greater coverts gently tipped with 
 white. Secondaries edged with white, and quills very slightly. Tail tipped 
 with white. A broad, horizontal white dash over the eyes. Kump feathers 
 white. Belly, vent, and throat white. Bill robust, and grey. Legs and 
 claws grey.
 
 350 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE BLACKBIRD. 
 
 (^^accecula AJjnna.) 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 11 inches ; length from bill to tail, 
 7 inches; length from bill to toes, 7 inches. Eyes dull brown. Body- 
 black. Quills deep vandyke brown. Upper wing-coverts white. A white 
 line from forehead traversing round the crown, and nearly joining at back 
 of head. Bill and legs black. 
 
 THE FLY-CATCHER. 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 14 inches; length from bill to tail, 
 9 inches ; length from bill to toes, 7 inches ; bill, three-quarters of an 
 inch long. Eather i-obust. Deep sepia-brown, becoming gradually paler 
 towards extremity of wings. Head, back, tail, and hinder parts, bluish 
 floss (of steel). Throat, breast, and belly, dull. Black feathers scanty on 
 belly and breast, the latter largely tipped with white. Some of under- 
 wing coverts ditto. Upper mandible slightly hooked at point, and has a 
 small tooth and bristles. Legs black. Sharp claws. Swallow tail. 
 Greater wing coverts tipped with black, and one or two outer of the lesser 
 coverts perfectly black. 
 
 THE KORHAAN, or KNORHAAN. 
 
 Otis. 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 4 feet ; height from bill to toes, 1 ft. 83 in. ; 
 tail, 1 ft. 2 in. Neck long and slender. Bill, brown above, greenish- 
 yellow below. Eyes yellow. A bunch of scanty feathers around orifice of 
 large ears. Cerum around eye yellow. Eyebrows protruding ; a black 
 circular line extends from each eye round the back of head. Crown of 
 head grey, formed by the mixture of creamy yellow and deep sienna-brown, 
 in which the latter preponderates ; all the feathers, excepting their edges, 
 being of that colour. The feathers of the neck grey, made of creamy 
 yellow and minute crescent-shaped bars of brown. The feathers of the 
 back and tail barred with transverse, lozenge-shaped, and triangular bars, 
 joined to each other by a longitudinal line of brown, the remaining parts 
 of each feather being edged with creamy yellow, and irregularly filled 
 up with crescent-shaped bars, which give it an appearance, in some 
 places, of damask. Lesser wing coverts, pure white. The greater 
 coverts near the back of the same colour with the back, but graduated 
 until near the wrists, where it ends. Greater coverts on outer joints 
 pale-brown at base, fading into white, with slight tinge of purple, then 
 barred with black, excepting two central ones, and largely tipped with 
 black, which is again irregularly edged or spotted Avith white. Quill 
 feathers very rich brown ; great part of each feather being white in the
 
 APPENDIX. 351 
 
 middle, and gradually lessening until into the secondaries, where they 
 are only barred with white, and at length only streaked and spotted 
 Belly glossy black, and very deep brown ; breast ditto, joined by a longi- 
 tudinal black stripe down the throat. Under-wing coverts black, the 
 larger ones brown. Wing-bone and breast-bone bare. Legs long, dull 
 yellow. Toes three. Flies like a goose. The tips of the wings seem to 
 be turned ujjward. 
 
 THE CHUA CHUNEA. 
 
 (^Buceros hastatus) [Toucan']. 
 Dimensions : — Expansion of wings, 2 ft. 2 in. ; length, 1 ft. 7 in. ; beak, 
 3 inches long. General colour of feathers light sepia-brown, with the edges 
 whiter. Feathers on the head rather long, forming a crest. A white strip, 
 beginning above the eye, about three-eighths of an inch broad, continuing 
 to the back of the head. Feathers under the throat rather more grey. 
 Belly and legs nearly white, mixed slightly with pale brown. Tail and 
 quill feathers rather darker brown, edged with white. The two central 
 feathers of the tail have strong white ribs, and they, as well as the two 
 outer feathers, are brown down to the tips. The other six feathers, three 
 on each side the centre, are tipped with white ; tarsus and claws dark-brown 
 or dull black, with a white singular spot on the upper mandible ; broader 
 near the edge ; about an inch long, and tapering to a point. Nostril a 
 small round hole near the base of the upper mandible. The beak curved. 
 The upper mandible deepest, and having a kind of hump on it commencing 
 at the base and extending half-way down. Eyes reddish-brown, very 
 small, portion of naked skin round them. 
 
 THE MOCKING-BIED. 
 
 (Sacctla (tnanta.) 
 Dimensions : — From bill to toes, 7 inches ; from bill to tail, 7 inches ; ex- 
 panse of wings, 1 foot. Crown of head dark-brown, nearly black. A white 
 streak from upper base of beak over to the back of eyes. Throat and sides 
 of neck white. Breast black. Belly dirty white. Thighs and sides 
 yellowish-brown. Wings paler brown. Back warmer brown, and upper 
 wing coverts ditto. Back of head and neck dusky brown. Under coverts 
 dirty white. Tail black, and at base white. Coverts white. Bill and 
 legs dark-brown, or grey. Eyes brown. Bill slightly curved at tip, and 
 moderately slend(>r. Under tail coverts yellowish-brown. Called by the 
 Boers, in Natal, Koggelaar.
 
 352 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE EAGLE, ok other VULTURINE BIED. 
 
 (Lummergeyer.) 
 Like the Pe'teke in shape, but different in colour. Dimensions : — 
 Expanse of wings, 6 feet ; length from bill to tail, 2 ft. 3i in. ; bill to 
 toes, 2 ft. 6 in. Eyes fiery yellow. Bill blue, or greenish-grey. Pale 
 bluish-grey cerum from the eye to base of bill, with a few scattered hairs. 
 Forehead feathered. Nostril transverse. Bill short, but gaped large and 
 long. Feathers of the whole body dark-brown, edged with a warmer 
 brown. Quills and secondaries dark brownish-grey or dusky black. Pale 
 imderneath, but the under-wing coverts are of the same uniform colour of 
 the body. Legs pale bluish-grey. Feathered half-way down tarsal joint, 
 and armed with strong black claws. Tail brownish-grey. 
 
 LE BATTALEUK. 
 
 (Pe'teke.) 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 5 ft. 8 in. ; length from beak to tail, 
 1 ft. 9 in. ; from head to feet, 1 ft. 2 in. ; from beak to feet, 2 ft. 2 in. 
 Ashy-brown upper-wing coverts. Greater coverts deep sepia-brown. Quills 
 biownish-grey, deepening nearly into black at the tips. Under wings 
 white. Quill feathers much longer than the secondaries. Beak horn 
 colour at the point, and the rest orange colour, deepening into red under 
 the eyes. Feathers of the back very light reddish-brown. 
 
 THE GOOSE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Breadth of wings, 5 ft. 6 in. ; feet, 2 ft. 5 in. ; brown, 
 speckled. Upper part of the tail and centre part of the back black. Neck, 
 breast, and sides white, vandyked with brown. Legs amber. Cheeks and 
 face whitish. Bright brown stripe across the face and around the eyes. 
 Crown of head brown. Bill light horn colour. Legs flesh colour. Wings 
 white, with black stripe near the ends. Outer quill feathers black. Secon- 
 daries glossy green (four inmost ones). 
 
 THE SMALL BEE-EATER (Male). 
 
 (Merops apiaster.') 
 
 Dimensions : — Breadth of wings, 10 inches ; length from beak to tail, 
 
 7 inches ; length of beak, 1 inch. Head, neck, back, tail, and shoulders, 
 
 bright metallic green. Throat yellow. Round the eyes black, which 
 
 extends to back of head. Above the eye a patch of celestial blue. Crescent-
 
 APPENDIX. 353 
 
 shaped black spot on breast, fading into brown and dull reddish-j-ellow, 
 tinged over with green. Quill feathers and tail feathers reddish-yellow, 
 tipped with black. 
 
 THE WHITE IBIS. 
 
 Qhis religiosa.) 
 Dimensions :— Expanse of wings, 4 ft. 4 in. ; from bill to tail, 2 ft. 7 in. ; 
 bill to toes, 2 ft, 10 in. ; beak, 8 inches, nearly quadrangular, with rounded 
 ridc^e above nostrils ; linear three-quarters of an inch long. Head and 
 neck scantily covered with black and white short feathers. Skin visible. 
 Head more feathered. Eyes grey. Body white. Bill black. The shafts 
 of quills and secondaries partially streaked with black down the middle, 
 and tipped with brownish-black (dull), with a shifting gloss of brown 
 purple or green. Some of the secondaries nearest the body have the web 
 of the feathers long, scant, and loose, and of the same colour as tip of 
 wings. 
 
 THE DIKKOP (a kind of Plover, or Bittern [?] ). 
 ( CEdenamus.) 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 2 ft. 4 in. ; from bill to tail, 1 ft. ii in. ; 
 from bill to toes, 1 ft. 62 in. Eyes large, chrome yellow. Yellow cerum. 
 Bill black ; yellow at base. Legs pale dull yellow, feathered half-way 
 down tarsal -joint ; yellow at back and under toes ; dark sepia-brown in 
 front. Eyelids white. A white spot at back of ear. A triangular black 
 patch from under mandible to throat. Belly white. Ground colour of all 
 the other j^arts of the body yellowish-brown. On the head, neck, and 
 breast, marked longitudinally with dark sepia-brown. Back and tail, 
 moreover, barred transversely. Greater wing-coverts edged with dull 
 white. Under ditto lighter, becoming white towards the ends. Quill 
 feathers dark-brown ; three outer ones barred, with patch of white across 
 the middle; from the sixth to the ninth ditto also tipped with white. 
 Secondaries lighter towards the roots or under the coverts. Underneath 
 the quills appear white, tipped with grey. Tail underneath yellowish or 
 dark cream. 
 
 THE CEOW. 
 
 Lehakabi, Sechuana. 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 3 ft. 4 in. ; from bill to toes, 1 ft. 7 in. ; 
 from bill to tail, 1 ft. 7i in. ; bill, 2x inches long from the eye. Beak and 
 legs black. Long and bushy hairs, laying flat on upper mandible, closing 
 the nostril ; a few at base of lower mandible, and before the eyes, which 
 are dull brown. General colour inky black, with a purple metallic gloss, 
 
 VOL. II. 2 A
 
 354 APPENDIX. 
 
 which is darker and richer on wing-coverts. Broad band of white across 
 from middle of back to bacli of head, the upper line then stretching round 
 the neck to the breast, forms a broader continuation to below breast-bone, 
 and extending to under the arms on either side. Tail underneath rather 
 dusky black. Feathers on breast margin of white, also edged with white. 
 The skin is of a pink colour; bare under the bones of wings; and, to a 
 slight extent, upon the wrist also. Legs black. Outer and middle toe 
 connected by a web extending to the first joint. Smaller web between 
 middle and inner toe. 
 
 THE COMMON GUINEA-HEN. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 2 ft. 10 in. ; length, 2 ft. 2 in. Bill, 
 upper mandible bluish-brown, with reddish tint at base, and lighter at tip; 
 under mandible pale, dull, slaty-blue. Crown, comb, and point of ear- 
 drops dark-red, iris brown, cerum of neck and throat pale purple, lighter 
 around the eyes. Legs rich brown on the front scales, grey behind. They 
 are highly gregarious in the dry season, several hundreds being found in one 
 flock. They graze far from water during the day, going over fifteen or 
 twenty miles before they return to water. They feed on grass, insects, 
 grain, &c., hke fowls ; lay about thirty eggs each, dull white, with very 
 pale grey speckles ; are easily domesticated ; utter a rather sharp, discor- 
 dant, metallic sound, something like a rapid succession of strokes on iron, 
 &c. They roost in mimosa or other tall thorn-trees, for fear of leopards, &c. 
 Sometimes they do without water at mid-day, resting under the shade of 
 trees, and when the greatest heat is passed they begin to feed towards the 
 water, which may often be found by following them, but not always with 
 success. 
 
 THE MUSCOVY GOOSE. 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 5 ft. 10 in, ; from head to tail, 3 ft. 3^ in. ; 
 legs to point of middle toe, 1 ft. 7 in. General colour: — back dark-brown, 
 with a green and purple gloss ; quill feathers ditto ; quills white ; lesser 
 wing-coverts white, greater wing-coverts dark-brown, with green and 
 purple gloss, but white in the middle ; thighs, neck, and throat brown, 
 with dark gloss ; cheeks white ; eyes dark-brown ; bill flesh-colour, with 
 wart-like excrescences very formidable, having protuberances on the 
 shoulder joints an inch long ; legs to within an inch of the tarsus joint 
 whit«, the rest pink. The male weighs 15 lbs. 
 
 THE HERON. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 4 ft. ; from bill to tail, 3ft. 1 in. ; legs, 
 1 ft, 9 in. long. General colour on back dark slate. Upper- wing coverts 
 grey, tinged with bright brown. Quill feathers dark-brown, with greenish
 
 APPENDIX. 355 
 
 gloss. Breast and belly a mixture of dark chocolate brown and dark slaty- 
 blue ; under the wings light brown. Neck light brown, with a longitudinal 
 stripe of dark blue down each side of the neck. Throat white. Breast 
 feathers and under part of the neck a mixture of light-brown, white in the 
 centre and dull black. Iris chrome-yellow. Upper mandible brown, edged 
 with yellow. Arc greenish-yellow. Under mandible yellow. Claws crested. 
 
 THE KODZAEA (Male). 
 {Promerops eryihrorynclius.') 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 1 ft. 4 in. ; from bill to feet, 1 ft. 4 in. 
 Beak light vermilion red, slender and decimated, slightly curved, 1^ inches 
 long. Legs mulberry, short, hawk-like, compressed. Eyes brown. Ten tail 
 feathers, longest 9 inches, dark blue, with purple gloss, with shady trans- 
 verse bars, each pair shorter than the other, and the four underneath pairs 
 marked obliquely across, near the ends, with an oblong white spot, each 
 half presenting the appearance of having been a little shifted from the other 
 by the quills cutting across the middle. The head dark, glossy, steel- 
 colour, with flashings of metallic green and gold. Back, breast, and belly 
 ditto, but lighter, with more of gold. Quill feathers glossy steel-colour, 
 greener underneath, barred across the middle, with large white spot. Six of 
 greater wing-coverts tipped with white ; upper-wing coverts purple ; under 
 coverts steel gloss, with flashings of green and purple. The colours of this 
 bird are so variable with the light in which it is seen, that it is difiScult to 
 give a better description of it. 
 
 THE KODZAEA (Female). 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 11^ inches; length from bill to tail, 
 lOJ inches-; length from bill to feet, 8 inches ; length of tail, nearly If inches. 
 Colour like the male, though not so rich ; the feathers of the greater wing 
 coverts on either side white, besides the quill feathers having a white spot 
 as in the male ; and two outside tail feathers have a white spot at the 
 extremity. Eyes dull black. Bill ditto. Legs-dark brown. Bill more bent 
 than in the male. 
 
 THE PLOVEE. 
 
 Setula Tsipi. 
 ( Vanellus arimatus.) 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 2 ft. 2 in. ; height from bill to toes, 
 1 ft. 4 in. ; length from bill to tail, 1 ft. 1 in. Crown of head and forehead 
 white ; back of neck to shoulders white. Back rich sepia-brown and black, 
 with green gloss. Upper-wing coverts pale ashy-grey ; under coverts 
 white ; quills dark sepia-brown or black, white at the roots, the white in- 
 
 2 A 2
 
 356 APPENDIX. 
 
 creasing in the secondaries until it preponderates, leaving them only tipped 
 (the inner ones). Tail white, largely tipped with black. Breast and 
 throat black. Legs and bill black. Bill 1 inch long. A sharp, curved, 
 brown spur on each wing, tipped with white, and half an inch long. 
 
 THE TSABA GUSHOA. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 1 ft. 2 in. ; length from bill to tail, 10 
 inches ; height from bill to toes, 83 inches ; beak, three-quarters of an inch 
 long. Beak red. Legs dull reddish-yellow, and scaled. Eyes umber-brown. 
 Claws brown. General colour, dull black all over, but the feathers at the 
 roots are white on the breast, abdomen, and vent, and grey on the back 
 and rump, so that wherever the tips of the feathers are disturbed, white or 
 grey spots appear, imparting the appearance of wMte or grey feathers : the 
 quill feathers may be considered dull white, largely tipj^ed with brown, and 
 a streak of brown all along the outer edge of quill shafts. Bill slightly 
 curved on upper mandible, strong, flat below, and rounded above. 
 
 THE QUEQUE. 
 
 {Protincola.) 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 19 inches ; length from bill to tail, 
 8 inches ; length from bill to toes, 10 inches. A kind of Plover or Snipe. 
 Two distinct rings of black around the breast to bulk between shoulders, 
 the other feathers of the back, tail, &c., sepia-brown, with light edging, 
 divided from the central marking by a bold, crescent-shaped line of rich 
 dark sepia. Quill feathers darli sepia. Secondaries warmer sepia, with a 
 darker brown marking all around near the outer edge of the feathers, and 
 the inner edging a dull white, like the belly, tail, &c. (underneath). The 
 feathers of the head neck, &c., having the markings of those on the back, 
 &c., quite distinct, but small, and on the throat and breast small longitu- 
 dinal streaks of brown on a very dull yellow or dirty white, making a 
 pretty mixture. Bill small, slightly curved, black, and quarter of an inch 
 long. Eyes dull brown. Legs and feet like a Plover. Soars like a Swift. 
 
 THE TOUCAN. 
 
 HOTO. 
 
 Dimensions ."—Expanse of wings, 33 inches ; length from bill to toes, 
 17 inches ; length from bill to tail, 20J inches ; length of bill, 3i inches ; 
 depth of bill at base, quarter of an inch. Eyes pale Naples yellow. General 
 colour light sepia-brown. Quills, secondaries, and tail, dark sepia-brown, 
 and all the feathers of wings and tail have a light edging. Bill burnt 
 sienna. Legs dark-brown. Slow and clumsy flight, and easily caught on
 
 APPENDIX. 357 
 
 a plain, as they do not fly above a certain distance. They are found in 
 famiUes of ten to fifteen, and often seem to try their wings by flying off, on, 
 and over trees. The female is shut up in the nest by the male until the 
 young are hatched, and fed by him. They lay from four to six eggs. The 
 nest is made in the hollow of decayed trees. Belly and vent white. 
 
 THE KAFFIR CRANE. 
 
 Mawani. 
 Dimensions :— Expanse of wings, 6 ft. 3 in. ; height from bill to toes, 
 4 ft. 2| in. ; height from bill to tail, 3 ft. 5 in. Neck, back, belly, and 
 breast neutral grey, lighter on the neck and darker on the back. Tail nearly 
 black. Feathers short and upright, in the crown of head deep black. Crest 
 85 inches of narrow, flat-twisted filaments of yellow. On each cheek a 
 large patch of smooth marked white skin. Iris white. Quill feathers dull 
 black. Secondaries deep cinnamon-brown. Upper-wing coverts white. 
 Greater wing coverts tinge of yellow on inner ones. Under-wing coverts 
 white. Legs dull black. Bill black. 
 
 THE PHEASANT (Male). 
 
 Feancolin. 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 1ft. lOin. ; length from bill to tail, 
 1 foot; length from bill to toes, 1 ft. 5 in. Beak red. Cerum yellow. 
 Tarsi red. Eyes brown. The short feathers at base of beak are black. 
 Feathers of head, neck, throat, &c., dull black, and light ash-coloured 
 crescent-sliaped bars. General colour pepper-and-salt, or speckled grey. 
 
 THE LONG-TAILED BLACK BUTCHER-BIRD. 
 
 (^Lanius melanoleucos.) 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 1 ft. 4 in. ; length from bill to tail, 
 1 ft. 5 in. ; length of tail feathers, 1 foot. General colour black. Quill 
 feathers white half way from the base, the remaining half black tipped 
 with white. A white band stretching from the base of shoulder and going 
 over the rump. Eyes dull black. 
 
 THE PEEWIT. 
 
 Vanellus. 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 25 inches, slightly spurred ; length, 
 12 inches. Throat white, merging into ashy-brown, deepening into a 
 black band across the breast. Abdomen white, joining the black with a
 
 858 APPENDIX. 
 
 sharp, well-defined edge. A black band from forehead over the eyes, joining 
 it back of neck, within which the crown of head is white, with oblong dull 
 black spot. General colour ashy-grey. Upper-wing coverts grey. Greater 
 coverts white. Under coverts white. Quill featliers half white at base, 
 other half black. Tail white, with broad black transverse band. Ti[)s 
 white. Tail coverts white. Legs deep pink. Bill at base pink, point 
 blackish-brown. Middle of belly white. Large brown patch on breast. 
 
 THE LARGE QUAIL (Male). 
 
 Dimensions : — Breadth of wings, 13 inches ; length from bill to tail, 
 72 inches. General colour : — Breast and throat black ; crescent-shaped white 
 streak from ears under the throat, another passing above the eyes to back 
 of head. Under tlie wings, pale grey or ash-colour. Belly feathers rich 
 brown, with black down the middle. Back blackish-brown, each feather 
 having a yellow stripe down the middle, and barred with three yellowish 
 transverse bars across. Quill feathers pale brown. Wing coverts brown. 
 Quill shafts white, and barred several times across. Crown of the head 
 black, parted in the middle with yellowish feathers tinged with brown. 
 Eyes reddish-brown or hazel. Legs yellow. Bill black. 
 
 THE LAEGE QUAIL (Female). 
 
 Dimensions : — Breadth of wings, 14 inches ; length from bill to tail, 
 8 inches. Very similar to the male bird, but lighter in colour, and no black 
 on the breast or throat. Bill horn colour. Legs dull yellow. Crown of 
 head dark-brown, parted with pale stripe as the male. Breast and bill 
 feathers uniform pale reddish- brown, barred, getting paler towards the 
 throat, which has an incomplete black crescent from under each eye. 
 
 THE PAREOT OF THE LAKE. 
 
 {Psittacus Meyeri.) 
 
 Dimensions : — Tail, 7 inches. Head and neck to middle of back dark 
 grey. U'hroat and breast a little paler. Lower half of back bluish-green. 
 Tail brown. Wings dark grey, uniform with body. Shoulders orange 
 yi'llow, which is brighter under wing coverts, and extending as far as the 
 bone. From the breast to the tail the feathers are largely tipped with 
 bluish metallic green. Legs black, thick, and scaly. Bill and claws dark- 
 brown horn colour. 
 .Male similar, but hues brighter.
 
 APPENDIX. 859 
 
 THE EAIL. 
 
 (^Para Africana.) 
 Dimensions: — Stilt legs, 10 inches long; height from beak to toes, 
 1 ft. 5 in. ; expanse of wings, 1 ft. 6 in. Throat and cheeks white. Breast 
 yellow ; collar round neck at the breast edged with black. Crown of head 
 to back of neck black. Quill feathers bbick, or invisible green. Beak and 
 le'_'s lead-colour. Upper mandible joined by a bluish cerum, extending 
 from top of forehead. Eyes black. 
 
 THE THRUSH. 
 
 (^Tardus strepitans.) 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 15 inches ; height from bill to toes, 
 9 2 inches ; length from bill to tail, 9 inches. Back ash-colour. The 
 featliers of the breast and sides patched with black, in the middle slightly 
 tinged with brownish-yellow. Belly white. Black circle round the ears. 
 Yellowish legs. Upper mandible black; lower yellow. Quill featliers 
 dull yellow or cream half way down on tlie inner side, and the rest light 
 brown, out of which branches a line which continues down the side of neck 
 and nearly joining under the throat. Eyes dark -brown. 
 
 TSABA GUSHOA. 
 Death Scaree. 
 Black all over. Size of a thrush. Bill dark red. Legs dark. 
 
 THE SHOGOTSANI. 
 
 Hawk. 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 1 ft. 11^ in. Height, 1 ft. 2 in. Legs 
 yellow. Beak blnck, yellow base. General colour slate-grey, edged with 
 bricrht brown. Wing feathers edged with white, barred with black. "Wing 
 coverts bari-ed with white. Belly and legs white, barred with brown. 
 Breast and head feathers brown down the middle. Eyes yellow. Tail 
 barred black. Wings underneath very much barred. 
 
 A VULTURINE BIRD, called THE WHITE CROW. 
 
 To be met with near the coast, and on the beach in Damara Land. 
 
 Dimensions :— Expanse of wings, 6 feet ; from beak to tail, 2 ft. 6 in. ; 
 from beak to toes, 2 ft. 2 in. ; length of legs, 1 foot ; length of neck, 
 from breast-bone, 9 inches ; length of bill, 3^ inches. The bill horn colour, 
 hooked and slender, horn colour for 1 inch at the tip, the remainder, in-
 
 360 APPENDIX. 
 
 eluding face and throat to the back of eyes, an orange cerum, darker 
 above. Web of crown feathers scanty. General colour white. Wings dark 
 brownish-grey, except the upper and under coverts, which are white, with 
 a broad dash of dirty white or pale grey on the outer web of the quills 
 and secondaries. It has a purplish tint on the main parts of the wing. 
 Webs of breast and ventral feathers scanty. Tail wedge-shaped. Legs 
 flesh-colour. Claws light horn colour. Third quill feather is the longest. 
 Nostrils large and linear. Bill slender. 
 
 THE LAEGE BEOWN VULTUEE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 10 feet ; length to tail, 4 ft. 3 in, ; 
 length to toes, 4 ft, 1^ in. It has very massive powerful mandibles, of a 
 light dull horn colour, changing into bluish-grey at base, dark brown on 
 the upper one. Head and neck bare, and of a red flesh colour, lighter on 
 forehead, and white around the eyes. Face blotched with red ; cheeks, and 
 throat purple, changing into bluish-grey or lead colour at base of bill. 
 Light blue-grey cerum or belt at base of upper mandible, widening into 
 the forehead, where it is more than an inch broad. A few short hairs on 
 head. Bristles in front of eyes, and under throat or chin more numerously. 
 Nostrils transverse. Eyes brown. Legs blue-grey. Claws large and black. 
 General colour rich dark-brown feathers, edged with warmer brown. 
 Lower part of neck brown ; feathers protrude through thick white down ; 
 front of neck short glossy brown feathers, parted in the middle, and show- 
 ing on either side the thick white down ; the breast covered with thick 
 white down. White down under the wings. The long narrow feathers of 
 the breast and belly are edged with warm brown, and the lower half is 
 broad and downy. Thighs and vent thick white or dirty white down. 
 Legs feathered to within 2 inches of the toes, which makes the bird look as 
 if he had fur drawers on. This is the Vulture which feeds the Bushmen 
 and Berg-Damaras, 
 
 DAEK-BEOWN COMMON VULTUEE (Male). 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 5 feet ; from head to toes, 2 ft. 5 in. ; 
 from head to tail, 2 ft. 5 in. Back of head and neck covered with brownish 
 down, underneath bare flesh colour. Breast white down underneath. Legs 
 white down, with sprinkling of coarse black feathers. Long slender man- 
 dibles, grey flesh colour at base. 
 
 THE VULTUEE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 8 feet ; from beak to tail and toes, 
 3 ft. 10 in. Dark-brown, or dull black. Thighs covered with thick white 
 down. Head and neck bare. Purple skin. Cheeks slate. Pale greyish-
 
 APPENDIX. 361 
 
 blue legs. Very powerful thick homy mandibles, and blue talons. Breast 
 covered with thick whitish down, over which brown, long, narrow feathers. 
 Bristles under throat, and few hairs over eyes and head. 
 
 THE WHITE-HEADED BLACK VULTUEE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 6 ft. 5 in. ; from bill to tail, 3 ft. 1 in. ; 
 from beak to toes, 3 ft. 2 in. Beak dull bluish-grey. Eyes black. Breast 
 and neck white down, covered with loose black feathers. Thick white 
 down under the Avings. Inner quill feathers under the wings white, 
 gradually getting darker towards the end. Tail black. 
 
 THE EAGLE. 
 
 '' Dimensions : — From tip to tip, 5 ft. 6 in. ; extreme length, 2 ft. 2 in. ; to 
 the claws, 2 feet. Bill horn colour ; cere dull yellow. Eyes brown and 
 speckled. Nostril oblong. Feet yellow. Claws black. General colour 
 brown, warmer on the head. Tail dark. Quills dark. Secondaries and 
 tarsus black. Upper coverts irregularly mixed, dark and warm brown. 
 Body covered with white down. Throat, belly, and under coverts a warm 
 yellowish brown. Secondaries, indications of being barred. Tail ditto. 
 Quills and larger feathers showing a pale purple gloss. 
 
 THE PETEKE. 
 
 Helotarsus ecaudatus (Smith). 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 6 feet ; from beak to tail, 2 feet ; 
 from bill to toes, 2 ft. 5 in. General colour of head, neck, and body, deep 
 black, with slight tinge of greenish gloss. Tail and middle of back, rich 
 rufous brown. Legs feathered half-way down ; the tarsal-joint black. Beak 
 orange yellow passing into red, point greenish. Legs reddish-yellow and 
 scaly. 1'arsal scales very prominent like tubercles. Wings grey, tipped 
 with black. Quill feathers darker. Under coverts white. Quills whitish 
 underneath, excepting the ends, which are bluish-grey. Eyes brown. The 
 feathers of the head, neck, breast, and legs are long and full, and when 
 raised by the bird under excitement, gives it a very majestic appearance. 
 
 This small but handsome Eagle is pretty common throughout Damara 
 Land. It is likewise found at the Lake,'on the river Zambesi, and extends 
 even as far south as the Cape. Petelie' is the name given it by the Bush- 
 men. 
 
 This is a very bold bird, as I can tell by experience. I fired one shot at it 
 in its nest, where it concealed itself, and I, thinking it dead, sent a lad up 
 the tree, which he climbed with great difficulty, but no sooner did the bird
 
 362 APPENDIX. 
 
 discover this movement, than peeping over the side of the nest, it prepared 
 for flight, wlien a second shot arrested its progress. I was standing about 
 forty yards from the tree, and, to my gi-eat surprise, it flew straight at my 
 head with open mouth and claws. I tried flight, but before I removed far it 
 alighted on my head : by ducking very low, I escaped with the loss of my 
 hat, taken prisoner by the bird, who had alighted on the ground, and looked 
 round at my retreating figure with an evident inclination to give me further 
 chase. Seizing a stick, 1 returned to the attack, but no sooner had I moved 
 than I found my daring enemy equally ready for the contest ; not waiting 
 to be first repulsed, it came at me with such unmistakable Intentions, 
 that I struck it a blow on the head, which prostrated him (or her), and five 
 or six more blows put an end to its courage. 
 
 The natives here tell me that its prey are steinboks, hares, jackals, the 
 young of pallahs, and other antelopes. The Damaras say, when i\\ey have 
 wounded this bird, which thej' sometimes do with their bows and arrows, 
 they are obliged to approach him very cautiously afterwards for fear of 
 having their eyes torn out. 
 
 The n. ecaudatus but rarely moves its wings when hunting : it is a kind 
 of steady and powerful sailing through space. In such situations it is 
 easily distinguished from all other species by the remarkable shortness of 
 its tail. 
 
 THE EAGLE. 
 
 (^Aquila bellicosa.') 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 6 ft. 4 in. ; from beak to tail, or toes, 
 2 ft. 7 in. Dull black, or dark sepia-brown. Belly snow-white, like ermine, 
 ■with black pear-shaped spots. Tail barred. Quill feathers barred. Shoulder 
 lighter grey, edged with white. Eyes deep chrome-yellow. Feet yellowish- 
 grey. Beak dark horn colour. Inner fore talon longer than the rest. 
 It builds its nest in the trees, and lays two large white eggs. Feathers of 
 the head long, and like a double crest when raised. Monkotloe is the 
 Sechuana name for it. 
 
 THE EAGLE-HAWK. 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 3 ft. 9 in. ; from beak to tail, 1 ft. 11 in. ; 
 from beak to claws, 1 ft. 11 in. Bill slate-blue, orange-yellow at base. 
 Cheeks, legs, and feet yellow. Tarsus black and strong. Legs bare and 
 scaly. 
 
 THE HAWK. 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse" of wings, 3 ft, 5 in.; length to tail, 1 ft. 5 in. ; 
 length to toes, 1 ft, 4 in. Head large. Legs yellow. Claws black. Bill 
 horn colour. Nostrils round. Bill toothed. Legs long. Eyes dull black.
 
 APPENDIX. 363 
 
 Crown of head flat and broad. Colour above, warm neutral grey, edged 
 with light j-ellowish-gre}'. Tail imperfectly barred with lighter colour. 
 Naked round the eyes. Eyes raw umber-brown. Crown of head yellowish- 
 grey, with dark points. Under coverts warmer and spotted, or imjierfectly 
 barred. Quills underneath imperfectly barred with white. Throat and 
 vent, light, a black streak from each corner of mouth, breast feathers grey> 
 largely edged with dirty yellow. The whole bird underneath a very pretty 
 spotted appearance. Bill short, with cerum over it. 
 
 THE FALCON. 
 
 {Falco.) 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 2 feet ; extreme length to tail, 1 foot ; 
 extreme length to toes, 10 inches. Bill short, toothed, bright orange yellow, 
 tipped with horn colour. Nostrils round. Bright yellow cerura round the 
 eyes, which are brown. Legs yellow. Tarsi naked. Head purplish-brown. 
 A dash of dark sepia-brown over the eyes, and, inclining downwards; 
 another vertical patch of dark sepia-brown under the eyes. Throat white. 
 Neck and breast pale fawn or yellow, with a purplish tinge. From the neck 
 to the tail, pale slaty-grey, barred closely and regularly with deep biowiii^h- 
 grey, saving the extremity of the tail, which is broadly banded with black, 
 leaving the tips nearly white, the shoulders are tinged with reddish-brown. 
 From the breast the whole of the underneath is also regularly and closely 
 barred as above, but on a white ground, wings included. The quills and 
 secondaries a shade browner. 
 
 THE FALCON. 
 
 {Fidco.) 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 22^ inches; length, from beak to tail, 
 125 inches; length of tail, 6 inches; length of legs, 6 inches; and red, 
 with sharp black claws. Middle toe much elongated. Tarsus scutellated. 
 Bill toothed, short and hooked. Black mandible. Cerum dark orange. 
 Nostril round. Irides rubineous and narrow. Pupil large. Hard projection 
 or shade over the eyes. General coloiu' slaty-grey, or dark ashy, with a 
 tinge of brown. Quills barred with dark gre}', and partake more of a light- 
 brown above, and white beneath belly and thighs. Under coverts barred 
 with narrow bars of brownish-grey. Vent and rump white ; some of the 
 outer tertials barred with white on the inside web. Seconriaries tipped 
 with white. Eleven tail feathers. Tail, dove-tail, wedge-sliaped, dark 
 grey above, barred with dark-brown and white underneath, barred with a 
 deeper brown. 
 
 THE HAWK (another). 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 4 feet ; length, 1 ft. lOg in. ; length 
 to tail, 1 ft. 8 in. Head large. Eyes pale yellowish-grey. Bill, horn
 
 364 APPENDIX. 
 
 colour and festooned. Orange cerum. Nostril round. Legs orange-yellow. 
 Claws large and black. Tarsi partially feathered in front, but evidently 
 worn bare behind. General colour rich madder-brown, darker towards the 
 extremities of the wings. Some of the inner quills and secondaries are 
 lighter brown barred with the deeper colour. Tail sienna, partially barred 
 towards the extremities, which are tipped with brown. Some of the 
 middle tail feathers (young ones) have a gold and violet gloss. Thighs 
 yellowish- white, tinged with sienna, indicating bars. Belly and wings 
 imderneath white, excepting the tips, which are deep brown. The breast 
 feathers streaked at intervals with an oblong heart-shaped sjwt down the 
 middle. Under-wing coverts partially ditto, or otherwise irregularly spotted 
 or tipped with reddish or brownish-grey. A long projection over the eye. 
 
 THE HAWK. 
 
 Spakrow Hawk. 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 2 ft. 8 in, ; from bill to tail, 1 foot ; 
 from bill to toes, IO5 inches. Catches mice. Has a flat nest, like a round 
 truss, made of twigs, and full of the fur of mice in little balls. Irides 
 yellow. Bill short and black. Claws ditto. Feet yellow. Legs nearly 
 feathered to the toes. The whole underneath of the bird is white, excepting 
 the quills, which are grey, and somewhat dark towards the extremities, 
 and some of the breast and throat feathers being painted with raw sienna, 
 and their quills with burnt sienna. The head, back, neck, and tail, are of 
 a neutral grey, deepening very much towards the greater and lesser wing 
 coverts, being nearly black. All the feathers of the head, neck, back, 
 wings, and tail, are uniformly edged with white at the tips ; those of the 
 head, neck, and back slightly, and with brown or dirty white, while the 
 inner edging on the sides of the bird, and on the inner great coverts, are 
 divided from the grey with a warm tinge of raw sienna. Throat, chin, 
 and face, brownish-white. Eyes surrounded by a patch of very deep neutral 
 grey. Wings very long. 
 
 THE HAWK, OR FALCON. 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 22^ inches; from bill to tail, 122 inches; 
 tail, 6 inches long; legs, 6 inches long, red, with sharp black claws, 
 middle toe much elongated. Tarsus scutellated. Bill toothed, short, 
 hooked, and black. Cerum dark orange. Nostrils round, Irides rubineous, 
 and narrow circle, pupil large. Projecting eyebrows like an eagle. General 
 colour slaty-grey or dark ash, with a tinge of brown. Quill feathers barred 
 with dark grey, and partake more of light-brown above, and white beneath. 
 Belly, thighs, and under coverts barred with narrow bars of brownish-grey. 
 Vent and rump white. Some of the outer tertials barred with white on 
 the inner web. Secondaries tipped with white on inner web. Tail dark
 
 APPENDIX. 365 
 
 grey, wedge-shaped, above barred with dark-brown and white, underneath 
 barred with a deeper brown. This bird has the loudest note for its size of 
 any bird I know of. It perches on high trees during the day, and pounces 
 down upon smaller birds, which it makes its prey. I have seen this bird 
 in chase of the Woodlark and Thrush. 
 
 THE OWL (Large Female). 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 5 feet ; extreme length, 2 ft. 5 in. ; eyes 
 dark. Bill and claws horn colour. Tarsi and toes feathered. General 
 colour brownish-grey, or speckled wavy bars. All the larger feathers, 
 quills, tail, secondaries, &c., being ditto, and barred, moreover, with broad 
 bands of pure brown. The upper coverts and back are almost an uniform 
 Vandyke bro\vn. The under-wing coverts, belly, &c., Ughter (white ground 
 colour), and crossed with wavy bars larger than the smaller ones on the 
 upper part of the body. The bill and claws are tremendously powerful. 
 The head with feathers on is as large as a child's fully, being from 6 to 8 
 inches in diameter. Eyelids naked, red. The feathers on cheeks white, 
 scantily clothed, and tipped with black, which forms a circular stripe round 
 each eye, and gives it the monkey foce. The nostrils are round, and from 
 the base of the bill ridged bristles radiate forward uniformly with the black- 
 tipped stripe of feathers round the eyes. The bill is more blue than horn 
 colour. Hoots. 
 
 THE OWLET. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 1 ft. 2 in. ; from bill to claws, TJ inches. ; 
 from bill to tail, 7 inches. Body light ashy-brown, with oblong or pear- 
 shaped white spots. Quill feathers dark-brown, barred with dull yellow 
 on one side, and creamy white on the other. Tail feathers brown, and 
 marked with a succession of oblong white spots placed transversely in 
 pairs. The head (which is richer brown) profusely studded with small 
 round spots, below white long downy feathers, with here and there a longi- 
 tudinal spot of brown. Eyes dull chrome-yellow. Legs and feet feathered 
 to the claws. Underneath wings cream colour preponderates, but the ends 
 of quill feathers barred with ashy-brown. Beak light horn colour. Claws 
 a little darker. I see them only in the day time, when they are very 
 lively. They fly like a Lark, and whistle something hke them, once raising 
 its notes to the highest pitch, and then decreasing them. 
 
 THE SNAKE BIKD. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 2 ft. 7^ in.; length to tail, 1 ft. 11 in. ; 
 length to toes, 1 ft. 7 in. ; length of bill, 2 inches. Upper mandible 
 hooked, brown, and barred slantingly forward (the lower edge of which is
 
 366 APPENDIX. 
 
 of a lighter colour. Under inandible pale yellowish-brown. Eyes bright 
 ruby. Legs and feet black and webbed, including the hinder toe. Middle 
 of the three front toes serrated. Toes covered with fine, smooth, narrow 
 transverse scales. Legs reticulated rather than scaled. Head and neck 
 brown, growing deeper towards the back and rump, Avhich is black with 
 greenish gloss. Tail feathers duller. The same general colour prevails 
 throughout the wings, but the light greyish-brown of the greater wing 
 coverts and tertiary feathers, tipped and edged near the margin with black, 
 and the extreme edge dull reddish-white, gives it a marvellously rich lustre. 
 Upper and lesser wing coverts black. Throat and breast light browni:Jh- 
 grey. Belly, dull white (grey at base). Vent black. Slightest indication 
 of a tongue, and no perceptible nostrils, though slight indications. 
 
 THE TOMTIT. 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 65 inches; length, 4i inches. Breast 
 and cheek glossy black, shot with steel blue. Head and back ashy-grey. 
 Wing coverts black, with blue tinge, lesser coverts tipped with white. 
 Throat white, and back of neck also white. Quills brown. Belly white. 
 Tail deep brown, tinged with steel blue. Outer web and outer tail feathers, 
 ■white, and all more or less tipped with wdiite. Eyes very bright yellow. 
 Eump a mixture of white and black. Bill black. Upper mandible bent 
 at point. Legs dark-brown. The tips only of the belly feathers are white, 
 underneath they are dark grey. 
 
 Female very similar, but duller, and the breast, throat, and neck a dark 
 yellow instead of white. 
 
 THE TOMTIT (Female). 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 65 inches; extreme length, 5^ inches ; 
 length to toes, 5 inches. General colour light brownish-grey, at the edge 
 to a reddish-brown. Yellowish on the belly. Bill slender. Legs and bill 
 grey (light). Eyes light-brown. 
 
 The male is marked black on the breast. 
 
 THE TOMTIT (another). 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 9 inches; length, 4^ inches. General 
 colour slaty-grey. Quills brown. Greater coverts darker, edged and tipped 
 ■with white. Tail dark-brown, tipped with white. Head and throat black. 
 Cheeks white. Breast black. Bill ditto. Legs dark lead colour. Eyes 
 brown. 
 
 THE WREN, OR TITMOUSE. 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 6j inches; extreme length, 42 inches; 
 length to toes nearly the same. Eyes yellow. Bill and tarsi black.
 
 APPENDIX. 367 
 
 Upper mandible bent at tlie point. Crown and back ash. Cheeks black, 
 nearly joining in a collar behind. Neck, breast and throat light sienna, 
 joining in a collar behind neck. Rump a mixture of black and white. 
 Tail feathers black (with green gloss), tipped with white ; the outside 
 feathers also edged distinctly with white. Quills light-brown, closely 
 barred with a somewhat darker shade, and almost imperceptible. Secon- 
 daries darker, edged with white. Upper coverts largely tipped with white, 
 and some of the tertials also tipped or edged with white. Under coverts 
 black. Belly white. Found in anna-boom. Food, flowers of the tree, &c. 
 
 THE SMALL BLACK FINCH. 
 
 Brown wings. Crown of head exceedingly bright orange-yellow. Back 
 yellow. Tail brown. Yellow spot in front of each shoulder. Thighs dull 
 white. Legs brown. Ej'es black. 
 
 THE FINCH (Male). 
 
 At this season (November) it is of a bright yellow. Face and chin, or 
 from over the eyes to throat, black. The wings are brown, edged with 
 yellow, and the back grey, largely edged with yellow. The bill is black 
 and robust. The legs pale grey. They come in large flocks, and are a pest 
 when corn is in question. The forehead from the bill is a rich brown, 
 fading into yellow. 
 
 The females are a duller colour, grey, or pale brown and yellow, and no 
 black. 
 
 THE YELLOW-BREASTED FINCH. 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 10 inches : from bill to tail, 6 inches ; 
 from hill to toes, 5 inches. Breast, throat, and middle of belly orange- 
 yellow, darker on breast. Head dark-brown, the feathers being edged with 
 lighter brown, white blaze over the crown, and down middle of forehead 
 to base of bill, one white streak over, and one under the eyes, extending 
 to near back of the head, and inclining towards each other. Vent very 
 pale grey, or dull white. Back brown. Neck grey. Rump dark ashy- 
 grey. Tail dark-brown with light edging, and two underneath feathers 
 largely tipped with white. Quills brown. Greater coverts tipped with 
 white ; quills brown, lesser coverts white, partially covered with lesser ones 
 of grey, forming, with that of the greater coverts, two white lines across the 
 wings. Secondaries edged with the warm hue of back; under coverts 
 grey. Upper mandible dark-brown, festooned near the base. Under man- 
 dible light horn colour. Eyes dull black. Legs pale yellowish-grey.
 
 368 APPENDIX. 
 
 CRINOLINE (WHIDAH) FINCH. 
 
 Breast of a rich bi"own. Bill and feet black. Length of body, 6 inches to 
 the end of true tail. Two tail feathers 13 inches long ; two broad ones 
 Ah inches long, and including the tails attached 7|. The two latter are 
 placed between the two long ones, which are also vertically placed, giving 
 it a very massive appearance. The feathers are further barred transversely 
 like watered silk. It has also two threads, like spirally-twisted silky 
 filaments, under the rudder-like feathers of tail. 
 
 THE CEINOLINE FINCH (Female). 
 WnrDAH. 
 Dark brownish-grey, very much speckled all over the middle of the 
 feathers, being dark-brown or faded black. A black feather on the middle 
 of each wing. Crown of head black, parted in the middle by a pale stripe, 
 which recurves from the back of the head on either side, and passes over 
 the eyes to the base of the bill. Breast dull white, speckled, having a few 
 rufous feathers visible. Belly white. Tail brown. This bird in its 
 actions is very like the male, flying, for so small a bird, very high, and 
 evidently with some difficulty. In descending again they seem to let 
 themselves fall head foremost, suddenly checking their descent at intervals. 
 
 THE EOOI BEKJE, or LINNET. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 65 inches ; extreme length, 5 inches ; 
 length to toes, 4 inches. Bill red, a rod streak to the back of the eyes. 
 Red pencilling on the breast. Vent deep brown, otherwise this bird is 
 marked all over with minute bars of light-brown on a dull yellowish 
 ground, the tail being darker. Eyes brown. 
 
 SMALL BLACK FINCH. 
 
 Cream yellow breast. Four long bare tail feathers feathered for about an 
 inch at the end. 
 
 THE GEEY LORY (Male). 
 
 TotTRACO. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 2 ft, 1 in, ; length to tail, 1 ft, 9 in, ; 
 legs, 6 inches ; tuft or crest, 2| to 3 inches ; bill thick, deep at base, 
 1 inch, rounded, notched at point ; in upper mandible and lower one 
 serrated. Eyes dull slaty-grey. Nostril linear. General colour brownish- 
 grey, with a tinge of green on quills and tail feathers, which are darker
 
 APPENDIX. 3G9 
 
 brown, with greenish gloss. Green tinge on breast stronger. The food is 
 fruits, berries, &c., particularly the seeds of the mistletoe, and another 
 sweet-smelling berry, which is also the product of another parasite clinging 
 to the trunks of the anna-boom. It has an aggravating, mocking, human- 
 like voice (" why ! why !") which it is sure to salute you with whenever 
 you pass beneath its perch, and not unfrequently startles you as well as 
 your game, especially when stealthily stalking a Ehinoceros or Eleplinnt. 
 
 THE BLUE SPEEVV. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 1 ft. 4 in. ; from bill to toes, 10 inches ; 
 from bill to tail, 9J iuelies ; bill, 1 inch long to corner of mouth ; tail, 
 3 inches long. Bill and legs black, Irides rich cadmium yellow. Colour of 
 body, varying with the light, dark glossy green ; steel-blue, and purple, 
 the latter colour preponderating on the head, rump, tail, and the flashings 
 on quills. The under-wing coverts are metallic purple, the lesser of the 
 upper-wing coverts form a golden spot. The tail feathers, and those of the 
 wings, are closely barred across like watered silk. The greater wing 
 coverts are slightly tipped across with very deep steel-blue. Quills under- 
 neath, and inner web of the upper side, dark grey, as also the underneath 
 tail feathers. Nostrils oblong. The eye is so excessively bright, that at a 
 little distance the bird seems to have a red cerum round the eye. Scutel- 
 lated tarsi. 
 
 THE QUAIL. 
 
 Dimensions: — From tip to tip, 10 inches. Bill and feet bluish-grey. 
 Three toes. Eyes yellow. Breast rich brown down the middle, bounded 
 on either side by a row of whitish feathers slightly tinged with black, 
 painted with large black spots in the centre. Throat and belly yellowish- 
 white. Side of neck whitish, feathers fringed with black, and black spots 
 in the middle. The crown and back of head is parted with a row of rich 
 brown, black, and white feathers, in which the latter preponderates in the 
 middle. On either side of this white stripe run three longitudinal rows of 
 rich brown, black, and white feathers, in which the former predominates. 
 Whiskers covering the ears. The feathers of the back reddish-chestnut 
 brown, fringed with grey, and barred transversely with black mark. The 
 brown is again bounded with a longitudinal stripe of black on either side. 
 Quill feathers grey, edged outside with white ; greater coverts bright 
 reddish-brown, barred with black, and edged with white near the base, but 
 otherwise whitish feathers, with large patches of black and rich reddish- 
 brown. 
 
 The female is known by the absence of brown on the breast, and is of a 
 paler colour. 
 
 VOL. II. 2 B
 
 370 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE PARTEIDGE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 10.9 in. ; from bill to tail, 1 ft. 2 in. ; 
 from bill to toes, 1 ft. 4 in. All undemeath is yellow ocbre. Tail barred 
 with brown. Breast plain. Thighs grey on inside. Under coverts a 
 duller ochre. Tln-oat white, edged with black margin from corner of bill. 
 Another black and white stripe from over the eyes winds parallel, and 
 ends near the middle. AYhite patch before and behind the eye. Bill 
 brown, lighter underneath. Quill feathers reddish-brown, irregularly 
 barred, but plain ; in middle of the wing grey feathers, with eight trans- 
 verse and white crossings down the middle, the whole overlaid with thin 
 transparent yellowish-brown. Legs light yellowish-brown. Breast pale 
 ochre, with patches of yellowish-brown. Throat greyish, speckled white, 
 nearly black. Eyes yellowish-brown. 
 
 THE GREY PHEASANT. 
 
 Male : large spin-, red bill and feet, &c. 
 
 Female : bill horn colour. Legs pale brownish-yellow. 
 
 THE CHEWEWk 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 17 inches ; from bill to tail, 10 J inches ; 
 from bill to toes, 9| inches ; bill, 1 inch long, black, and slightly bent. 
 General colour black, with steel and blue purple gloss. Quills creamy 
 white, tipped with rich dark-brown, and more so towards the extremity) 
 even including the outer web of outside quills. The out€r web of the next 
 three or four quills are pointed with burnt sienna. Eyes rich cadmium. 
 Seen in small flocks of ten or one dozen on high trees or high rocks, and 
 look larger at a distance and when on the wing than they really are. 
 Tarsi scutellated. Sprew ? 
 
 THE QUAGGA DZAEEA, or TSGAI. 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 1 foot ; tail, 8 inches from bill; toes, 
 7 inches from bill. Throat, belly, and underneath tail, white ; under-wing 
 coverts dark-brown, nearly black. Crown of head and cheeks grey, a white 
 collar round the neck, black wings, and tail dark-brown, or dull black, with 
 slight tinge of green. The quill feathers are largely barred across with 
 white (inner web), a streak of white runs parallel with these through the 
 wing coverts to the top of secondaries, which are edged with white. The 
 outer tail feathers are white, the next nearly so, and the remainder more or 
 less largely tipped with white, until the middle are very slightly tipped 
 only. All the whites on the body are arranged in longitudinal stripes, dis-
 
 APPENDIX. 37J 
 
 tributed in such a manner as to make the bird look like the colour of the 
 animal on whose withers it rides. The irides are very bright yellow, and 
 the eyes surrounded by a peculiar yellow articulated cerum. Legs ver- 
 milion. Claws light grey, sharp, and compressed. Bill black, three- 
 quarters of an inch long, upper mandible hooked at point, and slightly 
 festooned ; has a few bristles. Nostrils linear. 
 
 THE GNU'S KHALA (shot at Mutu Mabie). 
 Dimensions :— Expanse of wings, 11 inches; from bill to tail about 
 7 inches. General colour black, but rather dusky. Head black. Body 
 becoming lighter towai-ds the wings, which are dark grey. A steel gloss 
 appears on back of head and breast when held in sunlight. Tail feathers 
 slightly tipped with white. Underneatli feathers edged and tipped with 
 white. Under tail coverts largely tipped with white. Under-wing coverts 
 white, or largely tipped and edged with white. Bill short ; rather black ; 
 rounded and polished. Legs black. Claws compressed and sharp. Eyes 
 dull black. They sit on the shoulders of the Gnu, and warn him of the 
 approach of danger (as the Khala of the Rhinoceros also does that animal) 
 by uttering a cry of alarm and fluttering over its head. Found only where 
 the Gnus inhabit. 
 
 THE SEA-COW BIRD. 
 
 In the Zambesi and Gwai rivers. Looks like a small Sandpiper. They 
 go in flocks of from ten to twenty, sitting on, or hovering clamorously over 
 the spot where the Hipjiopotamus has disappeared beneath the flood. They 
 thus warn the animal in the same way as the Khala. They are of a dark 
 cold grey. White underneath. Legs and bill red. Greater wing coverts 
 tipped with, or altogether, white. Red cerum round the eye. 
 
 THE SEA-COW BIRD. 
 
 A little smaller than the smallest of the Sandpijaers I have seen. It is of 
 a dark-brown colour, white underneath. Legs and bill dark red. There 
 is a white stripe running through the middle of each wing. 
 
 THE KINGFISHER. 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 18 inches ; length to tail, 11 inches; 
 length to toes, 9 inches ; length of bill, 2i inches, and black. Forehead 
 brown. Crown of longish erectile feathers, forming a crest. Feathers of 
 neck, back, and wings irregularly marked with white edges or tips and black 
 
 2 B 2
 
 372 APPENDIX. 
 
 edges or tips, or black and wliite in regular streaks or spots. All the black 
 or dark parts have a tinge of green in them. Quills white, largely tipp)ed 
 with deep brown. The secondaries have an irregular or wavy longitudinal 
 marking in the middle of each feather. Greater wing coverts with black, 
 glossy, rounded sjDots. Tail feathers white ; largely tipped with glossy 
 greenish-black, and some have black notches on the edges of the 
 white portion of the feathers. Legs dark grey. Claws small. Under 
 coverts silvery-white, and belly and throat ditto. Under the throat a 
 broad band or imperfect collar passes ; nearly joining at back ; and imme- 
 diately below is a narrow transverse line of a mixture of brown and black 
 feathers having a greenish gloss. Saw a very large bluish or dark slaty- 
 grey Kingfisher, with warm sienna wing richly barred. 
 
 THE SMALL BLACK-AND-WHITE KINGFISHER. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 1 ft. 6 in. ; from bill to tail, 11 inches ; 
 from bill to toes, 9 inches ; bill (black), 2^ inches long. Legs black and 
 short. Claws small. Eyes dark-blue. Crown of head greenish-black. 
 At the back of head longer, forming a crest, and mixed with white. A 
 white ring round the neck ; separated from the throat by a streak of black 
 cutting across horizontally on either side. Throat, belly, and vent white. 
 A whitish speckled streak from forehead over the eyes, and lost in the 
 crest. Back, wings, and tail greenish-black ; speckled, barred, and tipped 
 with white. Larger in the quills, tail, and secondaries. Lower half of 
 tail feathers spotted with black ; the other half spotted and tipped with 
 white. Quills (inner ones) largely barred with white across the middle ; 
 outer ones only on the inner side, but the outermost one edged all the 
 way with white. Secondaries largely barred and tipped with white. From 
 the back, at base of neck, a collar of dull black nearly joining in the 
 middle of breast. Breast feathers slightly edged with grey. Nostrils linear. 
 
 THE GOLDEN SNIPE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 13 inches ; length to toes, 9 inches ; 
 length to tail, 8 inches. Head, neck, and back to tail, brownish-grey, 
 with golden gloss. The feathers, esi>ecially on back, being edged with a 
 lighter colour, and barred, almost imperceptibly, with a darker shade. 
 Belly feathers white, but dark grey at base. Throat white; changing 
 gradually into grey on the breast, where the feathers are streaked down 
 the middle with warmish brown. Under-wing coverts brown, tipped 
 with white. Upiter-wing coverts more strongly barred than the back, 
 and the golden gloss also stronger. Wrist feathers tipped with white. 
 The quill feathers have large white patches on inner web. Secondaries 
 white at base, then brownish-grey in middle, and tips white. Bill dark
 
 APPENDIX. 373 
 
 grey. Under mandible lighter. Legs pale greenisb-grey. The eyes were 
 destroyed by a shot passing through. 
 
 THE SPUE- WINGED PLOVER (Male). 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 2 ft. 8 in. ; length to toes, 1 ft. 7 in. ; 
 length to tail, 1 ft. 3 in. ; length of bill, li in. Back, neck, and wings 
 pale sienna-brown, with a rich silkish gloss all over. Forehead white. 
 Remainder of head, to the top of each eye, dark-brown. Throat ditto. 
 Cheek feathers brown down the middle, and white edges. Breast, neck, 
 and belly uniform with back, but not so glossy, and darker near vent. 
 Under-wiug coverts white. Tail white, with broad transverse bars. Quills 
 (quill feathers) deep sienna-brown. Brown spurs on each wiog one-third 
 of an inch long. Bill bright saffron-yellow, and dark-brown at tip, which 
 is slightly bent. Nostrils linear. Yellow cerum aroimd the eyes, which 
 are dullish pearl. It has yellow drops, or lappets, attached before the eyes, 
 each dividing into two from the root or base, the lower or longest one 
 (which is an inch long) being bright saffron-yellow, and the upper portion 
 being dark crimson on the outside, and the whole yellow underneath, 
 where the feathers are whitish. These drops incline towards each other 
 on the forehead. The legs are 9^ inches long, and of a greenish-yellow 
 colour. Its cry is not so loud as the " Setula tsijd " (Iron-hammer, or 
 Blacksmith). They utter a very gentle tick-tick, and go in pairs only. 
 This is the first and only occasion I have seen this bird. 
 
 THE ADJUTANT. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 8 feet ; length, 5 feet ; beak and 
 head, 1 ft. 2^ in. Bill strong and massive, and of dark sepia-brown colour. 
 Greenish shifting gloss on w'ings, and white underneath. Legs white. 
 Tail dark. Rump feathers under the tail white. Downy pouch like a 
 dewlap. Bill slightly bent. Food, noxious reptiles and carrion. 
 
 THE CRANE. 
 
 Belly and thighs pale buff. Iris grey. Beak safiVou, or turmeric-yellow 
 colour. Quill feathers black. Tail ditto. General colour of body brown. 
 One upper mandible slightly hooked ; edges of both very sharp, and fit 
 into each other. 
 
 THE GREAT HERON. 
 
 (^Ardea (joliath). 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 7 feet ; from beak to toes, 6ft. Ij in. ;
 
 374 APPENDIX. 
 
 liom beak to tail, 4 ft. 10 in. ; neck and bill, 3 feet ; bill to corners of 
 mouth, 8 inches. Head, neck, two-thirds of breast, belly, vent, and 
 under-wing coverts cinnamon-brown. Darker on crest and belly ; breast, 
 belly, and vent being overlaid with the grey, which gives it a slight 
 purple tint. Throat white to about two inches behind the jaw ; then 
 commences dark slaty-grey speckled with white. Base of neck (one-third) 
 lighter grey. The long feathers before the breast shafts and tips white, 
 ilack of wings and back of tail grey (slaty). Upper mandible dull black, 
 and lower one horn colour. Eyes bright yellow. Legs dull black. 
 
 THE BLUE HERON, ok AIGRETTE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 2 feet ; length to toes, 1 ft, 3 in. Beak 
 black. Green at base. General colour slate-blue. Breast and inside of 
 thighs cream-yellow. The feathers down the throat and under side of neck 
 edged Avith pale yellow. Eyes dark sherry colour. A bunch of white 
 down on breast under the other feathers, and on either side of rump. Legs 
 yellowish-green, with olive in front. 
 
 THE HERON (Female). 
 Crown of head bluish-black, with green gloss. Back the same. From 
 back of head hangs one peculiar feather, cylindrical, long, curled, round 
 like a quill. White at base and black at point. Iris deep orange red. 
 Legs bright yellow. Bill black and olive. 
 
 THE JABIRU. 
 
 Red-billed. Black wings. Red legs. 
 
 THE WHITE STORK. 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 7 feet; to tail, 4 feet; length of 
 legs, 1 ft. 11 in. ; bill, 7 inches, and straight. General colour white. Tail 
 white. Quill feathers of wings black. Legs and bill dark red. Iris dull 
 black. Small bare red patch round the eyes. 
 
 THE BITTERN. 
 
 Dimensions :— Expanse of wings, 30 inches ; length, 18 inches; legs, 8 
 inches ; toes, 3 inches ; bill, 1^ inches. Eyes bright chrome-yellow. Bill
 
 APPENDIX. 375 
 
 black at point, yellow at base. Feathers of the back and wings marked 
 in the centre with heart-shaped bars of deep brown. General colour dull 
 sienna. Quills, scapularies, and secondaries nearly black. The three middle 
 quills tipped with white, the three outer ones are barred across the middle 
 with white. 
 
 THE WHITE SPOONBILL. 
 
 Body perfectly white. Bill lead or spleen colour, mottled with red 
 margin, and dark red at its junction with the forehead. Legs dark red. 
 Middle claw feathered on the side like the Night Hawk and Heron. Iris 
 silver-grey. 
 
 THE WHITE IBIS. 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 4 feet; extreme length, 3 ft. 1 in. ; 
 legs, 15 inches long ; neck, 8 inches long ; bill, 7 inches long. Bill and 
 legs black or deei>brown. General colour white. Head and neck grey, 
 speckled. Quills, secondaries, and tertiaries, tipped with brown and black, 
 with green and purj^le gloss, the tertiaries having a loose web. Little 
 coverts on the wrists tipped with black. 
 
 THE GLOSSY IBIS. 
 (Tantalus.') 
 Dimensions: — Ex^mnse of wings, 4 feet; length to toes, 2 ft. 8 in. 
 Neck and cheeks rather denuded of feathers. Belly white, from insertion 
 of wings. Wings and tail black, and, when extended, snow-white on the 
 back. General colour glossy black, flashing with green and purple when 
 light is reflected. Legs red. Feet partially webbed. Beak slightly bent 
 down at point. Cheeks, and round the eye, flesh, or pale vermilion colour. 
 Eye dull black or blue. More of purple on the bunch of dark feathers of 
 breast. Black feathers on top of tail, and a layer of white feathers under- 
 neath. On each shoulder a small white spot. It feeds 'On insects, and tastes 
 sweet, like a duck, and is very fat. 
 
 THE CURLEW. 
 
 Dimensions :— Expanse of wings, nearly 4 feet ; extreme lengtli, 2 ft. 4 in. ; 
 legs, 10 mches long ; bill, 6 inches long. Bill brown horn colour. Legs 
 bluish-grey. Eyes brown. Under-wing coverts and vent white. On the 
 body the feathers are streaked down the middle with brown ; on the 
 breast and neck the feathers are pale dull yellow, streaked down the nnddle 
 with brown. On the back and wing coverts brown preponderates through-
 
 376 APPENDIX. 
 
 out each feather, the margins being lighter reddish-brown, fading lo white. 
 The four outer primaries are nearly all brown. The inner ones are tipped 
 with Avhite, and dotted all round the web with hemispherical spots. In the 
 secondaries the spots become larger, and approach one another, nearlj' form- 
 int^ bars. The rump is white, the tail distinctly barred. The eyes brown. 
 Chin white. Nostrils linear. 
 
 THE LAEGE WIDGEON, or KING DIVER. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 31 inches ; from beak to tail, 20 inches; 
 from beak to toes, 41 inches more. Eyes ruby. Lives in the rocks. Food, 
 shrimps, sea-lice, &c. It has a straight pointed Venetian red bill, brown 
 above and red on sides and below (sides rather compressed). Nostrils 
 linear. General colour brown, with a slight gloss. Has a longish jmrted 
 black crest on head. Crown of head and face also black. Cheeks reddish- 
 brown. Long, fine feathers. Throat white. The back of head changing 
 gradually into the brown of the body, half-way down the neck. Belly 
 and breast satin-white. The secondaries, tertials, and lesser wing coverts, 
 white. 
 
 THE YELLOW-BILLED LARGE DUCK. 
 
 Pale sepia-brown, darker on the back, and lighter below, largely edged 
 with dull white beneath, and dull yellow above. Quills of upper coverts, 
 and tertiary feathers, back, and tail, darker sepia-brown with smaller 
 edging of light. Secondaries having a blue-purple gloss. Head grey. 
 Eyes pale yellowish-brown. Bill deep yellow, black on the top to near the 
 tip, and tip also black in upper and under mandible. 
 
 THE DUCK. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 2 ft. 4:^ in. ; from bill to tail, 1 ft. 6^ in. ; 
 from bill to toes, 1 ft. 7 in. Head brown. Back and tail greenish-brown, 
 with velvety gloss, boldly edged all round with a reddish-yellow. Scajiu- 
 laries and tertiaries bolder and richer. Lesser wing coverts, greenish- 
 brown without the edging. Greater coverts tipped with reddish-yellow. 
 Quills brown (darker). Secondaries grey at base, a black velvety bar 
 across the middle, and remaining half reddish-yellow. Throat and cheeks, 
 as far as ej'es, grey at roots, white in middle, and tipped with brown. 
 Neck, underneath and around, speckled, each feather being spotted in the 
 middle with brown. Feathers of breast and belly underneath, all grey at 
 base, white in the middle, and with cream or pale cinnamon-colour, and 
 barred two or three times across with brown ; vent feathers edged with 
 reddish- yellow. A light coloured triangular mark in the middle, length- 
 wise. 1'he under-wing coverts brown, tipped and barred with white. Legs
 
 APPENDIX. 377 
 
 dull purplisli-gn?y. Bill brown above, pui'iile towards point, red towards 
 base on the sides. Eyes brown. The feathers of the head have a faint 
 edo;ino; of a warmer colour. Breast indented. 
 
 THE HONEY, or SUGAE BIED. 
 
 (^NectaririaJ) 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 1 ft. li in. ; net length, 10 inches. 
 Legs short. Bill black, crooked, thin, and 2 inches long. Head, neck, and 
 body black, with steel-blue, and purple gloss, including also the tail and 
 upper-wing coverts. Quill feathers have more of a greenish gloss, barred 
 white across the middle, and round spot on inner web. Two white feathers 
 under the upper coverts of one wing, and one white feather on the opposite 
 wing at the end of wrist-bone, the other probably lost. The belly and vent 
 is duller than the body. Tarsi scutellated and dirty black. Corner and 
 inside of mouth yellow. 
 
 THE HAMBULA. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, II2 inches ; length, 7 inches. Back 
 of head, neck, and breast black. Face, forehead, and throat, scarlet or 
 bright crimson. Belly and vent grey, edged with yellow (grey at roots). 
 Wing coverts dark neutral grey, speckled with small bars and spots. 
 Quills, tail, and secondaries dark-brown. Outer web edged with yellow. 
 Very robust. Black toothed bill. Legs grey. Eyes red. Peculiar and 
 loud note, like the notes of a smith's hammei", nicely modulated. 
 
 THE GIEAFFE BIED. 
 
 Ingabe tsgai. 
 A beautiful bird, accompanying also the Koodoo, but no other animals. 
 It is said (by the Bushmen) to be a beautiful bird, and spotted like the 
 animal after which it is named, but the preponderating colour is golden 
 green. The Bushmen and Bamaiiwato make what they call Pe'ku (a 
 charm?), which they use when going to war. They grind it after burn- 
 ing to a cinder, and then mix with fat ; the doctor or wizard anoints the 
 foreheads or tips of the ^tongue with this, draws circles round their eyes, 
 &c. &c. This will induce the enemy to go to sleep, and become an easy 
 prey. The Khala of the Rhinoceros is used for the same purpose. The 
 Giraffe has also got a friend, Kwa-tsai. Bill long, red, and bent. Feet ditto. 
 That on the Eland is also a different bird. No bird accompanies the Ele- 
 phant. The Kwa-tsai is a very pretty glossy blue bird. They say they 
 cannot kill the Eland-bird (Du-tsai) it is so wary.
 
 378 APPENDIX. 
 
 A STEANGE BIED. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 10 inches ; from bill to tail, 6i inches ; 
 from bill to toes, 62 inches. Strong, black, robust bill, with bristles. A strong 
 tooth near middle of ujjper mandible, and a slight festooning near base. 
 Forehead dark red. Crown of head and neck black, speckled behind, which 
 gradually disperses in the back to yellow (the tips), the black becoming 
 gradually duller, until at the rump the ground colour is gi'ey, mixed with 
 yellow. Tail dark grey, edged with yellowish-white. A stripe of yellow 
 over and from before the eyes is continued with white to back of head ; 
 from the face passes next a broad black line under the eyes to back of head. 
 Cheeks black. Throat, breast, belly, under coverts, and vent, a dull 
 yellowish-white. Wings black, fading towards the extremities into grey. 
 Secondaries, quills, and greater wing coverts, edged with yellow on outer 
 web ; lesser coverts with yellow, speckled on shoulders with white. Eyes 
 brown. 
 
 THE CUCKOO. 
 
 Dimensions: — Length, 14 inches. General colour grey. Feathers not 
 so much tipped with white, excepting the tail. Throat pale grey, tinged 
 with dirty yellow, barred with transverse lines, becoming bolder towards 
 the breast, which is white, with transverse bands of black, becoming 
 bolder still, until end of tail. Claws as the male, but yellow. Tarsi 
 yellow. Bill greenish-yellow and hooked. Iris yellow. Wings and tail 
 long. Legs short. Thighs barred. Difficult to shoot and skin, owing to 
 the feathers being so loose in the skin. 
 
 EED SAKD-LAEK(?). 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 10 inches; length to tail and toes, 
 6 inches. Bill short, black, robust. Cheek and throat black. Breast 
 ditto. Belly, vent, &c., i:)ale grey, nearly white. The back, neck, and 
 upper coverts are reddish-brown. The primary and greater coverts brown, 
 fading off at the edges, which are nearly white. Legs grey. 
 
 THE FLY-CATCHEE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 12^ inches ; from bill to tail, Ts inches ; 
 from bill to toes, 7 inches. General colour deep brownish (vandyke) black, 
 darker on the back, belly, and throat. Upper-wing coverts and rump white. 
 Crown of head a brownish-grey, some of the the tail featliers nearly all 
 white, but irregularly tipped or edged with brown. Eyes dull black. Legs 
 dull black.
 
 APPENDIX. 379 
 
 THE FLY-CATCHER (Another). 
 Expanse of wings, 85 inches ; length, 6^ inches. Nearly reddish-grey, 
 lighter on belly. A white band from upper mandible over the eye to over 
 back of ear. Brown streak before and behind the eye. Back and tail 
 burnt sienna, the latter tipped broadly with black, excepting the three 
 outer on each side. Quill feathers dark grey; on outside edged with 
 reddish-grey. Secondaries with broader margin of same tint. Greater and 
 lesser wing coverts reddish-grey. Under coverts lighter, or nearly dull 
 white, like the belly. Bill and legs dull bro^^Ti, the latter very dull. 
 Irides dull brown. Found in pairs. From corner of mouth the bill is 
 seven-eighths of an inch, slightly curved and slender. Small black ant 
 in the craw. There are no flies to be seen now (June). 
 
 THE TOUCAN. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 1 ft. IO5 in. ; from bill to tail, 1 ft. 6 in. ; 
 from bill to toes, 1 ft. 2 2 in. Bill dull chrome-yellow, edges dark brownish- 
 grey. Irides pale Naples yellow. Back dull black. Quills ditto. Upper 
 tail feathers ditto. The feathers of the upper-wing coverts are spotted with 
 a large white spot, leaving only the outer edges of the feathers dark-brown. 
 The inner feathers of the secondaries are jiale brownish-grey, the edges 
 paler, the outer ones white, with large blotches of deep brown near the 
 root end of quills. Head, neck, throat, and breast, grey, formed by a 
 mixture of dark and white filaments. Belly and legs white. Crown of 
 head dark-brown. Bill more than an inch deep, very much compressed ; 
 upper mandibles having a razor-like edge above. Bill, 3 inches long. 
 Legs black and short. Quill feathers white ; patch on outer web and three 
 or four feathers. A transverse white oblong spot exactly opposite on the 
 the other web (this is one of the three different kinds of Toucan). White 
 line half-way down the back. Under tail feathers white, with one grey 
 bar across the middle ; upper dark-brown or black ; a slight tinge of 
 green on the darker parts. 
 
 THE TOUCAN. 
 
 (HOKAKU OF THE BuSHMEN : — EgOTU OF THE DaMARAS.) 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 2 ft. 2 in.; extreme length, 1 ft. 9^ in. ; 
 tail, 9^ inches long; legs (brown), 7 inches long ; bill, from back of eye, 
 4 inches long. Bill jagged edges ; the front half underneath yellow, edged 
 with brown, Irides chrome. Tarsi scutellated in front. Throat bare. 
 Chin nearly so. Crown of head dark grey, nearly black, with small 
 admixture of white. Naked cerum round the eye. Throat and neck 
 covered with white feathers edged with black ; that of the neck becoming 
 white, and extending down to middle of back, which, with the upper tail 
 feathers, are black or very deep brown. Ten tail feathers ; the three outer
 
 380 APPENDIX. 
 
 ones on eacli side are ono-lialf wliite, divided off in the two outer ones by 
 an irregular circular bar, leaving the appearance of large white spots. The 
 upper two tail featliers jiartake strongly of brown ; the two next are 
 blacker, and all the dark parts partake of a greenish gloss. Quills black, 
 with small white spots, on second, third, and fifth. Some of the secon- 
 daries are white ; others nearly so, changing gradually in depth of colour 
 to a darkish brown. The scapularies edged with, white. Upper coverts 
 dark -brown, or black, with large white spot nearly occupying the whole of 
 each feather. Belly, vent, thigh, and under coverts, white ; but by the 
 scantiness of the plumage, under the wings, I should say this is a young 
 bird. Food, insects, seed, &c. Voice like a clucking hen. Good eating 
 when young. 
 
 THE PAEOQUET (Female). 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 12 inches ; length, 62 inches. Bill 
 white. Eyes dark-browu. General colour very bright glossy green (vege- 
 table green). Tail and wings darker, and tinged with blue above. Tail 
 feathers have a brownish-red spot in middle. Eump bright celestial blue. 
 Inner web of quills brown. Legs grey. Claws brown. A blight scarlet 
 band crosses the forehead as far as back of the eyes down the cheeks, gradu- 
 ally fading towards the breast, where it blends with the green. Under 
 mandible pale green, and both tipped with bluish horn colour. They go 
 in flocks of from twenty to thirty, always alighting close to one another. 
 Red spot in each tail. Feather surrounded by a light green ray, next to 
 which comes a streak of incomplete tears equi-distant from the base. When 
 the bird becomes excited, and spreads its tail, these spots and rays of tears 
 form nearly a complete circle, and look like a pretty sunflower, &c., &c. 
 
 THE PARROT. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 17 inches ; length, 10 inches. 
 General colour glossy olive-brown, darker on back, with a strong greenish 
 tinge. Shoulders bright orange-yellow. Thighs, rump, and under tail 
 coverts bright celestial blue ; lower part of the thighs deeper orange. 
 Tail and legs brown. Bill brown. The male has the brightest 
 colours. Uuder-wing coverts yellow. The young, though full grown, 
 have only a little yellow under the wings, and a little blue on the rump. 
 This is probably only during the first year. Utters a very discordant 
 screech. Go in pairs, sometimes three or four pairs, but not in flocks like 
 the Green Paroquet, 
 
 SHRIKE (?). 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 11^ inches ; from bill to tail, D inches ;
 
 APFENDIX. 381 
 
 from bill to toes, 8 inches. Throat, belly, vent, (fee, bright scarlet. Head, 
 neck, back, tail, and wings black, the latter fading towards their extremi- 
 ties. A few white feathers on the rump and at the insertion of the wings. 
 A white longitudinal stripe from imder the lesser coverts to the ends of 
 secondaries, two or three of which have the outer Avebs white. Feathers 
 of legs black, with a few brown speckles. Legs, claws, and bill black. 
 Part of upper mandible slightly hooked and slightly festooned. Bill three- 
 fourths of an inch long. Eyes dull bluish-grey. Has a few bristles. 
 Nostrils linear. 
 
 THE SMALL SHRIKE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 10 inches ; length to tail and toes, 
 6 inches ; bill half an inch ; strong hook at point, and has a sharp tooth. 
 Vent white. Broad band of rich rufous down each side. Crown of head 
 dark-brown or black, intermixed with grey. A white circle passing from 
 before upper mandible over the eyes to back of head. The dark colour of 
 head again succeeding from back of the eye down back of neck on either 
 side to the back, leaving a patch of dull yellowish-white in middle. Rump 
 grey, formed by a mixture of black and white filaments. Wings light- 
 brown, edged on outside with dull white. The greater wing coverts being 
 either wholly or partially dull yellow. Tail sepia-brown, edged and tipped 
 with white. Eyes brown, with white eyelashes underneath. Upper 
 mandible black ; under mandible dull blue, tipped with black. Legs 
 bluish-grey. 
 
 THE EED SHRHvE. 
 
 A few white speckles on the rump indicates the sex female. 
 
 THE BUTCHER BIRD. 
 
 Cinereous colour, rich brown on back. From cheek and around the eyes 
 passing around the forehead black. Upper tail feathers black, tipped 
 with white. Under tail feathers white half way from the roots, rest black. 
 Breast, belly, and throat dull white or yellow, with slight tint of purple. 
 Eyes black. 
 
 THE SWALLOW-TAILED, or SCISSOR-T AILED BIRD (A 
 
 Tyrant Fly-Catcher). 
 Dimensions — Expanse of wings, 15 inches ; from bill to tail, lOi inches ; 
 from bill to toes, 11 inches. Bill black, and hooked at the point. Eyes 
 hazel. Tarsi black and scutellated. Tail forked. General coloiu- black.
 
 382 APPENDIX. 
 
 shot with blue purple gloss. The tail ribbed with transverse bars of a 
 deeper hiie or shade. Quill feathers light-brown. Secondaries dark. 
 Nostrils oblong, with a few bristles. This bird has a peculiar loud and 
 musical note, and delights to sing in the moonlight ; by day is it compara- 
 tively silent, yet activelj^ employed nevertheless in catching flies and 
 throwing wonderful somersaults in the air after them. I think it must be 
 one of the Tyrant Fly-catchers. It will sit for hours during the night 
 singing loudly and sweetly, and changing its song and its tones every ten 
 minutes. It is the only bird that has been able to give me any idea of the 
 Nightingale. I have seen this little bird following and battling in the 
 air with the Eagle (Griffard) and the large brown Kite. Can it be for some 
 parasites which are on these birds, perhaps? In the pairing season the 
 female is very coy, and is chased about for a long time by the male. 
 
 THE WHITE CHATTERER. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 12 inches ; length, IO5 inches ; length 
 to toes, 9 inches. Eyes orange. Bill and tarsi dark-brown, nearly black. 
 Bill slightly bent, and one inch long. General colour snow white, except- 
 ing upper-wing coverts and tail, which are deep brown, nearly black, and 
 closely barred with almost imperceptible bars. They go in flocks of from 
 ten to twenty, and make a tremendous chatter. 
 
 THE WHITE-HEADED CHATTEREE. 
 
 The cheeks marked with black indicates the sex to be female. The 
 female has the head and neck quite white. 
 
 THE POUW (Female). 
 Golden-Ete. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 5 ft. 8 in. ; length, 3 feet ; bill, 2h 
 inches long, broad, and vertically compressed at base. Upper mandible 
 slightly bent at point. Head large, dark grey. Back of head white. Back 
 of neck warm sienna, merging into the body. Feathers of the scapulars, 
 secondaries, and upper coverts dark sepia-brown, with irregular heart- 
 shaped bars of light sienna, warmer and lighter towards the points. The 
 brown bands are again irregularly spotted with minuter spots disposed in 
 wavy bars. The rump feathers with minuter wavy bars of warm sienna, 
 and has a rich speckled appearance. Quill sepia-brown (the fourth and 
 fifth are nearly all white.) The tips of wing coverts white. White also pre- 
 ponderates in the tertials. Tail largely barred with brown and warm sienna 
 alternately, the lighter parts being again irregularly marked with wavy 
 blotches and spots of brown. Secondaries and scapulars ditto. Throat to
 
 APPEMDIX. 383 
 
 breast brownish-grey, with minute bars of wavy white. Breast, belly, 
 under-wing, and tail coverts white. Legs dull greenish-yellow. Eyes 
 speckled, like fine gold dust, or frosted gold. Skin bluish. No crest. The 
 down is white or pale grey. 
 
 THE CEOAKING KOEHAAN. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 3 ft. 8 in. ; length, 1 ft. 10 in. ; bill. 
 Is inches long, broad at base, vertically compressed, bent at point, horn 
 colour. Head large. Neck thin and long. Belly, vent, and under coverts 
 white. Dull yellow legs. Throat black, forming a line of black down 
 middle of neck into breast. Head speckled grey, being admixture of 
 minute bars of brown sienna with a wash of ashy-white over it. Quills, 
 secondaries, and tertials rich olive-cream, largely tipped with deep sepia- 
 brown. The scapulars are reddish-cream, marked across with large patches 
 and smaller bars or speckles of brown at the tips, the brown bars being 
 blotched -with the lighter colour, and the lighter parts speckled with the 
 brown. The upper coverts pale speckled creamy-grey, with a tinge of 
 pale Indian red over it, and irregular bars. Tail feathers ditto. The large 
 feathers Jjarred also with light-brown. Head feathers longish, but laying 
 down over a short black crest, from which a black ring round neck. The 
 down at the root of feathers Indian red, same as that on the large Pouw. 
 Generally three are found together. They do not fly up and hover noisily 
 in the air like the common Korhaan, but have rather a low steady flight. 
 The tips of the wings generally depressed. In walking they have a way 
 of swaying their neck backwards and forwards in a peculiar manner, like 
 a Muscovy Duck. They are very shy in this country, scarcely ever 
 allowing one to come within shot range. 
 
 THE SMALL CRESTED POUW. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, fi ft. 6 in. ; length, 3 ft. 6 in. General 
 colour the same as the large-crested Pouw. Tlie bill is 4 inches long (from 
 the corner of the mouth always). Small crest. The central grey feathers 
 of crown, when lifted, showing the most beautiful wavy markings. Eyes 
 pale yellow. Breast bone showing bluish skin. Thighs also rather bare. 
 Feathers also parted behind the neck. The brown circle round the neck 
 is indistinct. In other respects it is very like the Gom Pouw (large-crested) ; 
 seems an old bird, and also a female, like the rest. They lay two large eggs 
 on the ground, spotted like a turkey's. Light purple down underneath. 
 
 THE GOM POUW (Female). 
 Gum Buzzard. 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 10 ft. 6 in. ; length, 4 ft. 8 in. Crest 
 dark sepia-brown, somewhat speckled. Eyes bro^^m. Bill horn colour.
 
 384 APPENDIX. 
 
 and 5 inches long. Under mandible lighter. Neck feathers long, scanty, 
 and barred with brown. Legs dull and greenish-yellow. Belly white. 
 Dark circular band around the breast to the back. General colour a mix- 
 ture of warm brown, sepia-brown, brownish-yellow, and white ; darker and 
 lighter in parts ; and the larger feathers being regularly and distinctly 
 barred with brown warm bars, gives the bird a speckled grey appearance. 
 The bill, head, and crest together measure 12 inches. The male is very 
 similar, but much smaller. 
 
 Further Particulars. — Nostrils linear. Bare spot under each eye and 
 under each ear. A tuft of scanty feathers at the ears. Bill straight. 
 Upper mandible slightly bent at point. Horn colour. Under mandible 
 lighter. Eyes pale yellow (some reddish-brown, but may be a suffusion of 
 blood). Quills barred with wavy bars of brownish-grey. Greater wing 
 coverts tipped with white. The white in the secondaries is brighter. 
 Irregularly blotched with spots of brownish-grey. Greater wing coverts 
 banded near the tips with deep brown (raw umber), indicative of black 
 spotted lines, and otherwise beautifully speckled. Crown margin deep, 
 brown or black all round. Centre of crown short. Rigid grey or speckled 
 feathers ; some of the long feathers of the crest being streaked down the 
 middle with white. Breast bare, showing bluish skin. Feathers parted 
 behind the neck down into the back. Three toes. Food : grass, leaves, 
 insects, berries, &c. They are fat in the berry season, and always make 
 their appearance after a shower to pick up the spiders, centipedes, scorpions, 
 termites, beetles, and other insects. They are generally found in pairs, 
 and eat a great quantity of pebbles, which soon break up the insects in its 
 stomach. Light pnrple or puce down underneath. 
 
 THE KOEHAAN (Male). 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 34 inches ; length, 22 inches ; bill 
 I2 inches in length. Back, scapulary, and upper coverts irregularly brown 
 in the middle. The margin a dull yellow, with violet tinge. This margin 
 is, however, regularly speckled or barred with wavy bars of brown, and 
 the tail feathers are a beautiful admixture of minute brown and creamy- 
 white wavy bars, and tipped at the point with deep brown. Crown of 
 head brown. Underneath covered over with pale slaty-blue, and sur- 
 rounded with a ring of brown speckled feathers. Neck bro\vnish-grey. 
 Throat ditto, overlaid with the slaty-blue to the breast, which is spotted 
 also with pure white. Quills a deep rich brown, the inner ones crossed 
 with large creamy bars ; large bands of cream colour also cross the tertials. 
 Secondaries deep rich brown, barred with oval white spots. Legs greenish- 
 yellow. Bill brown imder mandible. Bluish horn colour. The under- 
 neath is a deep rich brown, commencing abruptly about the middle of the 
 breast to the end of the tail, and the wings are lighter and duller under- 
 neath, saving the extremities of the inner secondaries, which are distinctly 
 crossed with larger and smaller wavy bars. Eyes yellow.
 
 APPENDIX. 385 
 
 THE RED-BREASTED POUW. 
 
 This bird is somewhat smaller than the Gom Pouw. The bill very 
 much shorter; the plumage richer. Head large. Crown deep brown or 
 dark grey. No crest. Neck and breast reddish-brown. Belly white. 
 Makes a loud booming noise like the Ostrich. 
 
 THE SOUTH AFRICAN RING-DOVE, or TURTLE DOVE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 19 inches ; from bill to tail, 12 inches ; 
 from bill to toes, IO5 inches. General colour ash. Darker or paler in 
 parts. The rump inclines to blue ; the back or scapulars to brown ; the 
 tail, vent, and throat to white ; and the breast and neck to a light reddish- 
 purple or mosaic tinge. The quill feathers are a silky brown. Eyes dark 
 brown. Legs dark red. Bill black. The lower half of the under-tail feathers 
 dark grey. This bird has .a black collar round the back part of neck. 
 
 THE SMALL RIVER-DOVE. 
 
 Back and first half of wings dark ash colour, and sometimes barred with 
 white. Quill feathers reddish-brown; outer edges black. Greater wing 
 coverts dark grey, tipped with white. A spot of glossy green on the two 
 inner ones. Rump grey, barred across with black. Tail dark grey, tipped 
 with black. Belly pale ash colour. Bill and eyes black. Feet dark dull purple. 
 
 THE TURTLE DOVE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 15 inches ; extreme length, 11 inches. 
 Head, neck, and breast light reddish-purple, fading gradually into white at 
 the vent and tail underneath. Throat feathers black, largely tipped with 
 the same, but warmer, giving it a rich black speckled appearance. Upper- 
 wing coverts, rump, and tail slaty-blue ; brighter on the rump, and dull 
 and dark on the tail. Quills dark brown. Back and part of the wing 
 (tertials) edged with warm fawn colour, giving it, with the blue imder- 
 neath, a rich appearance like shot silk. Bill black. Chin white. Legs 
 dull purple vermilion. Eyes dark brown. Underneath tail feathers tipped 
 with white half way. 
 
 THE TURTLE DOVE (Female). 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, I62 inches ; length to tail, 10 inches ; 
 length to toes, 8 inches. Belly, vent, and underneath of tail white. 
 Primaries and upper tail feathers dark slaty-grey. Upper coverts and 
 rump slaty-blue. Tertials ditto. Secondaries ditto, but a little darker. 
 Scapularies and back slaty-grey, largely fringed with warm brown. Head 
 and throat light purple, deepening on the breast. Feathers of the throat 
 black ; all largely tipped with reddish-brown, which gives the throat a 
 
 VOL. II. 2 c
 
 386 APPENDIX. 
 
 rich mottled appearance. Bill dark brown. Eyes brown, with purplish 
 cerum. Legs dull purple. Claws brown. 
 
 THE NAMAQUA DOVE (Male). 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 12^ inches ; length to tail, IO2 inches 
 (female a trifle less). General colour ash. Face, throat, and breast black. 
 Belly white. Tail black or dark grey at base. Quills and secondaries 
 reddish-brown, largely tipped and edged with black. Two or three large 
 gold and purple spots on each wing in the tertials. Tail coverts tipped 
 with black, making bars across the rump. Bill half orange, and base half 
 purple. The bill of the female is brown, and she has no black on face, 
 throat, or breast. The tail and quills are brown above, legs in both a 
 purplish-red. Eyes brown. The female is a trifle smaller. The legs are 
 very short. They are very tame, but extremely difficult to skin owing to 
 the tenderness of the skin. 
 
 THE EING-DOVE. 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 18 inches ; length to toes, 10 inches ; 
 length to tail, 11 inches. Throat, neck, breast, and belly, pale ashy-grey. 
 Lighter towards the belly, which is white, with a light red or purplish 
 tinge. Head, rump, and tail slaty-blue ; the latter with a brownish tinge. 
 The back brownish or olive. Quills and wrist- feathers dark slatj'-grey. 
 Secondaries bluish slaty-grey. Upper and under-wing coverts pale bluish 
 ash-colour, deepening towards the back into the same brownish-olive (the 
 colour of the back is formed apparently by an admixture of slaty-blue and 
 brown). A deep black collar on back of neck, not connected imder the 
 throat. Legs pale reddish-purple. Bill black. Underneath tail feathers are 
 black or deep brown at base, largely tipped with white. Eyes damaged. 
 
 THE EOLLER, or JAY (Male). 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 2 feet ; extreme length, 1 ft. 2 in. ; 
 length to toes, 11 inches. Bill dark brown, 1^ inches. Nostril linear 
 (oblique) near the base. Eyes brown. Eye naked above, below, and bare 
 patch behind. Crown of head brown, with wash of green over it. A 
 white patch runs over the eye from base of bill. At back of head it has a 
 patch of white feathers. Back and scapularies brown or olive, with stronger 
 wash of green, which is invisible in some lights, which substitutes a 
 purplish tinge. Upper coverts violet, changing into reddish or purplish- 
 brown. Quills, tertials, and secondaries changing with the light from a 
 deep ultramarine to indigo, with deep brown or black edging on inner 
 webs, and a green tinge on outer webs of two or three outer quills. Tail 
 feathers of the same deep blue, with a purple tinge ; two middle feathers 
 being blackish, or cold green. Rump violet. Under coverts violet or
 
 APPENDIX. 387 
 
 pale purple. Vent ditto. Belly and throat reddish-brown. Each feather 
 streaked down the middle with white. Legs dull yellow. Bill hooked at 
 point. Food : grubs, worms, and other insects. There are three or four 
 varieties, and another with the two long tail-feathers. I have met with 
 them from here (Damara Land) to the desert beyond the Lake. The female is 
 2 inches less in expanse of wings. Eggs white, as large as a Turtle Dove's. 
 
 THE CEOW. 
 
 Lehakabi. 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, 3 ft. 4 in. ; from bill to toes, 1 ft. 7 in. ; 
 from bill to tail, 1 ft. 7-^ in. Bill, 2i inches from the eye. Beak and legs 
 black, long, and bushy. Hairs lying flat on the upper mandible, a few 
 at base of lower mandible, and before the eyes, which are dull brown. 
 General colour inky black, with purple metallic gloss, which is darker and 
 richer on wing coverts. Broad band of white across, from the shoulder to 
 back of neck, the upper line then stretching in a semicircular manner on 
 the breast, forms a broader continuation of the band, this extending under 
 the arms, and transversely ending at tlie commencement of the vent. Tail 
 underneath rather dusky black. Feathers on breast, on margin of the 
 white, also edged with white. The skin is of a pink colour, bare under 
 the bones of wings, and to a slight extent upon the wrist also. Legs black. 
 Outer and middle toe connected by a web, extending to the first joint. 
 Smaller web between middle and inner toe. 
 
 THE BLACK-HEADED WOODPECKER 
 
 Both the male and female are similar in all respects, saving the scarlet 
 on the crown of head, and that the quill and tail shafts are yellow, and 
 the rump, back, and wings, has a yellowish tinge. 
 
 THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER. 
 
 Kapenda Muti. 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, IO5 inches; length from bill to tail, 
 6J inches ; length from bill to toes, 6 inches ; length of bill three-quarters 
 of an inch. The crown of head scarlet. The bars and quill shafts of quill 
 and tail feathers yellow, and a uniform pale grey on cheek and throat. 
 Eyes brown. 
 
 THE WOODPECKER (Female). 
 
 Dimensions : — Expanse of wings, IG inches ; extreme length, 9i inches. 
 Legs short. Bill, 1 inch long, straight and brown. Ground colour of 
 head to the back of neck is black, speckled on forehead with white, and 
 on the crown the feathers are pointed with red, giving it a red coating. 
 Cheek black, surrounded by white lines from over the eye to base of neck 
 
 2 c 2
 
 388 APPENDIX. 
 
 and back, under the eye to bill, then a white stripe down the middle of 
 throat to breast, which is light grey baixed with dull white. The upper 
 parts of body are darker grey, imperfectly barred, or notched with white in 
 the wings. Quill shafts white ; in tail white, short, and rigid. Eyes 
 hazel-brown. Tongue barbed. Tarsi scutellated. 
 
 THE KED-HEADED WOODPECKER (Male). 
 
 I find there must be two distinct kinds : the one which I formerly took 
 to be the male of the larger kind must be the male of the smaller s[;ecies. 
 It is about the same size as the little red-headed fellow, but differs in the 
 absence of the red crown. 
 
 Female brown and white. 
 
 THE PICUS. 
 
 A specimen of red-headed, large kind, male, has red cheeks, in which it 
 differs from all the rest. It is also of a brighter colour, with a tinge of 
 pale green on breast and fore parts. 
 
 LARGE YELLOW BAT. 
 
 Dimensions: — Expanse of wings, 1 ft. 1 in. The underneath yellow, 
 like a Canary-bird. The web transparent. The bones or framework of 
 wings rosy. 
 
 ORTYGYPS AURICULARIS. (Gray.) 
 
 This, about the largest and the most powerful of the Vultures of South 
 Africa, is also the most common. Is usually'' one of the first, if not the 
 first, to arrive about a carcass, which he nearly always succeeds in appro- 
 priating to himself, until such time as his voracious appetite has been 
 appeased. Even hyenas and jackals have been known to give way to his 
 formidable beak and talons. He is sometimes called the Black Vulture, or 
 Swarte Aas-vojel, by the Dutch colonists. 
 
 GYP^TUS FULVORIS. (Gml.) 
 
 Like the preceding species it is found nearly all over South Africa ; but 
 is more common to the south and east than in either Damara or Great 
 Namaqua Land, where, in fact, it is rather sparingly met with. 
 
 VULTUR OCCIPITALIS. (BurcheU.) 
 I have named this bird V. occipitalis, but am not quite certain that this 
 is correct. However, be that as it may, he strongly resembles him.
 
 APPENDIX. 389 
 
 Earely met ■s\ith in Damara Land, but is not uncommon in the Lake regions, 
 as also to the south of it. 
 
 VULTUR ^GYPTICUS. (Lath.) 
 
 This Vulture is not unfrequently called the " White Crow," and is found 
 throughout Damara Land and Great Namaqua Land, more especially near 
 the sea-coast. Acts as a scavenger, living often upon the filthiest offal. 
 Frequents abandoned villages. 
 
 AQUILA BELLICOSA. (Smith.) 
 
 This noble Eagle is occasionally met with in the Lake regions, but is 
 rare in Damara Land, and is one of the most formidable enemies to smaU 
 quadrupeds, on which he seems chiefly to subsist. Mr. E. Layard told 
 Mr. Andersson that a friend of his wrote to him to say that at the foot of a 
 lofty tree, where a pair of these birds (it is presumed they were Aquila 
 bellicosa) had built their eyrie, a person counted no less than ninety-Jive 
 heads of the small Blue Back ! and I have heard of districts where people 
 are unable to keep a cat alive in consequence of the depreciations of some 
 large species of Eagle — imdoubtedly the enemy was Aquila bellicosa. 
 Usually found in pairs. 
 
 AQUILA BONELLIL 
 
 This very handsome Eagle is to be sparingly met with in Damara and 
 Great Namaqua Land. Perches on rocks and trees, but, to the best of my 
 belief, roosts only on the latter. Flight heavy, but when once risen to a 
 certain height it soars powerfully. Food small quadrupeds. 
 
 AQUILA KACEEIODES. (Cuvier.) 
 
 This is probably one of the commonest Eagles in South Africa. Have 
 met with him in Damara Land, at Lake Ngami, Kuruman, the Karroo, and 
 in most parts of the colony. In its habits it approaches the Vulture, as it 
 is often found feeding on offal, earthworms, frogs, &c., but captures readily 
 living prey, such as bustards, hares, &c. When young is of a sooty-brown 
 appearance ; at a little distance he looks quite black. 
 
 HALIAETUS VOCIFER. 
 
 This handsome Osprey frequently enlivens with its presence the well 
 watered but dreary regions about Lake Ngami and parts adjacent. On the 
 Dzouga, the Zambesi, the Teoughe, and on the Okavango, the voyager
 
 390 APPENDIX. 
 
 rarely passes a day without meeting with a pair or two. He presents a 
 pretty picture when perched on some time-worn bough, with its varied and 
 striking colours standing boldly out against a cloudless sky. When on the 
 wing he utters loud cries of Ou-ou-owlie, hence its Sechuana name. 
 
 Lives chiefly on fish captured by itself, but is also said to rob the 
 Pelican of its prey. 
 
 FALCO PEEEGRINUS. 
 
 I have heard of this noble Falcon at Natal, and Mr, Andersson tells me 
 that he once killed it in Damara Land ; but on the whole it must be rare 
 in South Africa. 
 
 FALCO BIAEMICUS. 
 
 This jwwerful Falcon, in niany respects so similar to that of the pre- 
 ceding species, is to be met with from the Cape Colony in the south to the 
 Okavango on the north, and Lake Ngami to the east, and probably farther. 
 Subsists chiefly on birds. 
 
 FALCO SUBUTEO (Pennant), or HOBBY. 
 
 European naturalists were not aware until recently that this pretty 
 Falcon was found south of the equator. Makes his appearance occasionally 
 during the rainy season, when he arrives in company with the Common 
 Kestrel, Orange-legged Hobby, Timcunculiis cenchris, &c. 
 
 FALCO RUFICOLOIDES. 
 
 Very scarce. Met with, I beUeve, occasionally in the Lake regions and in 
 Damara Land. 
 
 FALCO EUFICOLLIS. (Daud.) 
 
 Common throughout South Africa, but generally found more common at 
 one season than another. Lives on small birds, mice, &c. 
 
 FALCO EUFICOLLIS. (Swains.) 
 The rufous-necked Falcon is a rare bird everywhere. Mr. Andersson, 
 who is a keen observer and collector of birds, has only observed very few 
 individuals in Damara Land. 
 
 FALCO CENCHEIS. 
 Rathex" scarce in Damara Land, and only seen during the rainy season.
 
 APPENDIX. 391 
 
 FALCO EUFIPES (Bech.), or OEANGE-LEGGED HOBBY. 
 
 This pretty Falcon is very abundant in Damara and Great Namaqua 
 Land, also at the Lake, during the rainy season ; but disappears entirely on 
 the approach of the hot season. 
 
 During their stay in Damara Land their chief food consists of white ants, 
 which abound during the wet season. 
 
 FALCO SEMITOEQUATUS. (Smith.) 
 
 Very rare. I believe the Kalahari desert to be its true home. Usually 
 seen in pairs. 
 
 FALCO ALUSICUS. (Daud.) 
 
 This handsome Hawk is rather common in Damara and Great Namaqua 
 Land, and is one of the few species which remains throughout the year. 
 
 Its food consists of mice, lizards, ants, &c. It has a " skimming " flight, 
 occasionally moving its large wings with slow and heavy undulations. 
 
 FALCO POLYZONOIDES. (Eiipp.) 
 
 Found^sparingly in Damara Land. Is easily confounded with Falco gabar, 
 which it strongly resembles at a distance. Migratory. Resorts to wooded 
 districts, where he seeks his food, consisting of mice, lizards, white ants, 
 grasshoppers, &c. 
 
 ACCIPITEE GABAE. (Band.) 
 
 This Hawk is not uncommon in many parts of South Africa. Abundant 
 at times at the Lake and in Damara and Great Namaqua Land. Partially 
 migratory. A few remain throughout the year. Prefers thick woods to 
 open or partially-wooded districts. 
 
 ACCIPITEE NIGEE. 
 
 This is a scarce bird everywhere. Lives on small birds, mice, &c. 
 
 ACCIPITEE TACHIEO. 
 
 This is a very common species in Damara Land, and at the Lake during 
 the rainy season. The females seem to arrive before the males.
 
 392 Al'l'ENDIX. 
 
 ACCIPITER MINULLUS. 
 
 Rare. Never, I believe, seen in Damara Land proper. Now and then 
 found at the Lake and on the Zambesi. 
 
 FALCO MELANOPTERNI. (Sav.) 
 Pretty common at the Lake, but scarce in Damara Land. Feeds on 
 fish, lizards, and mice. 
 
 MILVUS ^GYPTICUS, or YELLOW-BILLED KITE. 
 MILVUS ATER, or BLACK KITE. 
 
 Both these species are common iu Damara Ijaud during the rainy season. 
 At first only a few individuals appear, but in a short time their numbers 
 are legion. A true scavenger. Lives on offal, mice, lizards, white ants, 
 &c. A very fearless bird. Has been known to snatch a piece of meat out 
 of a person's hands. 
 
 CIRCUS SWAINSONII. (Smith.) 
 
 Migratory. Appearing in Damara Land towards the rainy season ; but 
 it is chiefly the young and the middle-aged birds, few adult individuals 
 being observed. Not common ; but in the Lake regions he is more fre- 
 quently met with. 
 
 SECRETARIUS REPTILIVORUS (Baud.), or THE 
 SECRETARY. 
 
 Sparingly met with in Damara and Great Namaqua Land, and in the 
 Lake country. Very common in the colony. Large open plains are their 
 favourite resorts. When a pair have established themselves in any locality, 
 they are said to drive away all others of the same kind. 
 
 The nest is veiy large, and occupied for several successive seasons 
 if the bird is not disturbed, and is situated in some low bush. Lays two 
 eggs of a dusky white, dotted profusely with light brownish. Red blotches 
 at the obtuse end, and sparsely over the white of the shell. 
 
 STRIX LACTEA. 
 
 This is probably the largest species of Owl as yet found in South Africa. 
 It has a considerable range, being of not unfrequent occurrence from the 
 Orange river on the south (and even within the colony) to the Okavango 
 on the north. To the eastward, it is met with in the Lake regions, and in 
 some parts of the Zambesi valley. 
 
 It feeds on small quadrupeds, birds, bats, lizards, mice, &c. Hoots.
 
 APPENDIX. 393 
 
 STRIX LEUCOTIS. 
 STRIX SENEGALENSIS. (Swains.) 
 
 These two species are common from Lake Ngami to the west coast, but 
 especially the latter. This pretty little Owl possesses a most intelligent 
 look, and hops about on its perch in the liveliest and briskest manner. 
 Seems as much at homo in broad daylight — nay, it sees its way through 
 a dazzling sun— as at night. Both sexes are nearly alike in size and 
 appearance. 
 
 STEIX SCOPS (Mont.), or LITTLE HORNED OWL. 
 
 This is by far the rarest and the prettiest of the Owl tribe in South- West 
 Africa. Mr. Andersson tells me that he had been very many years in 
 Damara Land before he became aware of the existence of this species ; and 
 altogether he has only obtained three or four specimens. This was in the 
 neighbourhood of his residence, Otjimbengue. 
 
 STRIX FLAMMEA. 
 
 This is a scarce species north of the Orange river, but widely distributed. 
 It is likewise found throughout the Cape colony, and is often found breeding 
 about the farm-houses. Differs very conspicuously from another species 
 found near the Cape. It is much smaller, and of lighter tints. The species 
 in question is Strix capensis. 
 
 LANTUS EXCUBITOR, or GREAT GREY SHRIKE. 
 
 This fine Shrike is not uncommon in Damara Land at certain seasons. 
 
 LANIUS SUBCORONATUS. (Smith.) 
 
 This species is common in Damara Land. Is easily mistaken for L. Colliirio, 
 or the Fiskal of the Dutch colonists, at a distance, but is readily distinguished 
 from it on a closer inspection. Thus the Mhite front and streak over eyes 
 so conspicuous in L. Siibcorovatus is entirely absent in L. Collurio. The 
 latter is not found in Damara Land proper. 
 
 LANIUS COLLURIO, or RED-BACKED SHRIKE. 
 
 Sparingly met with in Damara Land.
 
 394 APPENDIX. 
 
 LANIUS BACKBAKIEI. 
 
 This fine large Shrike is but sparingly seen in Damara Land, but becomes 
 more numerous on proceeding southward. It in some manner likewise 
 changes its habits. In Damara Land the Backbakiri Shrike is very shy and 
 retired in its habits. At the Cape, where they may be seen in almost every 
 garden, they are tolerably familiar, perching on the fences very freely, and 
 giving utterance to a succession of ringing calls, something, it is said, Uke 
 its name, or Bak-ba-kirl. 
 
 LAXIUS BRUBKU. (Lath.) 
 
 Not uncommon from the Okavango to the Orange river, but nowhere 
 common. 
 
 Eestless: always found hopping about amongst the branches of trees 
 searchins; for insects. 
 
 LANIUS TEIVIEGATUS? (Smith.) 
 
 If this Shrike be correctly named, it is sparingly met with in Damara Land, 
 as well as parts adjacent. However, it may be less rare than I imagine, as 
 it confines itself to dense thickets or low bush, where it hops about 
 incessantly. No sooner have you caught a glimpse of it than it is gone 
 from view. 
 
 LAKIAEIUS ATEO-COCCINEUS (Swains), or BLACK AND 
 CEIMSON SHEIKE. 
 
 This brilliantly coloured Shrike is pretty commonly dispersed over 
 Damara Land and the Lake regions. Frequents dense thickets, as well as 
 open wood. Searches for its food in all such localities, but is most partial 
 to tangled brakes and thick bush. 
 
 Utters pleasant, clear, ringing notes. Builds a rough nest in the fork of 
 a tree. Eggs not imlike the common European Butcher-bird of Europe. 
 
 LANIUS MELANOLEUCOS. (Nolis.) 
 
 Not uncommon in the Lake regions, but a scarce bird in the southern 
 parts of Damara Land. Gregarious. At times very noisy, more especially if 
 a bird of prey is approaching. Of such it entertains no fear, but warns 
 the smaller birds of the enemy. The moment the " alarm-cry " of Lan. 
 melanoleucos is sounded, every little fellow hurriedly seeks a place of 
 safety.
 
 APPENDIX. 395 
 
 MELACONOTUS SIMILIS (Smith), or OEANGE-BKEASTED 
 BUSH SHEIKE. 
 
 I have nevei" observed this bird west of Lake Ngami, but here it is not 
 uncommon. 
 
 PRIANOPS TALACOMA. (Smith.) 
 Not seen in Southern Damara Land, but not uncommon in the more 
 northern part. Observed also in the Lake regions, Zambesi, &c. 
 
 Gregarious. Usually found in secluded spots, where it hops restlessly 
 from branch to branch in search of insects ; they hunt quite systemati- 
 cally. 
 
 DICKUNIS MUSICUS. (Vieil.) 
 
 Common almost everywhere. Usually observed singly, or in pairs. 
 Partially migratory. Very fierce. Will fearlessly attack any bird, no 
 matter what size — the most powerful Falcon not excepted — and will not 
 rest until it has expelled the intruder from its particular beat. 
 
 At times, and more especially during the season of incubation, he 
 reminds one of some of the Song Thrushes of Europe, for, like them, he may 
 be heard late at night, perched on the top of trees, uttering the most 
 melodious notes, rather plaintive perhaps, but, at the same time, very 
 soothing and varied. In the early morning, an hour or so before day- 
 break, he may also be heard carolling to his mate. 
 
 Builds, in the fork of a tree or branch, a nest composed of small twigs, 
 and lined with tendrils, but no soft lining. Lays from two to four eggs of 
 a whitish colour, besprinkled with small dark brown spots, somewhat 
 clustered at the thicker end. 
 
 Usually catches his prey on the wing, and watches for it from some 
 elevated perch whence a good view is to be obtained. 
 
 PLATYSTIEA ALBICAUDA. (Strickland.) 
 
 So far as my experience goes, this fine Fly-catcher is confined to the 
 southern parts of Damara Land. I have found it most numerous on the 
 open and elevated tracts between Otjimbengue and Eehoboth. Seeks its 
 food both on the ground and amongst dwarf vegetation. Shy in its habits, 
 and very restless. The moment it finds itself pursued, it makes for the 
 thickest part of the tree or bush that may chance to be in its way, and 
 thence make its escape on the opposite side to that on which its pursuer 
 is stationed. But it rarely flies far, invariably settling on the nearest tree 
 or bush, where it may deem itself secure ; whence again it steadily pursues 
 its tactics. Flight slow, and apparently labouring. Found in small 
 flocks.
 
 390 APPENDIX. 
 
 MUSCICAPA SENEGALENSIS. (Grul.) 
 
 Found pretty much distributed over Damara Land, also in the Lake 
 re<Tions. Usual Ij' seen in pairs about large trees, which it explores care- 
 fully and systematically in search of insects. 
 
 MUSCICAPA GEISOLA, or SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER 
 (Pennant.) 
 
 Common almost everywhere. 
 
 MUSCIPETA CRISTATA? (Gml.) 
 
 Not observed in Damara Land, but not unfrequent in the neighbourhood 
 of the Lake Okavango, &c. 
 
 TURDUS STREPITANS. (Smith.) 
 This Thrush is pretty common in Damara Land, as well as in the Lake 
 regions. To a great extent migratory. Lives singly, or in pairs ; rarely 
 seen in flocks. 
 
 Feeds chiefly on insects, which he searches for at the roots of trees, 
 amongst low bushes, old leaves, and decayed wood, &c. Scratches some- 
 what in the manner of a fowl, hence the Bechuanas call him " ground- 
 scraper." Kuns about with great celerity. 
 
 TUEDUS CAPENSIS. 
 This is a very common bird everywhere. Always found in the neigh- 
 bourhood of water. Gregarious, noisy. Chatters rather than sings. 
 Feeds on berries, insects, &c. 
 
 BRADORNIS MARIQUENSIS. (Smith.) 
 Common. Seems to me to partake more of the habits of the Fly-catchers, 
 or Shrikes, than those of the Thrushes. 
 
 CRATEROPUS BICOLOR, or BLACK AND WHITE 
 CHATTERER. 
 
 Common throughout Damara Land, and many parts of Great Namaqua 
 LS.nd. Also observed at Lake Ngami. Gregarious. Numerous individuals
 
 APPENDIX. 397 
 
 collect together. Creeps and glides through the mazes of tangled wood and 
 dense thickets with wonderful ease and celerity. When alarmed, flies 
 slowly from tree to tree. Flight feeble. 
 
 Incubates early. Have obtained fledged birds at the middle and end of 
 November. 
 
 ORIOLUS GALBULA, or GOLDEN ORIOLE. (Pennant.) 
 
 OEIOLUS AURATUS (Vieil.), or AFRICAN GOLDEN 
 
 ORIOLE. 
 
 Both these species are to be met with during the rainy season, but they 
 are chiefly young birds. The adults ai"e rarely met with, and always 
 excessively wary and shy in their habits, either keeping to the loftiest trees, 
 or the most secluded thickets. At a distance the two species are easily 
 confounded, and the young still more so. 
 
 SYLVIA (?) 
 
 A diminutive species. General colour of plumage greyish, with belly 
 and vent light yellow. Found in small flocks. Partial to low trees and 
 bushes, amongst which he searches most industriously for insects. 
 
 SYLVIA BREVICAUDA. (Rupp.) 
 
 Scarce in Damara Land. On the Okavango and the neighbourhood, 
 however, it is common. 
 
 PARISOMA RUFIVENTER. (Swains.) 
 Common in Damara and Great Namaqua Land. 
 
 SYLVIA (?) 
 
 Resembles the preceding species closely, both in general appearance, 
 habits, and manners. Differs in being a smaller bird, and has no red on the 
 under-tail coverts. Scarce, but rather widely distributed. 
 
 SYLVIA OBSCURA. (Smith.) 
 Scarce in Damara Land.
 
 398 APPENDIX. 
 
 SYLVIA (?) 
 
 A species of reed warbler; notunlikethe European Salicariaarundinacen, 
 l)ut much larger. Nearly always singing. Inliabits reedy localities. On 
 tlie least approach of danger it immediately retires to the thickest parts of 
 its reedy resorts. 
 
 DEYMCECA CAPENSIS. 
 DEYMCECA PECTORALIS. (Smith.) 
 DRYMGECA FLAVICANS. (Vieil.) 
 DRYMCECA CHINIANA. (Smith.) 
 DEYMCECA LE VAILLANTI. (Smith.) 
 DRYMCECA OCULARIS. (Smith.) 
 Very scarce in Damara Land. More frequently met with in the south of 
 Great Namaqua Land. Frequents low bush. 
 
 DRYMCECA FASCIOLATA. (Smith.) 
 Veiy rare in Damara Laud. 
 
 DEYMCECA TEERESTRIS. (Smith.) 
 
 PARUS NIGER. (Vieil.) 
 PARUS CINERASCENS. (Vieil.) 
 
 Both these species are found in the Lake regions, and in Damara Land ; 
 but, on the whole, scarce. 
 
 ERYTHROPYGIA PECTORALIS (Smith), or THORN-CHAT. 
 ERYTHROPYGIA P^NA. 
 
 Both these species are found in one part or another in Damara and Great 
 Namaqua Land ; also at Lake Ngami. I believe naturalists refuse to place 
 these birds amongst the Chats, but I have, nevertheless, retained them in 
 that genus, as I know of no other family of birds that they so nearly 
 resemble in manner, habits, food, &c. E. jyectoralis is, during the time of 
 incubation, an exquisite songster; and it has, moreover, the power of 
 imitating almost every other bird to be found in its vicinity. 
 
 SAXICOLA SPERATA. (Linn.) 
 This is the most common of all the Saxicolas in Damara Land, Extends 
 thence right on to the Cape. Individuals found in the latter Cduntry are of 
 a deeper tint.
 
 APPENDIX. 399 
 
 Is very familiar witli man. If not frightened, becomes so tame as to come 
 into a i^erson's house in search of food. 
 
 SAXICOLA EUBICOLA. (Bechst.) 
 Found at the Lake, and in the colony, but I have never observed it in 
 Damara Land. 
 
 SAXICOLA FOEMICIVORA. (VieiL) 
 Sparingly met with in Damara Land, and thence to the northward. 
 Eather a local species. Usually found in pairs. 
 
 SAXICOLA ALPINA. 
 
 This handsome Saxicola, or Eock Thrush, as it is indiscriminately called, 
 is common in the south of Damara Land, and thence on to the Orange river. 
 Very partial to localities that abound in rocks indeed, it is never found any 
 distance from the hills, to which it immediately resorts on the least approach 
 of danger. 
 
 Invariably seeks its food on the ground, but will also seize insects on the 
 
 SAXICOLA HOTTENTOTIA. (Gml.) 
 Very common throughout Damara Land. Found also in the Lake regions, 
 on the Eiver Okavango, &c. Migratory. Eeappears in Damara Land with 
 the return of the rainy season. A local bird on the Zambesi. Though 
 resembling the European species, it seems to me to be a smaller bird. 
 
 PETEOCINCLA EXPLOEATOR. 
 
 Found not uncommonly in the southern parts of Damara Land. In habits 
 and manners this bird exactly resembles Saxicola alpina, and like it it is 
 partial to localities of a rocky nature, as also to abandoned werfts. 
 
 Voracious feeder. Scarcely anything in the insect way comes amiss to 
 him. Have even found scorpions in its stomach. 
 
 ANTHUS 
 
 There is one, if not two, species of Pi[iets indigenous to Damara Land, 
 but as yet I have not succeeded in satisfactorily identifying them. This is 
 is also the case with the Wagtails (Motacella.)
 
 400 APPENDIX. 
 
 ALAUDA SPLENIATA. (Strickland.) 
 Common in Damara and Great Namaqua Land, as also at the Cape. 
 
 ALAUDA N^IE^. (Strickland.) 
 Found on the barren plains in the neighbourhood of Walvisch Bay, as 
 well as a short distance inland, but not so far inland as Otjimbengue. A 
 few individuals generally found in company. 
 
 ALAUDA ERYTHEOCHLAMyS(?). (Strickland.) 
 I have found this Lark in but one locality, viz., in the neighbourhood 
 of Walvisch Bay. 
 
 CEKTHILAUDA SEMITORQUATA (?). (Smith.) 
 Not to my knowledge met with in Damara Land. First observed in 
 Great Namaqua Land, where, in some localities, it is not unfrequent. 
 
 CERTHILAUDA GAMELA (?). 
 
 Like the preceding, only to be met with in some parts of Great Namaqua 
 Land. 
 
 BRACHYONIS PYRRHONOTHA. (Vieil.) 
 
 Only observed near the Okavango. 
 
 PYRRHULAUDA LEUCOTIS. (Smith.) 
 PYRKHULAUDA AUSTEALIS. 
 PYRRHULAUDA VERTICALIS. (Smith.) 
 All these species are occasionally met with in Damara Land, but P. 
 leucotis is the least frequent. 
 
 TEXTOR ERYTHRORHYNCHUS. (Smith.) 
 This bird is pretty common in Damara Land, as also at Lake Ngami. 
 
 The natives there call it Gushoa. Gregarious. 
 
 Builds in lofty trees ; nest composed of a cartload of sticks and twigs. 
 
 Seems to prefer the giraffe-thorn to every other kind of tree.
 
 APPENDIX. 401 
 
 PLOCEUS SANGUINIEOSTEIS. (Linn.) 
 PLOCEUS SPLILONOTUS. (Vigors.) 
 PLOCEUS MAEIQUENSrS. (Smith.) 
 PLOCEUS CUCULLATUS. (Swains.) 
 The two last-named are the only two species that can be said to be at all 
 
 common in Damara Land. There are more species not yet satisfactorily 
 
 identified. 
 
 EUPLECTES CAPENSIS. (Swains.) 
 EUPLECTES IGNICOLOE. (Swains.) 
 Neither species is common ; the bird is, nevertheless, pretty widely 
 distributed. 
 
 EUPLECTES LEPIDUS. (Swains.) 
 The Orange River constitutes the southern limit of this species. Great 
 Namaqua Land (and probably the Kalahari Desert) is its head-quarters. In 
 Damara Land proper it is of rare occurrence. Builds enormous umbrella- 
 shaped grass nests, roofed over, and imj^ervious to wind and rain. Their 
 weight becomes at times so great as to carry away the branch or branches 
 on which they are constucted. 
 
 EUPLECTES TAHA. (Smith.) 
 
 I should fancy rather rare in Damara Land, but I think more plentiful 
 in the Lake country. 
 
 PLOCEPASSEE MAHALI. (Smith.) 
 Damara Land proper would seem to be the real home of this fine Finch. 
 Gregarious. Usually found far from water, and in the most wild and deso- 
 late spots. A number of individuals build on the same tree. Constructs 
 large, rumbling, coarse grass nests near the extremities of the boughs ; it 
 being, no doubt, intended that both the situation and the roughness of 
 material, and mode of construction, are to serve as safeguards against the 
 insidious attacks of such wily enemies as snakes, weazels, &c. 
 
 VIDUA EEYTHEOEHYNCHUS (Swains.), or EED-BILLED 
 
 WHIDAH. 
 VIDUA PAEADISEA. (Cuvier.) 
 Both species found at times more or less commonly, though nowhere 
 abundantly. 
 
 VOL. II. 2 D
 
 402 APPENDIX, 
 
 ESTEELDA BEUGHALA (?). 
 Not observed in Damara Land proiDer, but common in the Okavango 
 valley, and in the Lake country. 
 
 PYTELIA MELBA. (Linn.) 
 Sparingly found in Damara and Great Namaqua Land. Their favourite 
 resorts are low bush, and old abandoned werft fences. I think the Damaras 
 call it the " Kraal," or Fence-bird. 
 
 ESTEELDA ASTEILA, or "EOOI BEKJE." 
 
 Not uncommon in Damara and Great Namaqua Land. Found also at the 
 Lake, and very abundantly near the Cape. 
 
 ESTEELDA GEANATINA, or "BEAZILIAN" FINCH. 
 ESTEELDA , or BLACK-EYED FINCH 
 
 Plumage black, and purple barred with black. 
 
 Both species found, not unfrequently, either in the Lake country or in 
 Damara Land. 
 
 AMADINA SQUAMIFEONS. 
 
 Common throughout Damara and Great Namaqua Land, as also in the 
 Lake regions, and at the River Okavango. Found in small flocks. Food : 
 grass-seeds and insects, which it chiefly seeks for on the ground. Compara- 
 tively tame. ^Yill take up their abode close to man. 
 
 Breeds late. Builds large grass-nests (on low thorny bushes), softly and 
 luxuriantly lined. Serve them in winter as a refuge against the inclemencj' 
 of the weather. Several individuals occupy one nest, probably members of 
 the same brood. 
 
 AMADINA EEYTHEOCEPHALA. (Smith.) 
 Nowhere common; but has a wide range, being found in Damara Land, 
 in the Lake coimtry, and Kuruman, and, probably, in many other localities. 
 
 CEITHAGEA CHEYSOPYGIA, or YELLOW-EUMPED 
 BULLFINCH. 
 CEITHAGEA HAETLAUBI (?). 
 Brown, with yellow rump. Commou in the neighbourhood of the Oka- 
 vango, but very scarce. This applies also to Crithagra chrysopygia.
 
 APPENDIX. 403 
 
 EMBEEIZA FLAVIG ASTER (Rupp.) 
 
 Never saw it in Southern Damara Land. North of this not nncommon. 
 
 PASSER ARCUATA, or CAPE SPARROW. 
 
 Exceedingly common almost throughout South Africa. Resembles the 
 European House-sparrow in habits and manners. 
 
 PASSER MOTILENSIS. 
 
 Only observed at the Lake and in the Colony. 
 
 COLIUS MACRURUS. (Linn.) 
 Scarce in Damara Land. 
 
 COLICS ERYTHROPUS. (Gml.) 
 This species is pretty abundant in most parts. Gregarious. At the 
 Cape this bird is sometimes called Mausevogel, or Mice-bird, probably on 
 account of its plumage, which, in some parts, is soft and down}', more, in 
 fact, like fur than feathers. Moreover, they have a way of climbing, using 
 their bill as a hand, reminding one of the gliding and creeping of a mouse. 
 
 CHIZOERHIS COXCOLOR. (Smith.) 
 This is one of the commonest birds in Damara Land, as also in the Lake 
 countrj', in the Zambesi and Okavango valleys. Is partial to wooded 
 localities with lofty trees. In its habits it strongly resembles the Coolie- 
 birds, it climbs and flies not unlike them. The Damaras call it the 
 Ongoio oro'/iiena, from a something in their cry like the sounding of the 
 latter word. 
 
 LAMPROTORNIS BURCHELLI. (Smith.) 
 Abundant at Lake Ngami, and in some parts of Damara and Great 
 Namaqua Land. 
 
 LAMPROTORNIS PHCENICOPTERUS. (Swaius.) 
 
 This is a very common species everywhere. Gregarious. Resembles the 
 European StarUng in habits and manners Builds like it in the hollows 
 of trees. Eggs similar, but scarcely of so deep a tint. 
 
 Feeds on seeds, berries, insects, &c. 
 
 2 D 2
 
 404 APPENDIX. 
 
 LA]\IPROTOENIS FULVIPENNIS. (Swains.) 
 
 Common in Uamara Land and the Lake regions. Gregarious. Partial to 
 rocky kicalities. Frequents the water morning and evening. Flight some- 
 times high, and of some extent. 
 
 LAMPROTORKTS LEUCOGASTER. (Swains.) 
 
 Common in the Lake regions, and in Damara Land, but here only as a 
 migratory bird. A few individuals, however, probably remain thoughout 
 the year, for I have observed such long after the general migration is over. 
 The male arrives first, and, so far as I have observed, associates but little 
 with the female, who differs so marvelously from him. 
 
 GRACULA CARUNCULATA. (Gml.) 
 
 Ap]")ears in Damara Land at the beginning of the rainy season, and gene- 
 rally leaves again for lower latitudes upon the approach of the dry weather. 
 Congregates in immense flocks. Young birds very different from the 
 adults. 
 
 BUPHAGA AFRTCANA. 
 
 Occasionally met with on the cattle, whose hides they examine for insects. 
 
 COEVUS CAPENSIS. 
 
 A very local bird, but not uncommon. Found more abundantly in Great 
 Namaqua Land, and in the south of Damara Land. Noisy. Shy. 
 Assemble in small flocks. Utters harsh, choking sounds. 
 
 CORVUS SCAPULATUS. (Daud.) 
 
 Common in most parts, yet a local bird. A true scavenger. Some of its 
 notes, more especially on a raw misty morning, are absurdly ridiculous, and 
 singular. 
 
 DENTROCATUS NAMAQUENSIS (Liclit.), or DOUBLE- 
 
 MUSTACHED WOODPECKER (Le Vaillant). 
 
 Sparingly met with in Damara Land; more frequent in the Okavango 
 valley, and also, probably, at the Lake.
 
 APPENDIX. 405 
 
 CAMPETHERA ABINGONII. (Smith.) 
 
 Not abundant anywhere in Damara Land, and probably not seen in 
 Great Namaqua Land. 
 
 PICUS FULVISCAPUS. (Licht.) 
 
 This pretty little Woodpecker, though it cannot be said to be abundant, 
 is the commonest of all those found in Damara and Great Namaqua 
 Lands. He is also common in the Lake regions, as well as in the Cape 
 Colony. Usually observed in pairs, and amongst wooils containing small trees. 
 
 POGONIAS LEUCOMELAS. (Bodd.) 
 
 This peculiar, but prettily marked bird, is to be found sparingly from 
 the Okavango river, to the confines of Great Namaqua Land. And though I 
 do not remember to have met with it in the latter country, it is nevertheless 
 not unlikely to be found occasionally, more especially in those parts inter- 
 sected by the Great Fish River. Likewise found at the Lake, and on the 
 Zambesi. The Makololo calls it the Harnhula, and is said to utter a pecu- 
 liar and loud sound, something like that produced by a smith's hammer on 
 an anvil, nicely modulated. 
 
 Feeds chiefly on fruit. 
 
 BUCEEOS COEONATUS (Shaw), or COEONATED 
 HOENBILL. 
 
 Not very abundant in Damara Land. Usually found singly, or in small 
 flocks. When alarmed perches on the top of trees, whence he again takes 
 his departure on the least sign of danger. 
 
 BUCEEOS FLAVIEOSTEIS (?) 
 
 This is the commonest species in Damara Land, and, unlike the rest, com- 
 paratively tame. During the heat of the day they perch on the topmost 
 boughs of trees, whence they carry on a kind of subdued chattering, now 
 and then rising into louder strains ; at times you would think you were 
 amongst a lot of yelping puppies. 
 
 BUCEEOS HASTATUS. (Cuvier.) 
 By no means common in Damara Land, nor at the Lake. To some extent 
 gregarious. Utters occasionally, when on the wing, short, piercing cries. 
 Perches about half way up on trees, rarely on the topmost boughs. Exces- 
 sively shy. It is only during the very hottest part of the day, when a
 
 406 APPENDIX. 
 
 person has any chance with him. Like all the other species found in these 
 parts, he seems to suffer very much from the heat. 
 
 BUCEROS EEYTHPtOEYNCHUS. 
 
 This species is, to the best of my belief, not an inhabitant of Damara Land 
 proper, but they are common at the Okavango, and for some distance to 
 the south of it. I have also obtained specimens from the Lake regions. 
 
 BUCEEOS LIMBATUS? (Eiipp.) 
 
 The general colouring (the bill excepted) of this bird is not unlike 
 Buceros nasutos, only darker. The bill, instead of being black, is red, and 
 more elongated. Have only seen specimens from the Lake. 
 
 PSITTACUS EUPPELLI. (Gray.) 
 Common in Damara Land. Eather shy, and difficult of approach. Rarely 
 found far from water. Usually observed in flocks of about half a dozen 
 individuals. Flight quick and sharp, but do not move far at a time. 
 
 PSITTACUS MEYEEI. (Eiipp.) 
 
 Found plentifully at the Lake, and iu the north of Damara Land. In 
 habits and manners similar to the preceding species. 
 
 AGAPOMIS EOSEICOLLIS. (Vieil.) 
 
 This small but i^retty Parrot is very generally distributed over Damara 
 and Great Namaqua Land ; found also on the Okavango and at the Lake. 
 
 Does not make a nest of their own, but takes possession of nests belonging 
 to other birds, such as Loxia soda, Plocapasser maliali, &c. ; but whether 
 they forcibly eject the original owners, or merely make use of voluntarily 
 abandoned nests, I cannot say. But be this as it may, they are found 
 incubating side by side of the strangers. 
 
 Lays a number of white eggs, not unlike those of Woodpeckers. 
 
 PEOMEEOPS EEYTHEOEYNCHUS : or EED-BILLED 
 PEOMEEOPS. 
 
 Not an uncommon bird in Damara Land, and in the Lake regions, and in 
 parts adjacent to the north. Naturalists are under the impression that
 
 APPENDIX. 407 
 
 there are two species of this bird, the black-billed and the red-billed ; but I 
 have every reason to believe that they labour under an illusion, and that 
 the supposed distinctions are merely varieties attributable to age. Dr. Kirk 
 speaks of it in the Shua valley. 
 
 PEOMEROPS NIGER. 
 
 Sparingly found throughout Damara and Great Namaqua Land ; rarest 
 in the latter. A true creeper in habits and manners. Usually seen in 
 pairs, or small flocks. 
 
 NECTARINA BIFASCIATA. (Shaw). 
 
 Not uncommon in Damara Land, and in the Lake regions. 
 
 NECTARINA FUSCA (VieiL), or WHITE- VENTED 
 SUN-BIRD. 
 
 The most common sjiecies in Damara and Great Namaqua Laud. Ee- 
 mains throughout the year. 
 
 NECTARINA SENEGALENSIS. 
 Not seen in Damara Land proper, but is common in the Okavango 
 valley, and in the Lake country. 
 
 UPUPA MINOR (Shaw), or HOOPOE. 
 
 Very abundant all over the country during the rainy season, but dis- 
 appears with the return of the wet weather, a few individuals, perhaps, 
 remaining throughout the year. 
 
 The Hoopoe chiefly seeks its food on the ground, but will also watch for 
 and pounce upon its prey from a branch, like the Bee-eater. Flesh dark 
 coloured, and rather unpalatable. 
 
 CUCULUS CANORUS (Pennant), or COMMON CUCKOO. 
 
 Occasionally met with. 
 
 CUCULUS LINEATUS. (Swans.) 
 Pretty common during the rainy season. Easily confounded with 
 Cuculus canorus.
 
 408 APPENDIX. 
 
 CUCULUS GLAND ANUS, or GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO. 
 
 (Edwards). 
 
 This handsome Cuckoo is also a common species during the wet season. 
 Presents some striking varieties of plumage. 
 
 CUCULUS CLA3I0SUS. 
 
 I do not remember to have met with this sombre-coloured species in 
 Damara Land, and is but sparingly observed in the Okavango valley ; found 
 also at the Lake. 
 
 CUCULUS EDOLIUS. (Cuvier.) 
 This is about the most common Cuckoo, and the first to arrive. Swift f 
 fligijt, and quick in its movements. 
 
 CUCULUS LE VAILLANTIL (Swains.) 
 Scarce everywhere. 
 
 CUCULUS ^GYPTICUS. 
 
 Found abundantly in the Lake regions, but not to the westward. Its 
 favourite resorts are reeds, but is found as well in forests, where it perches 
 on the highest trees. Flight clumsy. Feeds on grasshoppers, &c. 
 
 INDICATOR MAJOR (?) 
 
 CORACIAS ABYSSINICA. (Lath.) 
 This species is tolerably plentiful in Damara Land, at the Lake, and in 
 the Zambesi valley. Habits and food very similar to that of Coracias 
 nucludis. Eather shy. ____^ 
 
 CORACIAS PI LOS A. 
 
 CORACIAS NUCHALIS. (Swains). 
 
 Tolerably common in Damara Land. Usually found in pairs. Its flight is 
 similar to that of the European Roller. When on the wing it makes 
 great noise, uttering rapidly harsh, discordant notes. Seeks much of its 
 food on the ground, not going about in search of it, but watching for its 
 appearance from some elevated perch, just like a Butcher-bird. Almost 
 omnivorous. Very useful ; for it feeds largely on centipedes, arachnidas, 
 tarantulas, and other obnoxious insects, &c.
 
 APPENDIX. 409 
 
 MEROPS AriASTER (Pennant) ; or BEE-EATER. 
 
 MEROPS HIRUNDINACEUS. (Swains, et Lath.) 
 
 This is the commouest species of Bee-eater in Damara Land, where a 
 few remain throughout the dry season. Also abundant in Great Namaqua 
 Land, and the Lake country. 
 
 MEROPS ERYTHROPTERUS (Lath.); or LITTLE 
 FORKED-TAILED BEE-EATER. 
 
 This exquisite and diminutive species does not come as far as Damara 
 Land, but is common in the Lake district, and in the Okavango Valley. 
 
 We now come to a veiy interesting and richly-coloured class of birds, 
 the Kingfishers ; but, from their shy and retired habits, little is as yet 
 known of those found at the Lake regions, nor is the number of species 
 ascertained ; but the following are some : — 
 
 ALCEDO GIGANTEA. 
 
 ALCEDO CYANOSTIGMA. (Riipp.) 
 
 ALCEDO BICINCTA. (Swains.) 
 
 The first-named is rare, the second and third common, more especially 
 Alcedo cyanostigma, which, with its liveliness and beauty, serves to enliven 
 almost every creak and winding of a stream. 
 
 HALCYON DAMAREXSIS. (Strickland.) 
 
 This, as the name implies, is a species more or less peculiar to Damara 
 Land, It bears a striking resemblance to the Abyssinian species of Elippell 
 (^Dalcelo pygmceus), but is larger. 
 
 Very sparingly met with in Damara Land, and parts adjacent. Never 
 seen near water. Partial to localities recently injured by fire, probably 
 from finding an abundance of dead insects. 
 
 It is very possible that its congener, the Dalcelo jjygmceus (Riipp.) {Alcedo 
 striolata of Licht.), is found in the Lake regions, for Dr. Kirk speaks of it as 
 common in the Zambesi valley. 
 
 HIRUNDO RUPESTRIO. 
 
 Common throughout most parts. Is the only species that remains in 
 Damara Land throughout tlie year, although the greater portion migrate. 
 Breeds about low, calcareous rocks, and clay banks.
 
 410 APPENDIX. 
 
 HIEUNDO EUSTICA. 
 
 Pretty common in some parts of Damara Land, more especially near 
 the sea-coast. Very numerous in the neighbourhood of Walvisch Bay. 
 
 HIRUNDO MONTEIRI. (Haiti.) 
 HIEUNDO DOMIDIATA. (Sundevall.) 
 Tolerabljr common in Damara I.and in the rainy season. Arrives about 
 November, but does not stay any great length of time. 
 
 HIEUNDO CAPENSIS. 
 
 By no means common in Damara Laud. 
 
 CYPSELUS APUS. (Flem.) 
 CYPSELUS LEUCOTHEA. 
 
 Pretty common in most parts of the country. 
 
 CAPEIMULGUS DAMAEENSIS. (Strickland.) 
 
 Pretty common in Damara and Great Namaqiia Land. 
 
 CAPEIMULGUS LENTIGONOSUS. 
 
 Rather scarce. 
 
 CAPEIMULGUS NATALENSIS. 
 
 CAPEIMULGUS PECTOEALIS. (Vieil.) 
 
 Not uncommon in some parts. 
 
 COLUMBA EISONUS(?). (Linn.) 
 
 Found veiy abundantly throughout the length and breadth of Damara and 
 
 Great Namaqua Land. Seeks its food (seeds) on the ground. When flushed 
 
 suddenly, the flock causes a great noise with their wings. Excellent eating. 
 
 Builds in small trees. Constructs a rough nest of a few twigs, without 
 
 any kind of lining. Lays two eggs of a pure white colour.
 
 APPENDIX. 411 
 
 COLUMBA AFEA. (Tennant.) 
 Not found in the south of Damara Land, but in the middle and northern 
 
 parts not uncommon. 
 
 Like the Ring-dove it constructs a most primitive nest, just a few rough 
 
 sticks, loosely and badly put together. Lays two eggs of a pure white 
 
 colour. 
 
 TUETUR EEYTHEOPHRYS (?) (Swains.), or EED-EYED 
 
 DOVE. 
 
 Js confined to the Lake regions. 
 
 COLUMBA GUINEA. (Edm.) 
 
 Common in most parts. Congregates in immense flocks, at the end of 
 the rainy season, or in March, April, May, &c. 
 
 COLUMBA CAMBAYENSIS. 
 
 Next to Columba risorius the most common Dove in Damara Land, also 
 found in most parts adjacent. 
 
 COLUMBA CAPENSIS. (Lath.) 
 This exquisite little Dove is common in most parts of Damara and Great 
 
 Namaqua Land. 
 
 Constructs its nest on low bushes, and with a trifle more care than the 
 
 other members of the Columhince family. 
 
 PTEEOCLES BICINCTUS. (Temm.) 
 Very abundant in Damara and Great Namaqua Land. Frequent the 
 water a little before dusk. Congregate in immense flocks. Feed chiefly 
 on berries and seeds. Flesh tough, and not palatable. 
 
 PTEROCLES TACHYPETES, or PIN-TAILED GEOUSE. 
 
 This is also a species of "two-banded" Grouse ; but instead of the ring 
 of the breast being black, as in the preceding, it is of a deep, dark, reddish- 
 brown. Like it, congregates in immense flocks, but, unlike it, frequents the 
 water, in the morning about eight or nine o'clock.
 
 412 APPENDIX. 
 
 PTEEOCLES VAEIEGATUS. (Burcliell.) 
 
 This very handsome Grouse is also j^retty common in some parts of 
 Daniara Land, and the Lake regions. 
 
 FEANCOLINUS GAEIPENSIS. 
 
 Met with abundantly on the high table-lands of Damara and Great 
 Namaqua Land. Found always in flocks or coveys, varying from three or 
 four to as many as twelve or thirteen individuals ; six to eight, however, 
 seems to be the most common. Found on grassy slopes with dwarf bush. 
 Lie close. Affords excellent sport. 
 
 FEANCOLINUS , or EED-LEGGED and EED-BILLED 
 
 FEANCOLIN. 
 
 This is essentially a Damara bird. Abounds near almost every water- 
 course (periodical) of any pretension. Earely found any distance from 
 water, but not, as it would appear, from necessity. Their feeding time is 
 early morning, and in the cool of the afternoon. Rests during the heat of 
 the day. Lives much on trees. Always roosts in such situations. Never 
 found very far from cover. Rarely takes to the wing, unless very hard 
 pressed. Runs with extraordinary speed. 
 
 Its notes are loud, harsh, and querulous, and may be heard at a great 
 distance, a kind of hysterical laugh. Lays large number of eggs of a dusky- 
 yellowish colour. 
 
 FEANCOLINUS NATALENSIS. 
 
 This species is restricted to the Lake regions, and to parts adjacent, south 
 and east. Never observed it in Damai'a or Great Namaqua Land. 
 
 FEANCOLINUS SWAINSONJI. (Smitt.) 
 
 Only observed in the middle and northern parts of Damara Land. 
 Common in the Okavango valley. Utters a harsh calling note, more espe- 
 cially at night and early morn. 
 
 TUENIX LEPUEANA. (Smith.) 
 COTUENIX DACTYLISONANS. (Meyer.) 
 
 Both these species are more or less common at certain seasons. 
 
 TUENIX (?) 
 
 This is a large species of Quail found by Mr. Chapman at the Lake, but
 
 APPENDIX. 413 
 
 which 1 do not remember to have met with in either Damara or Great 
 Namaqua Laud. Male : — " Breast and throat black. Cheeks white. Crescent- 
 shaped white streak from ears under the throat, another passing above the 
 eyes to back of head. Under the wings pale grey or ash-coloured. Belly 
 feathers rich brown, with black down the middle. Back blackish-brown, 
 each feather having a yellow stripe down the middle, and barred with three 
 yellowish transverse bars. Across quill feathers pale brown. Wing coverts 
 brown. Quill shafts white, and barred several times across. Eyes reddish- 
 brown, or hazel. Legs dull yellow. Bill black. Crown of head black, 
 parted in the middle with yellowish feathers tinged with brown. Female : 
 — Very similar to male, but of lighter tints. No black on the breast or 
 throat. Bill brown horn-colour. Legs dull yellow. Crown of head dark 
 brown, parted with pale stripe as male. Breast feathers and belly uniform 
 pale reddish-brown, barred, getting paler towards the throat, which has an 
 incomplete black crescent from under each eye." 
 Length of bill to tail about 8 inches. 
 
 KUMIDIA , OR COMMON WILD GUINEA-HEN. 
 
 Very common throughout South Africa. 
 
 " Highly gregarious during the dry season, several hundred individuals 
 being found in one flock. At this period they feed far from water, going 
 during the day over fifteen to twenty miles before they return to water. 
 They feed on grass, seeds, insects, &c. Like fowls they lay about thirty 
 eggs, dull white, with very pale-grey s^^eckles. Are easily domesticated. 
 Utter a rather sharp, discordant, metallic sound, something like a ra]3id suc- 
 cession of blows on iron. Roosts in mimosas or other tall thorn trees for 
 fear of leopards, &c. Sometimes they do without water at midday ; rest 
 under the shade of trees ; and when the greatest heat is past they begin to 
 feed towards the water, which may often be found by following them, though 
 not always successfully." 
 
 OTIS KORI, OR THK GREAT AFRICAN BUSTARD. 
 
 This splendid bird is found in most parts throughout South Africa. Is 
 found throughout the year in Damara Land. Partially migratory. 
 
 Is said at times to attain to an enormous size. Personally I have never 
 seen it beyond 30 lbs. weight, but I have been assured on good authority 
 that in some parts of the Orange Eiver Free State, and the Trans- Vaal Republic 
 he is shot weighing no less than 60 lbs. to 70 lbs. ! But may it not be a 
 different species ? Excellent eating. 
 
 Usually found in pairs, but occasionally three or four congregate together. 
 
 Spread of wings, 8 ft. 4 inches.
 
 414 APPENDIX. 
 
 OTIS RUFICRISTA. 
 
 Not uncommon in Great Namaqua Land, and in the south of Damara 
 Land, but disappears rapidly in proceeding north of these parts. 
 
 Its favourite resorts are open localities thinly covered with dwarf bush. 
 Called sometimes the Silent Koran, in contradistinction to the following 
 species, 
 
 OTIS AFEOIDES. 
 
 This is probably the most common Bustard in cither Damara or Great 
 Namaqua Land. On taking wing the male becomes outrageously noisy. 
 Will rise nearly vertically, and to a great height, descending often as 
 abruptly. Great nuisance to the hunter, who is frequently done out of his 
 quarry by their sudden noisy presence. 
 
 OTIS 
 
 This fine species is of a pale bluish-purplish colour beneath and on the 
 neck, with a black stripe down the throat and at the back of the neck. 
 Common in Great Namaqua Land, as also in some open localities in the 
 west and south of Damara Land. Broken ground with a scanty vegetation 
 seems its favourite resorts. When disturbed utters a succession of quick 
 harsh notes. Flight low and I'apid, but of short duration. 
 
 OTIS GEDICEREMUS, or THICK-KNEED BUSTARD. 
 
 (Pennant.) 
 Common in most parts. Partially migratory. Partial to broken ground 
 sparingly covered with dwarf bush. Comparatively tame and easy of ap- 
 proach. Seems to be on the move chiefly at and after dusk. 
 
 Cin^SORIUS CHALEOPTERUS (Temm.), or VIOLET- 
 TINGED COURIER. 
 
 Arrives at times (during the rainy season) in Damara Land in great 
 numbers. Found in small flocks of from a few to a dozen individuals. 
 
 Is easily mistaken for the young of a species of fine red-legged Plover at 
 a little distance. Indeed, for some time I passed it over as such. 
 
 Kuns with great swiftness. When pursued only takes to the wing as a 
 last alternative. Partial to cover with occasional openings. 
 
 CURSORIUS BICINCTUS. (Temm.) 
 Not imcommon in parts of Damara and Great Namaqua Laud. Some 
 seasons pjlentiful in the neighbourhood of Otjimbengue. Gregarious. Com- 
 paratively tame.
 
 APPENDIX. 415 
 
 GLAVEOLA TORQUATA ^Pennant), or COLLARED 
 PRATINCOLE. 
 
 Not uncommon in the Lake regions, but scarce in Damara Land. 
 
 CHARADRIUS ARMATUS. (Burchell.) 
 
 Common from Lake Ngami to tlie west coast, but only found near water. 
 The Bechuanas call it ^^ Setnla fsipi,'" that is, Iron-hammer or Bkcksmith. 
 When disturbed it rises with short, rapid jerks of the wings, but does not 
 fly far. On the wing it is very noisy. 
 
 CHARADRIUS , or RED-LEGGED PLOVER. 
 
 Common in various parts of Damara Land, at the Lake, on the Okavango, 
 and Teouge, &c. Very plentiful at Otjimbengue, where a flock or two are 
 generally found throughout the year. 
 
 As a rule, it seeks its food away from water, and is often found in the 
 most ai'id localities ; but in every other respect it strongly resembles 
 Charadrius armatus. Very noisy on the wing. 
 
 CHARADRIUS HIATICULA (Pennant), or RINGED 
 PLOVER. 
 
 Rather scarce, but at Walvisch Bay it may occasionally be seen more 
 numerously. 
 
 CHARADRIUS CANTIANUS (Bewick), or KENTISH 
 PLOVER. 
 
 At some seasons abundant in both Damaia Land and in the Lake regions. 
 Gregarious. 
 
 CHARADRIUS NIVIFRONS (?). (Strickland.) 
 Never seen inland, but common at Walvisch Bay, and on many other 
 
 parts of the coast. 
 
 In winter, plumage (ujjper part of) is a deep rich brown cream-colour. 
 Lays two eggs of a yellowish-brown colour, with numerous irregular 
 
 dark lines, brown spots, and streaks. 
 
 CHARADRIUS DAMAKENSIS (?). (Strickland.) 
 Never common, but at times small flocks may be seen about the moist 
 places in periodical river courses. Very shy.
 
 4IG APPENDIX. 
 
 HIATICULA ZONATA. (Swains.) 
 
 Found both at inland waters and on the sea-coast. Not iinlike the 
 Hinged Plover at a little distance. 
 
 TEINGA CALIDEIS (Pennant), or SANDERLING 
 PLOVER. 
 
 This is one of the commonest species on the south-west coast. Is found 
 inland as well, but sparingly. Earely seen away from the immediate 
 neighbourhood of the water, along the edge of which it hunts for insects 
 and sea-worms. 
 
 TEINGA SQUATAVOLA (Pennant), or GREY SAND-PIPER. 
 
 Very common on the coast, but not often met with inland. I have 
 never seen this bird in such dark jjlumage as represented in European 
 specimens at a particular season ; otherwise resembling our species. Flesh 
 palatable. 
 
 PARRA CAPENSIS (Smith), or LESSER AFRICAN 
 
 JACANA. 
 
 PARRA AFRICAN A, or LARGE AFRICAN JACANA. 
 
 Both are rare species in Damara Land, but are common on the Oka- 
 vango, Teougd, at the Lake, Botletlie, Zambesi, &c. 
 
 TRINGA INTERPRES (Pennant), or TURNSTONE. 
 
 Never seen inland, but occasionally found plentiful on the coast and on 
 the islands, where it breeds. 
 
 VANELLUS LATERALIS. (Smith.) 
 
 This peculiar and large species is only found in the immediate neigh- 
 bourhood of water. Not uncommon in the Lake regions, and on the rivers 
 Okavango and Teou2;e. 
 
 H^MATOPUS NIGER, or OYSTER-CATCHER. 
 
 Found on the mainland, as well as on the islands of the west coast, 
 where it also breeds.
 
 APPENDIX. 417 
 
 AEDEA CINE RE A (Pennant), or THE COMMON HERON. 
 
 Iiather common on the sea-sboru aloug the south-west coast, but is rarely 
 seen much inland. Shy, and difficult of approach. 
 
 AEDEA ATEICOLLIS. (Smith.) 
 
 Sparingly met with in Damara and Great Namaqua Lands, and about the 
 lagoons on tlie coast, as far as the mouth of the Orange river. Perches on 
 trees where such are within reach. 
 
 Dr. Kirk found this S[)ecies not uncommon on the rivers and lakes of the 
 Zambesi region. 
 
 ANTHEOPOIDES STANLEYANUS, or STANLEY CEANE. 
 
 Tliis bird, usually in pairs, is occasionally met with during the rainy 
 
 season, but migrates north and east as soon as the rain-pools have dried up. 
 
 Weighs 121bs,, and measures across wings (from tip to tip) about 7 feet. 
 
 AEDEA TAVONIA (Linn.), ob YELLOW-CEESTED 
 CEANE. 
 
 Occayionally met with in tlic Lake regions, on the Zambesi, Zouga, 
 Teouge, Okavango, and has also been seen in Ondonga. 
 Spread of wings rather more than 6 feet. 
 
 AEDEA , OR WATTLED CEANE. 
 
 Met with sparingly in Damara Land during the rainy season. Is more 
 ];)lentiful in the well-watered regions of the r^ake and the Zambesi valley. 
 
 AEDEA GAEZETTA (Pennant), or EGEET HEEON. 
 
 Pretty common in the Lake regions, but scarce in Damara Land. 
 Am not sure that the great White Heron is here, but there is a species 
 strongly resombliivj; it. 
 
 AEDEA EALLOIDES. (Flem.) 
 
 Not uncommon, 1 tliink, in the Lake regions. 
 
 AEDEA GFTTUEALIS. (Smith.) 
 Rare. 
 VOL. II. 2 E
 
 418 APPENDIX. 
 
 AEDEOLA LEUCOPTEEA, or INDIAN PADDY-FIELD 
 HEEON. 
 
 A white-bellied, buff-coloured species of Heron. Very common in the 
 Lake regions, and in the Zambesi valley. Also more frequent in Damara 
 Land than the little Egret. 
 
 AEDEA . 
 
 A dark, purplish-looking species. 
 
 Never observed it in Damara Land, but common on the Lake watersheds. 
 
 AEDEA GOLIATH. 
 
 Not a common bird, but widely distributed. Thus, they may be seen 
 on the rivers Okavango and Teouge, Botletlie, Zambesi, &c. Shy. 
 
 AEDEA MINUTA (Pennant), or LITTLE BITTEEN 
 HEEON. 
 
 To my knowledge, scarce about the Lake and its watersheds. 
 
 SCOPUS UMBEETTA. 
 
 Pretty generally distributed over South Africa. Frequents Damara and 
 Great Namaqua Lands during the wet season. A few even remain through- 
 out the year. 
 
 The Dutch call him Hammerkopf, or Hammerhead, probably from some 
 similarity to that tool. 
 
 AEDEA CICONIA (Mont.), or WHITE STOEK. 
 
 Pretty common at the Lake and its watersheds. Frequents Damara Land 
 occasionally during the wet time of the year. 
 
 CICONIA ABDIMIL (Ehrenberg et Hemprich.) 
 Occurs very abundantly in Damara Land during the rainy season. Is 
 one of the great enemies to that African scourge, the locust, indeed, they 
 seem to prefer this kind of food to any other. 
 
 CICONIA MAEABOU (Vigors), or ADJUTANT. 
 Abounds at the Lake and its watersheds. Seen occasionally in Damara 
 Land during the rainy season. Great fellow for dead elephants.
 
 APPENDIX. 419 
 
 PLATALEA LEUCOKODIA (Pennant), or THE SPOON- 
 BILL. 
 
 An occasional visitor to Damara Land. At the Lake and on its rivers it 
 is found sparingly throughout the year. 
 
 GERONTICUS HAGEDASH (Fleming), or THE GLOSSY 
 
 IBIS. 
 
 Pretty common in the Lake regions. Perches on trees. Grows very fat. 
 Affords good eating. 
 
 IBIS , OR THE WHITE IBIS. 
 
 Both these species are found at the Lake and the environs. Never saw 
 them in Damara Land. 
 
 NUMENIUS AEQUATA (Pennant), or THE COMMON 
 
 CUELEW. 
 
 NUMENIUS PH^OPUS (Pennant), or ^yHIMBEEL 
 
 CUELEW. 
 
 Both these species are indigenous to Damara Land, and parts adjacent, 
 hut the last-named is scarce. The Curlew is found both on the coast and 
 inland. 
 
 TOTANUS GLOTTIS (Fleming), or THE GEEENSHANK. 
 
 This fine species is common in Damara and Great Namaqua Lands, and, 
 almost as a matter of course, about the Lake waters. Gregarious ; in small 
 flocks ; shy. 
 
 TOTANUS . 
 
 Somewhat resembling the Greenshank, but much smaller and more 
 delicate. Less seen on the coast than inland, at small rimning springs or 
 marshes. Have frequently shot them at Otjimbengue. 
 
 TOTANUS GLAVEOLA (Pennant), or WOOD SANDPIPEE. 
 
 On the whole, scarce in Damara Land, but now and then flocks are met 
 •with at small inland springs. Also observed in the Lake regions and in 
 the Zambesi valley. 
 
 2 e2
 
 420 APPENDIX. 
 
 EECURVIEOSTRA AVOUETTA (Pennant), or THE 
 AVOSET. 
 
 Sparingly observed in the lagoons on the south-west coast, but less 
 frequent inland, t.iregarious. Not very shy where not disturbed. 
 
 CHARADEIUS HIMANTOPUS (Pennant), or BLACK- 
 WINGED STILT. 
 
 A rare bird in Damara Land, but not uncommon on all tlie watersheds 
 to the north and east of it. 
 
 PHiENICOPTEEUS EEYTHEEUS. (Verreanx.) 
 PII^NICOPTERUS MIKOE. (Geoff. St. Hilaire.) 
 Both these species are indigenous to Damara Land and parts adjacent, and 
 are common in some inland localities, such as Lake Ngami, Onondova, &c. 
 The larger species is the commoner of the two on the sea-coast. Breed 
 inland, and, possibly, in some of the large undisturbed lagoons north of 
 Walvisch Bay. For a further notice of these fine birds I beg to refer the 
 reader to an account of them in the " Ibis," for 1865, p. 64. 
 
 TEINGA PUGNAX (Pennant), or TPIE EUFF. 
 
 (Occasionally met with; usually in small flocks. 
 
 SCOLOPAX GALLINAGO (Pennant), or COMMON SNIPE. 
 
 I have only observed this Snipe in one single locality, or at Omanbondfe, 
 in Damara Land. 
 
 EHYNCHIA CAPENSIS, or GOLDEN SNIPE. 
 
 This is a very common bird almost everywhere. Like the true Snipe, 
 they lie close, but their flight is lieavy and comparatively slow. Flesh 
 ])alatable. 
 
 NUMENIUS PYGMiEUS (Pennant), or PIGMY CUELEW. 
 
 The commonest Tringa at Walvisch Bay, and on the south-west coast in 
 general, but only sparingly observed inland. Always found in consider- 
 able flocks. Flesh rank. 
 
 TEINGA MINUTA (Pennant), or LITTLE SANDPIPEE. 
 
 Another very common species inland, as well as on the coast. Good 
 eating.
 
 APPENDIX. 421 
 
 CEEX BAILLONII (Selby), or BAILLON'S CRAKE. 
 
 This pretty little Gallinula is an inhabitant of the few marshes existing 
 in Damara Land. At Omanbonde I fonnd it plentiful. Breeds there. 
 Found the nest rejjeatedly. It contained as nmny as seven eggs of an 
 enormous size, and of a dull olive-brown colour. Common in the marshy 
 districts of the Lake, the rivers Teouge, Okavango, Botletlie, &c. 
 
 GALLINULA DIMIDIATA. (Temm.) 
 I have only observed this Gallinula at Omanbondfe, Shy and retired in 
 its habits. 
 
 GALLINULA CHLOEOPUS (Pennant), or THE MOOR-HEN. 
 
 'J"he commonest species of Gallinula, probably, in this part of the world. 
 
 FULICA CEISTATA. 
 
 Common in almost every marshy locality. 
 
 FULICA PORPHYRIS. (Linn.) 
 
 Found abundantly in the Lake regions, but very sparingly in Damara 
 Land, probably from want of suitable localities. Said to be common ou 
 the Zambesi. 
 
 EALLUS STRIATUS(?). 
 
 Not unfrequent in large, marshy localities. 
 
 EALLUS NIGEE. (Lath.) 
 Rare in Damara Land, but not unfrequent on the Okavango, 'i'euugo, 
 Lake Ngami, Botletlie: it is very shy and retired in its habits, and coi.se- 
 quently very little can be seen of it. 
 
 ANAS EGYPTICA (Bewick); ou EGYPTIAN GOOSE. 
 
 This is the commonest Goose on the waters of Damara and Great 
 Namaqua Lands, where it remains throughout the year. Usually found in 
 pairs or small flocks. 
 
 Flesh very dark-coloured and coarse lasted ; more like tough beef than 
 uarae.
 
 422 APPENDIX. 
 
 ANSEE 
 
 SAEKJDOEI>^IS AFEICANA. 
 
 This very handsome species is commou in Damara and Great Namaqua 
 Lauds during the rainy season ; but they take their departure on the drying 
 up of the temporary rain-pools. Found also at the Lake, Botletlie, &c. 
 
 ANSEE . 
 
 NETTAPUS MADAGASCAEIENSIS. 
 
 This diminutive species is not nncommon at the Lake. Never saw it in 
 Damara Land ; nor have I observed it on the Okavango. 
 
 ANSEE GAMBENSIS. 
 Never, to the best of my knowledge, observed this noble Goose in Damara 
 Land. Not uncommon on the Botletlie, Teoug^, and the Okavango, 
 The male bird weighs L51bs. 
 
 AXAS CAPENSIS. 
 
 This is almost a stranger to Damara Land, but is met with to the north 
 and east of it. 
 
 ANAS SPAESA. (Smith.) 
 An occasional visitor to Great Namaqua Land. It is probably found in 
 the Lake regions. Dr. Kirk says it is sparingly met with in the Zambesi 
 valley. 
 
 ANAS FLAVIEOSTEIS. (Smith.) 
 This fine Duck is somewhat common on the Lake and its rivers. Never 
 saw it in Damara Land, but very common near the Cape, and in the colony 
 in general. 
 
 ANAS EEYTHEOEHYNCHA. (Gml.) 
 This is the commonest species in Damara and Great Namaqua Lands, and 
 is one of the few Ducks who remain there throughout the year. Is common 
 also on most of the waters to the north and east of it. 
 
 QUEEQUEDULA HOTTENTOTTA. (Smith.) 
 Rare. Found more of them at Omanbonde than elsewhere.
 
 APPENDIX. 423 
 
 CLANGULA LEUCONOTA. (Smith.) 
 This is another comparatively scarce species in Damara Land. 
 
 DENTROCYGNA VIDUATA, or WHISTLING TEAL. 
 
 This Duck is exceedingly common in the Lake regions, and on the 
 river Okavango, On the latter, they are seen most abundantly during the 
 annual inundations, when much of the usually dry land that flanks this 
 stream is converted into swamps. 
 
 FULIGULA NYROCA. 
 
 I only once obtained a few individuals of this fine Duck ; from which I 
 infer it is only an occasional straggler in Damara Land. 
 
 PODICEPS CRIST AT US (Pennant), oe THE GREAT- 
 CRESTED GREBE. 
 
 Only observed this handsome species on the sea-coast, and there by no 
 means numerously. Easily approached in deep water, where he usually 
 endeavours to escape bj^ diving ; in shallows, difficult of approach within 
 killing distance, taking wing immediately on finding himself in danger. 
 
 There is another species on the coast, but I have not satisfied myself as 
 its identity. 
 
 PODICEPS MINOR (Pennant), or THE LITTLE GREBE. 
 
 Rather scarce, but widely distributed. 
 
 PHALACROCORAX AFRICANUS. 
 
 Found only on the inland waters. Common enough in many parts of 
 the Lake N;iami watersheds. 
 
 PHALACROCORAX . 
 
 Upper plumage darkish. Greater part of under yellowish-white. This 
 large species is not uncommon at Walvisch Bay, but never found in any 
 extraordinary numbers. Usually they keep apart from the common species. 
 Rather shy.
 
 424 AFPENDIX. 
 
 PHALACEOCORAX . 
 
 Adult bird glossy black, with throat saffron-yellow. Irides sea-green. 
 Exceedingly abundant at W'alvisch Bay and all along the south-west coast, 
 where he is one of the chief depositors of guano. In December this species 
 leaves Walvisch Bay for their breeding-ground. About June and July 
 they return in enormous flocks. Their numbers are so great that they 
 must be personally seen before it is possible to form the least notion of 
 their multitudes. They may be seen towing their way in a particular 
 direction, for hours together, luitJiout a break! They are, in fact, only to 
 be counted by millions ! 
 
 APTENODYTES DEMEESA (Latt.), or CAPE PENGUIN. 
 
 PELECANUS ONOCEOTALUS (Latt. Ind. Ornith.), or 
 WHITE PELICAN. 
 
 Abounds on the south-west coast during the greater part of the year ; 
 found also in many inland localities, such as Lakes Onondova, Ngami, &c. 
 Breeds here. Lays a number of white eg'-is, Nest situated amongst low 
 bushes. The Bechuanas call liim Mogolego. 
 
 SULA AUSTEALIS (Gould), or THE SOUTH AFEICAN 
 GANNET. 
 
 Exceedingly numerous on the south-west coast, where he is probably one 
 of the chief depositors of guano. Walvisch Bay abounds with them at 
 times, but the open sea is their grand rendezvous. Most powerful and con- 
 tinuous flight. Precipitate themselves with fearful velocity on their prey. 
 As they come sweeping down their wings are extended and motionless, but 
 a second or two before they touch the water they tuck them in, as it were. 
 
 STEENA CASPIA, or EED-BILLED TEEN. 
 
 STEENA VELOX (Eiippell), on YELLOW-BILLED TEEN. 
 
 Both these fine species are not uncommon at Walvisch Bay, and on other 
 parts of the coast at certain seasons. But the Eed-billed Tern is wary, and 
 rather difScult of approach. 
 
 STEENA BOYS 1 1 (Pennant), or SANDWICH TEEN. 
 
 STEENA DOUGALLI (Mont.), or EOSEATE TEEN. 
 
 Itoth these species are not uncommon on the south-west coast. At 
 Walvisch r>ay, -S. Boysii is the more frequently met with.
 
 APPENDIX. 425 
 
 STERNULA VAL^NARUM. (Strickland.) 
 
 This diminutive and verv pretty species is very comnion at Walviscli 
 Bay. Often seen in small flocks. Is the only species fonnd breeding here 
 occasionally. 
 
 LARUS FUSCUS, or THE LESSER BLACK-BACKED 
 GULL. 
 
 Common at Walvisch Bay, and on the south-west coast in general. 
 
 LARUS PHiEOCEPHALUS (Swains.), or GREY-CAPPED 
 
 GULL. 
 
 Scarce at Walvisch Bay, but not uncommon at Lake Nsrami. 
 
 LESTRIS RICHARDSONTI, on BLACK SKUA. 
 
 This species is common at Walvisch Bay. There is probably anotlier, 
 which I have as yet not been able satisfactorily to identify. 
 
 Of Petrels we have at Walvisch Bay what is familiarly kuown as the 
 Cape-hen, and Mother Carey's Chicken (Procellana pelagica), but neither 
 is very common. Moreover, they are only occasionally seen within the bay, 
 their true home being the open ocean.
 
 INDEX 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE NOTES OE SOUTH AFRICAN BIRDS. 
 
 Accipiter gahar, 391 
 
 — minullus, 392 
 
 niger, 391 
 
 tachiro, 391 
 
 Adjutant, 373, 418 
 Agapomis roseicollis, 406 
 Aigrette (or Blue Heron), 374 
 Alauda erythrochlamys, 400 
 
 ■ nxirx, 400 
 
 spleniata. 400 
 
 AJcedo hicincta, 409 
 
 ■ cynnostigma, 409 
 
 ' gigantea, 409 
 
 Amadina erythrocephala, 402 
 
 squamifrons, 402 
 
 ^nas Capensis, 422 
 
 Egyptica, 421 
 
 erythrorhyncha, 422 
 
 flavirosfris. 422 
 
 sparsa, 422 
 
 J ?iser , 422 
 
 Gajnhensis, 422 
 
 Anthropoides Hianleyanus (Stanley 
 
 Crane), 417 
 
 ^nttus , 399 
 
 Aptenodxjtes demersa (Cape Penguin), 
 
 424 
 Aquila hellicosa, 389 
 
 • Bonellii. 389 
 
 Naoeriodes, 389 
 
 ^rdea (Wattled Crane), 417 
 
 atricollis, 417 
 
 ciconia { White Stork), 418 
 
 cinerea (Common Heron), 417 
 
 • garzetta (Egret Heron), 417 
 
 " , 418 
 
 goliath, 418 
 
 418 
 
 gutturalis, 417 
 mi nut a (Little 
 
 Bittern Heron), 
 
 Ardea Pavonia (Yellow-crested Crane^, 
 417 
 
 RaUoides, 417 
 
 Ardeola leucoptera (Indian Paddy-field 
 
 Heron ,418 
 Avoset {recurvirostra arocetta), 420 
 
 Bat, large yellow, 388 
 Battaleur, la (Pe'teTie'), 352 
 Bee-eater {Merops apiaster), 409 
 — , Little Forked-tailed {Merops 
 
 erythropterus , 409 
 
 , the Small, 352 
 
 Bittern, 374 
 
 , or Plover (?), 353 
 
 Blackbird, 350. 
 Brachynms pijrrhonotha, 400 
 Bradornis mariqiiensis, 396 
 Buceros coronatus (Coronated HombiU), 
 
 405 
 
 erythrorynchus, 406 
 
 flaviroftris, 405 
 
 hastcdits, 351, 405 
 
 — limhatus, 406 
 
 Bullfinch, Yellow-rumped {Crithagra 
 
 chrysopygia), 402 
 Buphaga A/ricana, 404 
 Bush-pigeon, or Dove, 348 
 Bustard, see Otis 
 Butcher-burd, 381 
 , Long-tailed Black, 357 
 
 Campethera abnigonii, 405 
 Caprimidgus Damarensis, 410 
 
 lentigonosus, 410 
 
 Natale)isis, 410 
 
 pectorcdis, 410 
 
 Certhilauda gamela, 400 
 
 semitorquata, 400 
 
 Charadrius armatus, 415
 
 428 
 
 INDEX TO DEtiORIPTIVE NOTES 
 
 Charadrius arinatus, or Red-legged 
 Plover, 415 
 
 cantiamts, or Kentish Plo- 
 
 ver, 415 
 
 415 
 
 Damurensis, 415 
 Idatieula, or Kinged Plover, 
 
 Idmantopus, (Bluck-winged 
 
 Stilt , 420 
 
 nivifrons, 415 
 
 Chatterer, Bl:ick-and-Wiite [Cruterops 
 hicolor), 396 
 
 , White, 882 
 
 , White-headed, 38-2 
 
 Chewewi', 370 
 
 Chizoerhis concolor, 403 
 
 Chua Chunea {Buceros hastatus) 351 
 
 Ciconia Abdimii, 418 
 
 Ciconia marabou (Adjutant), 418 
 
 Circus Swainsonii, 392 
 
 Clangula leuconofa, 423 
 
 Colius erythrojjus, 403 
 
 mairuraa, 403 
 
 CoJumha afra, 411 
 
 Cambayeiisis, 411 
 
 Capensis, 411 
 
 guinea, 411 
 
 risonus, 410 
 
 Coracias Abyssinica, 408 
 
 mu'halis. -108 
 
 pilosa, 408 
 
 Corvus Capensis 404 
 
 scapulatus, 404 
 
 Coturnix dactylisonans, 412 
 
 Courier, Violet-tinged ' Cursorius cha- 
 leopterus), 414. 
 
 Crake {Crex Baillonii), 421 
 
 Craue, 373 
 
 , Stanley {Anthropoides Stanley- 
 anus), 417 
 
 , Wattled {Ardea), 417 
 
 -, Yellow-crested [ArdeaPavonia), 
 
 404 
 
 Craterops bicohr, or Black-aml-White 
 
 Chatterer, 396 
 CVe.r Baillonii (Baillon's Crake), 421 
 Crithagia chysopygia, or Yellow- 
 
 ruiuped Bullfinch, 402 
 
 Hartlaubi, 402 
 
 Crow, the, 353 
 
 [another], 387 
 
 Cuckoo, 378 
 
 , common {Cuculus canonis), 407 
 
 , (rreat Spotted (Cuculus qlanda- 
 
 njfs\408 
 Cuculus j3Sgypticu.<, 40S 
 
 canorus, 407 
 
 (■lainiisus,4:0S 
 
 eiiolius, 408 
 
 Cuculus glandanus, or Great Spotted 
 Cuckoo, 408 
 
 le VaiUantii, 408 
 
 lineatus, 407 
 
 Curlew, 375 
 
 , common (Numenius arquata), 
 
 419 
 , AVhimbrel (Numenius phxopus), 
 
 419 
 
 , pigmy {Numenius pygmieus ,,420 
 
 Cursorius bicinctus, 414 
 
 chaleopterus, or Violet-tinged 
 
 Courier, 414 
 Cypselus apus, 410 
 leucothea, 410 
 
 Dentrocalus Nama(iuensis, or Double- 
 mustached Woodpecker, 404 
 
 Dentrocygna viduuta ' Whistling TeaP , 
 423 
 
 Dicrunis musicus, 395 
 
 Dikkop, 353 
 
 Dove, Nanmqua, 385 
 
 , Red-eyed ' Turiur erythrophryu), 
 
 411 
 
 Drymceca Capensis, 398 
 
 Chiniana. 398 
 
 fat'ciolata. 398 
 
 flavicans, 398 
 
 'le Vaillanti, 398 
 
 ocidaris, 398 
 
 pecturalis, 398 
 
 terrestris, 398 
 
 Duck, 376 
 
 , Yellow-billed, Large, 376 
 
 Eagle, 361, 362 
 
 , Crested, 346 
 
 , White-headed, 347 
 
 , or other Vulturine Bird, 352 
 
 Eagle-hawk, 362 
 Egotu, or Toucan, 379 
 L'mberiza flavigaster, 403 
 Erythropygia pixna, 398 
 
 pectoralis, or Thorn-chat, 
 
 398 
 Estrelda adriln. or Bool Belije, 402 
 
 Beughala, 402 
 
 -— granatiua, or Brnzilian Finch, 
 
 402 
 
 402 
 Euplectes Capensis, 401 
 
 ignicolur, 401 
 
 lepidu». 401 
 
 /<//(«, -101 
 
 Falcon. 363 
 
 [another], 363 
 
 -, or Black-eyed Finch,
 
 OF SOUTri AFRICAN BJBDS. 
 
 429 
 
 Falco alusicus, 391 
 
 blarmicus, 390 
 
 cendiris, 390 
 
 melanopterni, 392 
 
 pereijrinus, 390 
 
 — fiolyzonoides, 391 
 
 ruJicolUs, 390 
 
 , 390 
 
 rujicoloides, 390 
 
 rufipes, or Orange-legged Hobby, 
 
 391 
 
 semitorquatus, 391 
 
 ■ — — suhuteo, or Hobby, 390 
 
 Finch 'male \ 367 
 
 Finch, Brazilian {Esfrelja granutina), 402 
 
 Finch, Black-eyed ' Esirel<!a\ 402 
 
 , Crinoline, H68 
 
 , Small Black. 367 
 
 , ,368 
 
 , Whidah, 368 
 
 , Yellow-breasted, 367 
 
 Fly-catcher, 345 
 
 [another], 350 
 
 ;, 378 
 
 -, Spotted (Muscicapa grisola). 
 
 396 
 
 Francolinus Garipensis, 412 
 >' Red-legged and 
 
 Red-billed Francolin , 412 
 
 Natahnsls, 412 
 
 -, Swainsonn, 349, 412 
 
 Fruit-eater (Turdus Capensis), 34G 
 Fidica cristafa, 421 
 
 porpJiyris, 421 
 
 Fuligula nyroca, 423 
 
 Gallinula cldoropus (Moor-hen), 421 
 
 dimi'diata, 421 
 
 Gannet, South African i Sula Australis), 
 424 
 
 Geronticus hagedash (Glossy Ibis^, 419 
 
 Girafte-bird, 377 
 
 Glaveola torquata, or Collared Pratin- 
 cole. 415 
 
 Gnu's Khala, 371 
 
 Gom Pouw 'female', 383 
 
 Goose, 352 
 
 , Egyptian (Anas Egyptiea, 421 
 
 Gracula carunculuta, 404 
 
 Grebe. Great-crested ' Podiceps cris- 
 fatus), 423 
 
 , Little ' Podiceps minor; 425 
 
 Greenshank (Totanus glottis^', 419 
 
 Grey Lory (male,, 386 
 
 Grosbeak, or Sparrow, 349 
 
 Grouse, Pin-tailed {Pterocles iachypetes) 
 
 Guinea-hen, Common, 354 
 
 , Common Wild Memidia 
 
 ,413 
 
 Gull, Grey-capoed '^Lurus phmocephalus , 
 
 425 
 , lesser Black-legged i Larusfuscus , 
 
 425 
 Gypxtus fulvoris, 388 
 
 Hsematopus niger, or Oyster-catcher 416 
 Hrdryon Damarensis, 409 
 TIaJiactus vocifer, 389 
 Hambula, 377 
 Hawk, 362 
 
 (another J, 363 
 
 (Sparrow-hawk, 364 
 
 , or Falcon, 364 
 
 I Shogotsani), 359 
 
 Helotarsus ecandatits (Pe'teke'', 361 
 Heron, 354 
 
 ( female \ 374 
 
 , Aixlea utricollis,, 347 
 
 Heron, Bhie, ( or Aigrette) . 374 
 
 , Common (Ardea cinerea), 417 
 
 , Egret (Ardea garzetta), 417 
 
 , Great, 373 
 
 , Indian Paddy-field {Ardeola 
 
 leucoptera), 418 
 , Little Bittern {Ardea minuta), 
 
 418 
 Hiaticula zmiata, 415 
 Hirundo Capensis, 410 
 
 domidiata, 410 
 
 Monteiri. 410 
 
 rustica, 410 
 
 • , rupestrio, 409 
 
 Hobby, Oiauge-legged (Falco rupifes), 
 
 391 
 
 (Falco subuteo), 390 
 
 Hokaku, or Toucan, 379 
 
 Honey, or Sugar-bml, 377 
 
 Hoopoe (Upupa minor\ 407 
 
 Hornbill, Coronated {Buceros coronatus], 
 
 405 
 
 Ibis, Glossy, 375 
 
 (geronticus ,419 
 
 ■ , White (Ibis religlosa , 353 
 
 [another], 375 
 
 , 419 
 
 Indicator major, 408 
 
 Jabiru, 374 
 
 Jaeana, large African (Parra A fricana), 
 
 416 
 , lesser Afi-ican (Parra Capensis ' , 
 
 416 
 Jay, or Roller (male , 345 
 [ditto, another], 386 
 
 Kaffir-crane, 357 
 
 King-diver, or large Widgeon, 37G 
 
 King-fisher, 371
 
 430 
 
 INDEX TO DESCRIPTIVE NOTES 
 
 King-fisher, Small Black-and-White, 
 
 372 
 Kite, 349 
 
 , Black (Mihns ater), 392 
 
 , Yellow-billed (Milvus j^gypticus), 
 
 392 
 Kodzara, (male), 355 
 
 , (female), 355 
 
 Korliaan, or Knorhaau, 350 
 
 , (male), 384 
 
 , Croaking, 383 
 
 Lammergeyer, 352 
 Lamprotornis BurchelU, 403 
 
 fulvipennis, 404 
 
 leucogaster, 404 
 
 phoenicopterus, 403 
 
 Laniarius atro-coccineus, or Black-and- 
 
 Crimsou Shrike, 394 
 Lanhcs Baekbahirl, 394 
 
 Brubru, 394 
 
 Lanius collurio, or Red-backed Shrike, 
 
 393 
 excubitor, or Great Grey Shrike, 
 
 393 
 
 melanoleucos, 357, 394 
 
 suhr.oronatus, 393 
 
 , trivirgaius (?), 394 
 
 Lark, 348 
 
 Larusfuscus lesser Black-Bearded Gull \ 
 
 425 
 ■ phceocephalus (Grey-capped Gull), 
 
 425 
 Le Batialeur (PeteTse'), 352 
 Lestris Bichardsonii (Black Skua), 425 
 Liimet (male), 348 
 
 , or Eooi Bekjie, 368 
 
 Lory, Grey (male), 368 
 Loxia socius (Grosbeak), 349 
 
 Melacouotus similis (Orange - breasted 
 Bush Shrike), 395 
 
 Merops apiaster, or Bee-eater, 352, 409 
 
 erytlirepterus, or Little Forked- 
 tailed Bee-eater, 409 
 
 liirundenaceui, 409 
 
 Milvus Mqypticus, or Yellow-billed 
 Kite, 392 
 
 atLT, or Black Kite, 392 
 
 Mocking Bird, 351 
 
 Moor-lieu (Gallinula chloropus), 421 
 
 Muscicapa grisola, or Spotted Fly- 
 catcher, 396 
 
 Senegalensis, 396 
 
 Muscipeta cristata (?), 396 
 
 Muscovy goose, 354 
 
 Namaqua Dove, 386 
 Nedarina blfasciata, 407 
 
 Nectarina fusca, or White- vented Sun- 
 bird, 407 
 
 Senegalensis, 407 
 
 Nettapus Mudagascarensis, 422 
 Numtnius arquata (Common Curlew), 
 419 
 
 phxopus (WhimbrelX 419 
 
 pjygmaias {Vigmy Cui'lew),420 
 
 Numidia , or common Wild 
 
 Guinea-hen, 413 
 
 (Edanamus (Dikkop\ 353 
 
 Oriolus auratus (African Golden Oriole\ 
 397 
 
 galbula, or Golden Oriole, 397 
 
 Ortygyps auricularis, 388 
 
 Otis afroides, 414 
 
 , 414 
 
 , kori, or Great African 
 
 Bustard, 413 
 
 oediceremus, or Thick-kneed Bus- 
 tard, 414 
 
 ruficrista, 414 
 
 Owl, 349 
 
 , large female, 365 
 
 , see also Strix. 
 
 Owlet, 365 
 
 Oyster-catcher {Hssmatopus niger), 416 
 
 Parisoma rufiventer, 397 
 
 Paroquet ! female), 380 
 
 Purra Africana, or Large African 
 
 Jacaua, 416 
 Capensis, or Lesser African 
 
 Jacana, 416 
 Parrot, 380 
 
 Parrot of tlie Lake, 358 
 Partridge, 370 
 Parus cinerasceus, 398 
 
 niger, 398 
 
 Passer arciiata, or Cape Sparrow, 403 
 
 motilensis, 403 
 
 Peewit, 357 
 
 Pelican, White {Pelecanus oiwcrotalus, 
 
 424 
 Penguin, Cape (Aptenodytes demersa), 
 
 424 
 Pe'teTie', 354, 3G1 
 Petrel (Cape-hen), 425 
 
 {pTocellana pdagica), 425 
 
 Petrocincla exploraior, 399 
 Phalacrocorax A/ricanus, 423 
 
 , 423 
 
 , 424 
 
 Pheasant, Grey, 370 
 
 , large, 349 
 
 , mtde ( FrnTicolin), 357 
 
 Phasnicoptenis erythreus, 420 
 minor, 420
 
 OF SOUTH AFRICAN BIRDS. 
 
 431 
 
 Picus, 388 
 
 ■ fulviscapus, 405 
 
 Picrunis musicus. 395 
 
 Platalea leucorodia (Spoon-bill), 419 
 
 Platystlra albicauda, 395 
 
 Plocepasser mahali, 401 
 
 Ploceus cucullatus, 401 
 
 • 'inariquensig, 401 
 
 sunijuiniroslris, 401 
 
 splilonotus, 401 
 
 Plover, 355 
 
 , Kinged, &c. 'see Charadrius). 
 
 , Spur-winged, 373 
 
 Podiceps cridatus (Great-Crested 
 
 Grebe j, 423 
 
 , minor (Little Grebe), 423 
 
 • , • (Widgeon), 346 
 
 Pogonias leiicomelas, 405 
 Pouw, Gum, 383 
 
 ■ (female), 382 
 
 , Kea-breasted, 385 
 
 , Small crested, 383 
 
 Prianops talacoma, 395 
 
 Promerops erythrorynchus, or Red-billed 
 
 Promerops, 406 
 
 , niger, 407 
 
 Psittacus Meyeri, 358, 406 
 
 Ruppelli, 406 
 
 Pterocles bicinctus, 411 
 tachypetes, or Pin-tailed 
 
 Grouse, 411 
 
 variegaius, 412 
 
 Pyrrhulauda Audralis, 400 
 
 leucotiK, 400 
 
 rerticalis, 400 
 
 Pytelia melba, 402 
 
 Quagga dzarra, or Tsgai, 370 
 Quail, 369 
 
 , the Large (male^, 358 
 
 , (female), 858 
 
 Queque, 356 
 
 Querquedida Hottentotta, 422 
 
 Rail, 359 
 Rallus niger, 421 
 
 driutus {?), 421 
 
 Recurvirostru avocetta (Avoset;, 420 
 Reed Hawk, 347 
 
 Rhynchia Capeiisis (Golden Snipe), 420 
 Ring-dove. 386 
 
 , South African (or Turtle- 
 dove), 385 
 River-dove, Small, 385 
 Roller, or Jay (male), 386 
 Rooi Behje, or Linnet, 368 
 
 , or Edrelda adrila, 402 
 
 Ruff (tringa pugnax), 420 
 
 Saccecala Alpina (Black-bird;, 350 
 Saccela xnanta (Mocking-bird;, 351 
 Sand- lark, Red, 378 
 Sand-piper, Grey {Tringa squatuvola), 
 
 416 
 
 , Little (Tringa menuta), 420 
 
 , Wood ( Totauus glaveola', 419 
 
 Sarkidornis Africana, 422 
 Saxicola Alpina, 399 
 
 formicivora, 399 
 
 Hottentotia, 399 
 
 rubicola, 399 
 
 sperata, 398 
 
 Scissor-tailed ' or Swallow- taUed. Bird), 
 
 381 
 Sculopax gallinago (Common Snipe), 420 
 Scopus umbrella, 418 
 Sea-cow Bird, 371 
 
 [Another], 371 
 
 Secrelarius replilivorus (Secretary), 392 
 
 Shogotsani (Hawk), 359 
 
 Shrew, snecies of, 346 
 
 Shrike (?), 380 
 
 Shrike Black-and-Crimson {Laniarixis 
 
 atro-coccineus), 394 
 , Great Grey {Lanius exubilor), 
 
 393 
 , Orange-breasted Bush {Melaco- 
 
 notus similis), 395 
 
 , Red, 381 
 
 -, Red-backed (Lanius collurio], 
 
 393 
 
 -, Small, 381 
 Skua, Black (Lestris Richardsonii), 425 
 Snake-bird, 365 
 Suipe, Common (Scolopax gallinago), 
 
 420 
 , Golden (Rhynchia Capensis), 372, 
 
 420 
 Sparrow, or Grosbeak, 349 
 Sparrow, Cape (Passer arcuata), 403 
 Sparrow-hawk, 364 
 Spoon-bill (Plalalea leucorodia), 419 
 
 . , White, 375 
 
 Sprew, Blue, 369 
 
 Sterna Boysii (Sandwich Tern), 425 
 
 Dougalli (Roseate Tern), 425 
 
 Caspda (Red-billed Tern j, 424 
 
 velox (Yellow-billed Tern), 424 
 
 Sternula valeenarum, 425 
 
 Stilt, Black-winged (Charadrius himan- 
 
 lopus), 420 
 Stork, White, 374 
 
 , (Ardea ciconia), 418 
 
 Strange Bird, A, 378 
 Strix flammea, 393 
 
 laclea. 392 
 
 leucotis, 393 
 
 • scops, or Little Horned Owl, 393
 
 432 
 
 JNDKX TO NOTKri OF »OUTH A F III C AX BIRDS. 
 
 Strix Senegalensis, 393 
 
 Sii;ike-biid, 3G5 
 
 Snipe, Ci)!ninon {Scolopax gaUinago), 420 
 
 , Golden, 372 
 
 , {Rhyncliia Capensis), 420 
 
 Sui^ar- i or honey) Bird, 377 
 
 Suia AuslraUs (S. African Gannet), 424 
 
 Sunbird, Wliite-vented {Nectarina 
 
 fusm), 407 
 S\vall)W-tailed (or Scissor- tailed; Bii'd, 
 
 381 
 
 Sylvia (?,, 397 
 
 [another], 3'J7 
 
 [another], 398 
 
 • hrevicauda. 397 
 
 obscura, 397 
 
 Teal, Whistling (Dentrocygna ciduata), 
 
 423 
 Tern, Red-billed ( Sterna Caspia , 424 
 
 , Rosente Sterna Dougalli), 425 
 
 , Saiidwich {Sterna Boysii), 425 
 
 , Yellow-billed 'Sterna velox), 424 
 
 Textor erythrorynchus, 400 
 
 Thorn-cat {Erythropygki pectoralis , 
 
 398 
 Thrush, 359 
 Titmouse, or Wren, 3G6 
 Tomtit, 366 
 
 [another], 366 
 
 , female, 366 
 
 Totanus , 41 9 
 
 glaveola (Wood Sand-pipei). 
 
 419 
 
 glottis (Green-sliank;, 419 
 
 Toucan, 379 
 
 (hokakn, kc), 379 
 
 (^hoto), 356 
 
 Touraco (Grey Lory), 368 
 
 Tringa calidris. or Sanderliug Plover, 
 
 410 
 Tringa interpres, or Turnstone, 416 
 
 minuta 'Little Sand-piper), 420 
 
 pugnax (the Eufif), 420 
 
 ■ sqiirdarola, or Grev Sand-piper, 
 
 416 
 
 Tsaba giLshon, 356 
 
 [another], 359 
 
 Tso;ai, or Quagga Dzarra, 370 
 Turdns Capensis ' Fruit-eater), 396 
 
 strepitans^ 359, 396 
 
 Tmtle-dove, 385 
 
 (female), 385 
 
 (or Ring-dove), S. African, 
 
 385 
 
 Turnix , 412 
 
 lepurana, 412 
 
 Turnstone {Tringa interpres), 416 
 Tiirtur erytlirophry^, or Red-eyed Dove, 
 
 411 
 
 Upnpa minor, or Hoopoe, 407 
 
 Vandlus (Peewit), 357 
 
 arimatus (Plover), 355 
 
 lateralis, 416 
 
 Vidua erytlirorhynclms, or Red-billed 
 
 Wliidah, 401 
 Vidua puradisea, 401 
 VuUur ^gypticus, 389 
 
 occipitalis, 388 
 
 Vulture, 360 
 
 , Common 360 . 
 
 , Large Brown, 360 
 
 , White-headed Black, 361 
 
 Vulturine bird (White Crow,,, 359 
 
 Whid.ih, Red-billed {Vidua erythro- 
 
 rhynchus), 401 
 Whimbrel i Numenius phfeopus , 419 
 White Crow, 359 
 Wiilgcon [Podiceps minoi) 346 
 
 , Large for King-diver), 376 
 
 Woodpecker, Black-headed, 387 
 , Double-mustached ' Den- 
 
 trocatus Namaquensis 404 
 
 , (female), 387 
 
 . , Red-headed, 387 
 
 , ■ (male). 388 
 
 Wren, or Titmou.-e, 366
 
 REMARKS ON INSECTS. 
 
 VOL. II, 2 P
 
 EEMAEKS ON INSECTS. 
 
 Theke is no particular rule for hunting insects in South Africa, they being 
 of such various kinds and habits. One ought always to be on the look-out 
 for them. A small box strapped over the shoulder, or a few pins, should be 
 stuck in your hat when you go out. By the wagons we have a sweeping 
 net and a pair of nippers, 12 inches in diameter, made of brass wire and 
 covered with gauze. I found a great variety of beetles in the droppings of 
 cattle, or the paunch-dung of a slaughtered ox, or in the ground underneath 
 it. The cool of the morning andevening are the fittest times : some are 
 very easily taken when they are benumbed by cold ; or on the shady side of 
 trees, in the drifts of rivers, under decayed wood, bark, and stones, in wells, 
 or at springs, at small holes in the ground, damp spots and watering places. 
 Graminivorous insects are chiefly found on the shady side of the leaves and 
 flowers they feed on ; but preying insects chiefly on the hot sand in the 
 heat of the day ; ant-lions in funnel-shaped holes in the loose sand. Dig 
 little holes at the roots of plants and flowers in search of insects. Some 
 ants are nocturnal in their habits, others diurnal. Moths and other insects 
 are more plentiful before a storm, and are attracted by fires and lights. 
 Centipedes and Scorpions run out of the firewood when ignited, under 
 stones and decayed trees they may be looked for, or under your mats and 
 blankets in the morning. Snakes are benumbed and hai'mless on a cold 
 rainy day. The Python and other large snakes may be found by follow- 
 ing their trail. The most beautiful butterflies are observed in these parts, 
 and are generally foimd alighting on all sorts of corruption, in search of 
 moisture. Look into every little hole in the ground. 
 
 The poison which the Bushmen of these parts use to anoint their arrows 
 with is called Tha — (Th representing a click, made by pressing the tip of 
 the tongue against the roof of the mouth and forcibly withdrawing it ; the 
 last letter a is sounded wath a strong nasal tone), — and is the same which 
 is described in my Journal of 1852, as used by the Bushmen in the Southern 
 parts of Sekomi's country, the Bamanwato. The poison is supplied by a 
 grub of a reddish-yellow colour, three-fourths of an inch long when full- 
 grown. The head is dark-brown. It has serrated mandibles, with two 
 pair of forceps, acting independently of each other. It has two slight 
 indentations on the forehead, perceptible only through a microscope ; these 
 must be the eyes. It has a dark-brown shield on its neck which are, or 
 seem, divided in two by a lighter stripe down the middle. The legs are 
 
 2 F 2
 
 43(i APPENDIX. 
 
 brown — joiuted and hooked. It has on each side two rows of pores within 
 tubercles, the lower of which are more distinctly defined. The insects are 
 hatched just after the first heavy rains: when young they are one-twelfth 
 of an inch long, and of a darkish-green colour ; but this is not the actual 
 colour of the insect, but of the excrement with which it is covered, and 
 which seems to be exuded through pores on its back as well as in the 
 natural way. They are found on a bush, or tree, called Maruri-papierie, on 
 which they feed until full-grown, by which time they have generally 
 reached to the extreme ends of the branches on which they feed, and the 
 coating of excrement, drying gradually from the fore parts of the body, 
 breaks away with the insect's efforts to move forward. Having reached the 
 end of the branches they now voluntarily let themselves fall to the ground, 
 and burrow about two feet deep, when they enclose themselves with a black 
 earthy cocoon, resembling goats' excrements. They do not burrow at the 
 roots of the tree, but just where they fall, generally exactly under the 
 extreme ends of the branches, when they are collected by the Bushmen as 
 occasion requires. There they remain until the first heavy shower at the 
 next season, generally November or December, when the beetle comes 
 forth, takes its clumsy flight to the Maruri-papierie, a trifoliate bush on 
 which it feeds and attaches its numerous eggs, one-sixteenth of an inch 
 long, of an oblong shape, and a reddish-yellow colour, after which it be- 
 comes exhausted and dies. It is so transparent that the embryo grub can 
 be seen with a powerful microscope. I got Baines to make me a sketch of 
 the insect in its different stages. It changes into a small amber or dark 
 cream-coloured beetle, about a third of an inch long, with longitudinal 
 black stripes on the wing-coverts and thorax. 
 
 I have found, by a lucky accident, the antidote for this poison. The 
 Bushmen are generally very unwilling to tell you anything about it, 
 denying the existence of an antidote at all. I have asked the question 
 again and again, but could never get the desired information ; but happen- 
 ing to hear some Bushmen expatiating on the wonderful powers of the 
 white men, especially from having with their own eyes seen them consulting 
 the stars by means of glass, I took the opportunity of a lad's coming in 
 with a collection of insects, among which were this grub and the beetle, to 
 ask of them abruptly, just as if I knew all about it, " What do you call 
 that plant with which you cure the poison of Tha?" The Bushmen 
 answered at once, " Kalahfetlu^," its Sechuana name; adding "but who told 
 you about it ?" and they concluded by saying, " those white men are 
 children of God ; they know everything." 
 
 I have since made further inquiries on the subject from different Bush- 
 men. They are very reserved regarding the antidote, and, as I hear, 
 have even preferred death to divulging the secret ; but although they all 
 professed their ignorance of any antidote for the Tha, yet, upon finding 
 that I knew a great deal about it, these men corroborated everything 1 
 had before heard. As this Kalahetlufe grows wherever the grub is found, I 
 soon discovered the plant, and got Baines to sketch it for me, as well as
 
 APPENDIX. 437 
 
 the iusect, which I kept alive for a long time to make notes on it. The 
 Kalah6tlufe is the tuber mentioned in my Journal of 1854, as being the 
 favourite food of steinboks and duikers. The leaves are long, thick, narrow, 
 pulpy, and lanceolate, with a strong indention down the middle ; in colour 
 a dull green. The plant bears small yellow five-petalled flowers, with two 
 sepals only — the seed-pods like a conical ball — stamens in some cases eight, 
 in others ten in number, and they go in pairs. The leaves, which are 
 slightly acid, are eaten by the Bushmen, either raw or boiled, as a spinach. 
 There are three varieties of this plant ; the one broad, lanceolate : the 
 second not so broad, but wavy : the third, narrow, long, lanceolate ; the 
 midrib strongly depressed on upper side, the contrary on the lower. 
 
 The beetle is sometimes pounded into a paste, and laid on the arrow 
 barbs with gum or bees-wax, in lieu of the grub, and is just as efficacious, 
 A bite of either the grub or the beetle would be deadly, but fortunately 
 they do not bite ; the symptoms are nausea, headache, vomiting, &c. The 
 flesh of an animal killed by this venom is however, not poisonous, and I have 
 frequently eaten it. On the contrary, the Bushmen have a great preference 
 for that part of the flesh where the wound is inflicted. They say it is nice 
 and salt. It kills all animals which the Bushmen are courageous enough 
 to attack, or the hides of which their light barbed arrows can penetrate. 
 The lion, the leopard, and the panther are easily destroyed by it ; conse- 
 quently, throughout the whole of this country, between the Lake and 
 Amraal's territory, where only Bushmen dwell, not a lion is to be seen ; 
 but in those parts where Bushmen are not so numerous, or have fled from 
 the tyranny of their oppressors, there lions are found in these days in spite 
 of the introduction of fire-arms. 
 
 The Bushmen say they can kill elephants also with the poisoned arrow. 
 An elephant wounded in the legs only vomits, but in any other part dies. 
 The bite of the beetle or grub is fatal to man. I consider it quite a triumph 
 to have at last extracted so much from the Bushmen about this insect, 
 after waiting ten years for my knowledge. It lays little orange, yellow, or 
 red transparent oblong eggs, in which the larvaa are visible. 
 
 To become an expert naturalist, one ought to turn Bushman, conquer the 
 languages, and one will learn more about the natural history of many 
 things than from books, and years of study and experiment. They live 
 and depend for existence on animals and insects, and therefore are obliged 
 to know all about their habits and instincts. 
 
 Lesuga is the name of a long, black, thin, flying-ant that stung me 
 with its tail. I did not feel the pain for some seconds, but then it was 
 most intense, as bad, or worse, than a Scorpion's.
 
 438 APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTES ON TREES, &c., OF THE ZAMBESI. 
 
 Of the trees that adorn the hills and plains between Boana and 
 Sinamani's there are a great variety, many of which afford nourishment to 
 man and beast, and are useful in various ways. They also afford a grateful 
 shade : still there is nothing as far as I have been (that is, to Sinamani's) 
 that can be compared to a regular timber forest in Natal, those miles and 
 miles of Yellow-wood, Stink- wood, &c., &c. The large Baobabs, Pambas, 
 Sterculias, &c., are too soft for any useful purposes. Those that might be 
 useful to white men are the Kush^, Seringa, M'pemella, M'susu, M'pani, 
 Motsekeri, N'gumo (MokucJwn), Mashasha, Tamarinds, N'gau, and a very 
 few Camels-thorns and bastard Camels-thorns ; these are but thinly scattered 
 about the country, in forests overgrown with lighter and more useless trees, 
 often choked at their roots with brambles and underwood — of the Fig and 
 other kinds, such as the Shezedzi, Onzeze, M'pondo, Susumatubalo, Susu- 
 macheba, Outoa, Chechenie (^Wagt-een-beetj'e), Tobwe, Motchuerie, N'cheba, 
 N'dgambazza, Shangulie (Givarrie), Nye. 
 
 The following is a list of the very large trees met with on that route ; 
 but although I call them large, they are not such as woodcutters would 
 deem so. Many of them are soft ; and few would yield, in my opinion, a 
 straight plank of more than 20 feet, excepting perhaps a few growing in the 
 immediate vicinity of the Zambesi river, in rich alluvial soil. 
 
 Shashangue. — A willow-looking, glossy leaf; pinnate, lanceolate, and 
 bears large clusters of blue-purple flowers. It is, however, a good 
 timber, resembling Stink-wood, and tough. 
 
 Pamha. — A fine large tree, straight stem, ashy and grey bark, smooth 
 leaves, oblong, pinnate, opposite. Fine timber, but very soft. 
 
 M'pondo attains here the dimensions of a tree. It is the Tlakega of 
 the Sechuanas ; leaves two-lobed, nearly divided, like a Bauhinia ; 
 large white, crimpled, delicate, five-petalled flower; stamens red; 
 bears an edible beau, and is used by us, when obtainable, as a sub- 
 stitute for coffee. 
 
 Boumera. — Like the Seringa -tree of the Colony ; leaves pinnate, opposite, 
 serrate, and thick at base (the leaf-stalks). The natives chew the 
 bark as an antidote for sore throat, coughs, &c. It is astringent 
 and tonic. 
 
 Onzeze. — A bushy tree, dense, soft foliage ; leaves bi-pinnate ; bears 
 large clusters of yellow flowers ; seed-pods winged, and in clusters. 
 
 Shezedzi. — Small, stunted, insignificant trees, covering the plains south 
 of Boana; leaves oblong, glossy, opposite. Elands browse on it,
 
 APPENDIX. 439 
 
 and when the last leaves are about to fall they have a very delicate 
 odour. 
 
 Vhechenie (^Oviukulu of Damaras, Wagt-een-beetje of the Boers, the 
 " Wait-a-bit"). — Leaves ovate, finely serrate, alternate ; thorns oppo- 
 site, and one sword-shaped, inclining forward, and one hooked, in- 
 clining backwards. (Many people have fallen into the error of 
 calling the Manana, or Haak-doorn, by the name of Wagt-een-beetj'e.) 
 It has a dark or brownish-red berry, as large as a small marble, 
 harsh, but edible, and of an astringent and bitter taste. I have 
 tried the leaves as a substitute for tea, and found them injurious. 
 The berries are swallowed by Bushmen and Damaras ; but I do not 
 believe it safe for a white man, as the seeds are large and indi- 
 gestible. 
 
 Shangulie (the Gwarrie of the Colony) here also attains the size of a 
 tree ; narrow, wavy leaves ; oblong-narrow at base, irregular, oppo- 
 site, and alternate ; astringent. I have used it as a substitute for 
 tea. Bears a small blue edible berry. Antelopes — especially the 
 pallali — are very fond of browsing on it. 
 
 Tohwe. — A large-leaved fruit tree, three lobed, and in other respects the 
 texture and reticulations are very like the common Fig. The flower 
 is like that of the Hibiscus, called Dalasinti ; blossoms in February, 
 ripens in winter. 
 
 Msusu. — There are three kinds of M'susu, as distinguished by the 
 natives, viz. Susumachela, Susumatubula, and Susukao. Susuma- 
 chela has large oblong leaves, like Susumatubula. Its bark is 
 boiled, and prepared so as to fit the fibres for weaving into blankets, 
 rugs, or cloths ; hence its name. The M'susu, or Susukao, has a 
 leaf more pointed, and exactly similar to the Silver-tree against 
 Table Mountain, for which it might almost be mistaken, being 
 likewise covered with a silky down, though not so glossy or dense 
 as the Silver-tree. The seeds are all winged, like those of the Mogo- 
 nono, and hang in thick crimson clusters, like blossoms. 
 
 Kutrup (N(/aw of the Bushmen). — A large knotted Thorn-tree, else- 
 where described. 
 
 Ontoa is a large tree, the leaves glossy, and resembling those of a pear 
 tree, but is not edible. 
 
 M^pemela. — (Description given at Shabby's, on the Zambesi river : vol. ii., 
 p. 200.) 
 
 Tunguro. — A pleasant, edible fruit ; branches thorny or spinous ; leaves 
 glossy, broad, ovate, alternate, serrate. 
 
 N'cheha, M'hiemha, or 3fbuetie (the Motchuerie of Sechuanas, Damara, 
 Mother of the Damaras, Lignum vitce (?) ) are few and small. They 
 only attain their full grovvth in vleys, or limestone countries, and 
 near vleys. Here they are very small. 
 
 UPkomba, Nsuluja, or Maliesa (on the Zambesi river.) The natives 
 use the wood to make their firesticks, and obtain oil from the seeds.
 
 440 APPENDIX. 
 
 Sechelie — Is another tree from the seeds of which oil is obtained for 
 
 anointing the head. 
 Talanatu. — The Motsourie of the Lake and Makololo, called the Wild 
 
 Loquat in my journals. It resembles that fruit, but the leaves are 
 
 small, ovate, broad at points, and dark green. 
 Zhozhate, or Silenko, at the Zambesi. Oil is obtained from the seeds. 
 Nlilla. — A fine fruit tree, growing in the sand-hills. From the seeds a 
 
 delicious oil is obtained for culinary purposes. 
 Nanga. — The Manana or Hack-doom. 
 Ntoa — Is a large tree, on which a large edible caterpillar is found in 
 
 large quantities every year, devouring every leaf. 
 Kalate. — Another of the above kind, but different tree and different 
 
 caterpillar. 
 Musiebie. — The Motsebe of Sechuanas. A fine large tree, black and 
 
 saffron-grey stem ; fruit tree. Bauhinia, scarlet seeds ; bursting out 
 
 of clusters of green pods, &c., &c. 
 Kantinema. — A large tree, bearing a fruit which, when pounded and 
 
 stirred in water, makes a good drink. 
 Mpanda. — Tree large ; fruit size of a walnut ; is cooked and eaten. 
 Mguatti (g guttural). — Large tree ; edible fruit. 
 N'damha. — Edible fruit or bean, in pods a foot long ; tree large. 
 Nye. — A large tree; pleasant and edible fruit. 
 Mlala, or Mulala, or Seenla. — The Palmyra. 
 Mamba. — The Acacia Giraffe. 
 Untamba and Ndo. — Two kinds of Strychnia-bearing trees, eaten both 
 
 by men and baboons. 
 N'hwohwa and Ntobgye. — Two large fruit-bearing trees. 
 Omhoh. — A trifoliate rhomboidal leaf ; strong resinous odour. The 
 
 roots contain a nutritious glutinous juice of a sweetish aromatic 
 
 odour, and is eaten by Damaras as well as Makalakas. The fruit is 
 
 very resinous, and is not eaten. 
 Musuma (the Mokuchon of the Lake j^eople) is already described, as also 
 
 the M'buyu, Baobab, and Kukumbuya (a three-lobed Sterculia), and 
 
 several others scattered throughout these pages ; also the Motsekerie, 
 
 M'tondo, the Tamarind-tree, and others, 
 Kushe. — Large trees ; grey smooth bark ; dark oblong leaves ; trunks 
 
 sometimes have deep cavities, which get filled with rainVater, which 
 
 keeps in a state of preservation for a long time after the rainy 
 
 season. I have frequently quenched my thirst by inserting a tube, 
 
 and drinking through it. They grow in clusters on the sand-bults, 
 
 and their shades are the resort of elephants at mid-day.
 
 APPENDIX. 441 
 
 THE BAOBAB (Adansonia digitata). 
 Bo OP THE Bushmen ; Moana of the Bechuana and Makololo Tribes ; 
 
 AND BoANA or BoOYANA OF THE MaKALAKA AND BaTONGA TrIBES. 
 
 These trees, the trunks of which sometimes exceed 100 feet in cir- 
 cumference, have very long and strong roots radiating from the trunk : 
 these roots often crop out over the surface for more than a hundred yards 
 from the tree, giving it great stability, and enabling it to resist the storm. 
 It affords a grateful and extensive shade in these warm latitudes. An 
 army might shelter under it, though it is oftener the resort of troops of 
 guus and buffaloes, and the mighty elephant himself, at mid-day. When 
 standing alongside of this gigantic tree you fancy it a castle wall. Its 
 pinkish-grey bark is a foot thick, smooth and glossy. Leaves digitate, 
 (quinquefoliate) and glossy. The flowers are white, and 8 inches in 
 diameter; it has five petals overlapping one another, and, unlike the 
 Australian Baobab, the flower hangs pendant instead of standing erect on 
 the stem. The fruit hangs attached to a strong stem, and has a woody 
 gourd-like capsule, sometimes 10 or 12 inches long, but generally about 
 6 inches, and from 3 to 4 inches thick. In this capsule numerous 
 kidney-shaped seeds are imbedded, between fibrous divisions, in a white, 
 pulpy, acid substance, somewhat resembling cream of tartar in taste, and 
 hence called by the Boers " kram-a-tat " (a corruption for cream of tartar). 
 The fibrous bark is converted here into a kind of matting, and resembles 
 coir. Bags, ropes, &c., are also made of it ; but the wood, being soft and 
 spongy, is useless, excepting as tinder when in a state of decay. In the 
 decayed hollows of the uppermost branches bees build their hives in fancied 
 security from the ravages of the Bushmen, who, nevertheless, scale its 
 castle-like walls by means of t¥/o rows of pegs driven deep into the bark, 
 to serve as a ladder. Eagles and crows, sprews and jays, love to build 
 their nests on the highest branches. From the pulp of the fruit a very 
 pleasant and wholesome acid drink may be made with boiling water in 
 cases of fever, especially with the addition of a little sugar or honey. The 
 Bushmen make a kind of porridge by boiling it, and they esteem it 
 very much, but it is then very acid. The fruit ripens when the leaves 
 have fallen, generally in March or April ; and the difficulty of throwing 
 them down with sticks and stones insures a pretty constant supply 
 throughout the winter season. The ordinary average of these trees are 
 from 60 to 80 feet circumference ; but the largest I have ever seen was 
 101 feet, and then one section of the solid mass had been torn down 
 by the storm and its own weight, and this measured 54 feet in circum- 
 ference by itself. I have found in some of these trees large excavations, 
 made by the Bushmen, in which ten or twelve men could sleep with a fire 
 in their midst. In others I have found large caverns, the resort of nume- 
 rous owls and bats (Adansonia digitata). 
 
 Leaves digitate ; leaflets five in number ; glossy above ; margin entire ;
 
 442 APPENDIX. 
 
 sepals five ; i)etals five, and of thick flesliy texture ; outer whorl green outside, 
 and upper surface covered with very thick silky down ; stamens indefinite, 
 nionadelphous, and radiating in a ball from the top of the white pyramidal 
 cylinder surrounding the pistil, which rises an inch ahove the top. The 
 ball is formed of innumerable radiating filaments, nearly an inch long. The 
 trunks of younger trees ventricose. The flower has a fruitj' smell, is white, 
 but changes into a rusty brown when it fades. The flower bud is a round 
 capsule, looking hke a fruit ; when it attains the size of an apple the five 
 sepals burst asunder, from which the snow-white flower unfolds its spiral 
 folds, from which five pairs of filamentous points expand themselves as 
 the points of the sepals curl downward, or rather upward (for the flower 
 hangs face downward). 
 
 An ' 'Anona" ( Bododo of the Bushmen), found in the desert near the Chob^, 
 in 1854 (see old Journals, vol. i., p. 284). It is perennial, grows in moist 
 sandy places, such as old river beds and hollows ; about fifteen to eighteen 
 inches high ; grows in beds or clusters. Leaves oblong, alternate, and one inch 
 apart ; upper side smooth and glossy ; under side strongly reticulated. Fruit 
 divided into square sections on outside, like a Pine-apple ; each external 
 section indicating a partition or division of the pulp towards the centre, and 
 each of which encloses a brown seed, in shape like a castor-oil seed, but 
 larger. The fruit hangs downward by a short stem under the leaves ; it 
 emits a very sweet odour when ripe, by which it may easily be traced in the 
 fields. It is the most luscious fruit I have ever tasted, and when ripe is of 
 a pine-apple colour. In its green state it is used as a vegetable. In favour- 
 able seasons the Bushmen gather large quantities, and become fat upon it, 
 but it is almost too luscious for a white palate. Some seasons does not 
 bear at all. Some of my friends cultivated the plant at Hazendaal, near 
 Eiudebosh ; but the cold, and an insect, kept it low and sickly, and it never 
 bore fruit.
 
 EOUGH NOTES 
 
 THE BOTANY OF NATAL, 
 
 KINDLY SUPPLIED BY JOHN SANDERSON, ESQ., FOR MANY 
 YEARS A RESIDENT AT NATAL; 
 
 SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE BOTANY OF NATAL, 
 
 Extracted from a Lecture delivered at Pietermaritzburg 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. EDWARD ARMITAGE, M.A., 
 In December 1853.
 
 KOUGH NOTES ON THE FLOEA OF NATAL. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I regret that I am not botanist enough to pretend to give you any 
 proper account of the Botany of Natal. I refer you instead to the accom- 
 panying lecture by the Eev. Edward Armitage. That gentleman visited 
 the colony in 1853. Although his stay was but short, he appears to 
 have made good use of his time, and, being a competent botanist, points 
 out the principal families of f)lants that characterize the colonial Flora. 
 Since that time, however, the Botany of Natal has been, and is now being, 
 more extensively explored ; and the fruits of these researches are in pro- 
 cess of publication by Dr. Harvey, of Dublin, and Dr. Sender, of Ham- 
 burg, in the " Flora Capensis," and by the former of these gentlemen in the 
 plates and letter-press of his " Thesaurus Capensis." Dr. Harvey is also 
 about to issue a new edition of his " Genera of South African Plants," 
 published thirty years ago. In all these works the plants of Natal are 
 associated with those of the Cape and South Africa generally. 
 
 The explorations of late years have been carried on by several collectors ; 
 among whom Mr. W. Gueinzius, the late Mr. E. W. Plant, Mr. M. J, 
 McKen, and Mr. W. T. Gerrard, are conspicuous. By the last-named 
 gentleman alone many new genera and species, to the number probably of 
 hundreds, have been discovered in Natal and the neighbouring parts of the 
 Zulu country. His industry and his success alike make his recent depar- 
 ture for Madagascar much to be regretted for the sake of the South African 
 Flora, however likely he may be to meet with a greatly more abundant 
 reward for his labours in the new field to which he has transferred them. 
 
 Natal, although situated without the tropic, yet, being on a coast washed 
 by the great Mozambique current, has a climate more nearly tropical than 
 would otherwise be expected from its geographical position. At the same 
 time the remarkably different elevations of different parts of its surface 
 produce a very marked difference between its coast and its inland Flora. 
 The colony may be roughly described as diamond-shaped, the northern and 
 southern points of the figure being respectively in about 27° 20', and 
 30° 45' S., the south-east side of the diamond facing the Indian Ocean. 
 The Kathlamba, or Drakenberg mountains, which form the north-western 
 boundary of the colony, rise to a height of from 7,000 to 9,000 feet and 
 upwards at a distance of from 90 to 130 miles from the coast, and present 
 throughout the greater part of their line an inaccessible perpendicular wall 
 many hundred feet in height. Indeed, in one place the river Tugela (in the 
 lower part of its coi;rse the north-eastern boundary of the colony) makes
 
 446 APPENDIX. 
 
 one leap of 2,000 feet in depth. From the slope of debris at the foot 
 of this mountain rampart the land stretches seaward in successive terraces, 
 more or less regular, dropping from a height of 4,000 or 5,000 to one of 
 about 2,000 feet ; from that to an elevation of 800 or 1000 feet above 
 the level of the ocean, and from that again to the low lands along the 
 sea-board. These successive terraces are more or less broken up, by the 
 agency, apparently, of both fire and water, the result being innumerable 
 valleys, some vpith gently-sloping sides, others mere ravines with peren- 
 nial streams flowing between perpendicular walls of rock. It is in 
 these valleys that the forests are chiefly found. A belt, however, of a 
 mile or two in width extends along the coast, often densely wooded, and 
 dark masses of forest lie like clouds upon the steep mountain slopes, turned, 
 for the most part, from the noonday sun, and at a height of several thou- 
 sand feet above the sea. With these exceptions the face of the country is 
 generally bare of wood, although the plains and hill-sides are frequently 
 dotted over with solitary Acacias. It is, of course, on the coast, and within 
 the influence of the warm sea-air, that the vegetation strikes the Eurojaean 
 eye as most foreign in its aspect. On the islands of the bay, and along its 
 margin, as well as at the mouths of some of the rivers, Mangrove trees, 
 white and red, lead their amphibious life, dashed by the waves, and 
 crawled over by sea-crabs and various shell-fish. Standing alone, or 
 intermixed with other trees, tower Euphorbias (E. grayididens) like giant 
 Cactuses, with trunks two or three feet in diameter, and grey and solemn 
 as an old abbey wall. The Wild Date-palm {Phoenix reclinata) is also 
 abundant on the coast and for some miles inland ; but, as the natives 
 make brooms of the stem, it is now seldom to be found of any great height. 
 One tree about 30 feet in height survives in the bush between the port 
 and the town of D'Urban ; and in the neighbourhood of Verulam I some 
 years ago saw some graceful clusters equally high. The Strelitzia (alba or 
 Augusta), commonly called the Wild Banana, with its beautiful broad 
 leaves, and its strange dragon-like large white flowers, clothes the steep 
 slopes by the sea, or hangs over the still pools of the rivers. A large 
 cordate-leaved shrub (Paritium tiliaceum) with yellow mallow-like flowers, 
 which turn orange and then crimson towards evening, is abundant on the 
 coast, especially about D'Urban. The demand for timber has caused all the 
 larger trees near the towns to be cut down ; but here and there a large red 
 Milk-wood tree (Mimneops obovata), or a many-stemmed wild Fig-tree of 
 great size, yet remains. One of the latter kind, to be included in the in- 
 tended Victoria Park at D'Urban, has clustered stems of 30 feet in circum- 
 ference, and stretches its arms over a circle of upwards 200 feet in diameter. 
 The prevailing tone of the foliage of the bush is dark : most of the trees 
 being evergreens, and the stems and branches being for the most part smooth 
 and light-coloured, they stand out in bold relief, even at a great distance. 
 The bush on the coast is rendered impenetrable by a dense undergrowth of 
 shrubs and climbers, acacias thick-set with clusters of thorns of two or three 
 inches in length, or pliant monkey-ropes and kanot-grass. Many of the
 
 APPENDIX. U7 
 
 trees have large and showy flowers ; the Kafir-boom {Erythrina Caffra) 
 with its scarlet blossoms showing miles off in the bush, the Cuhdendron 
 (Japense, with its dehcate pink flowers, the white Oncdba Kraussiuna, and 
 the creamy corollas of the Piptolcena ( Voacanga) Dregei, that stands up 
 from the marshy ground with its tall trunk and handsome dark green leaves. 
 One of the most remarkable of the Natal trees is our only representative 
 of the Ivy family, and is known as the Cabbage-tree, and to the Dutch as 
 the Nojes-boom {Cussonia). There are several species, some squat and 
 scrubby, others tall and graceful as a palm, which they much resemble in 
 general appearance, bi\t all remarkable for their beautiful digitate foliage, 
 their striking clusters of unopened leaf-buds, and no less striking inflo- 
 rescence. 
 
 In addition to these, and still confining our attention to the neighbour- 
 hood of the coast, are the Horse-chestnut, like Barringtonia racemosa, the 
 exquisite heads of scarlet flowers of the Hiccu[>nut ( Poivrea prasteosa) sur- 
 rounding its rich velvety brown and green flower-buds ; the various fragrant 
 Gardenias, the scarlet Burchellia, the large-leaved Oxyanthus Gerrardi, 
 hiding its beautiful long-tubed white flowers in the shady woods and ravines ; 
 the Amatungulu (^Arduicia grandiflora), its largew hite stars and scarlet 
 plums contrasted with its dark foliage ; the deep crimson flowers of the 
 Schotia issuing in great tufts from the stems and large branches of the tree : 
 the orange-scarlet trumpets of the Tecoma (T. Capensis), the fragile snowy 
 blossoms of the Turra^a (T. obtusifolia) and numberless others, trees and 
 shrubs. Climbing among these, and forming dense masses of foliage and 
 flowers, are Ipomasas and Convolvuli of every hue; several species of 
 Asparagus, Wild Yams, Elephants' Foot, and an immense variety of papi- 
 lionaceous flowers. Of a half-climbing habit is the laurel-leaved Acrido- 
 carpus, brightening the skirts of the bush with its racemes of bright yellow 
 flowers, and at the foot of all, or scattered over the plain, a profusion of 
 Thunbergias, Barlerias, Lobelias, Oxalids, Anomatheras, Orchids, and, most 
 gorgeous of all, the scarlet-orange Methonica. 
 
 No season is without its flowers in Natal. They are, of course, more 
 numerous at one time than at another ; but even mid-winter has its share. 
 Thus, in July and August, may be found the Lily of the Nile (Catta 
 Ethiopica), Erythrina, Hibiscus, Grewia, Thunbergia, Dombeya, Crassula, 
 Plumbago, Polygala, Indigo, Lobelia, Hypericum, Capparis, Haemanthus, 
 and many others, and often several species of the diS'erent genera. Many 
 of the flowers are but short-lived, and no sooner has the blossom faded than 
 the foliage dies down and all trace of it is lost ; while by its side some other 
 springs up to wither, and be succeeded by others, and these again by others, 
 throughout the year. 
 
 The branches of the tall trees inland, or on the coast, are hung with 
 Lichens, and Ferns, and Club-mosses, as well as with a vast variety of Orchids, 
 beautiful and fragrant, although far inferior in size and splendour to those 
 of more tropical regions. The tall stems in the moist woods are, perhaps, 
 netted with the cUnging rhizomes of a fern (Lomariopsis Meyeriana\ the
 
 448 APPENDIX. 
 
 fronds of which, like immense ostrich feathers, hang around them from 
 the ground upwards, till they are lost to sight in the intricate mass of 
 foliage above. Or sword-like fronds, 3 or 4 feet in length, of Plujmatodes 
 irioides, flash back a stray sunbeam from some lofty bough, or from dense 
 masses on the rocky banks of some shady stream. On the moist stones and 
 tnmks of the trees we find the diminutive and deUcate Trichomanes, more 
 delicate and diminutive than the Tunbridge-Wells fern, and hanging over 
 them Tree-ferns (^AleopMla Capensis and Todex Afrkand), with trunks 
 10 or 12 feet high, and graceful fronds sweeping the ground, or trailing 
 in the stream. Here too may be found the Lance-fern (^Lonchitis glabra 
 or Natalensis), one of the most beautiful of the family, with its recurved 
 edges, and lunate fructifications in the sinuses of its most exquisitely-cut 
 fronds ; the Marattia salicifolia, with its most remarkable swollen car- 
 tilage-like articulations, like hinges, at the base of every frond, and even of 
 every pinna of a frond. I have seen fronds of the delicate Gleiclienia 
 polypodioides measure 14 feet in length (possibly much more, as, from 
 their mutual entanglement and their fragility, it was almost impossible 
 to separate them), yet the thickest part of whose stem did not equal that 
 of a crow-quill. I shall never forget the first time I met with this most 
 lovely fern. It was in the Magalisberg ; but the fern flourishes equally 
 well in Natal. I was exploring a ravine in that paradise of botanists ; 
 the walls of rock, not 20 feet apart, rising to a height of 100 feet above 
 me, so that I was in twilight below. To proceed up the glen, the whole 
 bottom of which was filled by the alternate rapids and pools of a little 
 stream, I had to wade or leap from stone to stone. A mass of rock, some 
 20 feet in length, had fallen away from one side, leaving a cave of no 
 great depth, but black as night. Across this recess hung the most delicate 
 tracery that can be imagined, the tender green fronds, with brown rachis, of 
 the Gleichenia, clearly defined against the darkness beyond. 
 
 Some few ferns known in Europe are found also in Natal ; the common 
 Bracken (Pteris aqtiilina), the Maiden-hair (^Adiantum capillus- Veneris), 
 and the Green-fern (Osmunda regalis), are the most common. A native of 
 Crete {Pteris cretica), Lomaria magellanica from the Straits of Magellan, 
 Nephrolepis from Mauritius and Madagascar, and wanderers from various 
 other parts of the world, all meet here. 
 
 In the deep recesses of the rocky ravines, or on the steep hill-sides, are 
 found timber trees of many kinds valuable for furniture, for wagon-work, 
 for beams, for mill- work, and for general purposes. The largest are probably 
 the different kinds of Yellow-wood and Eed Milk-wood. The Yellow-wood 
 (^Podocarpus elongatus, or TJiunhergi,) I have found to measure upwards of 
 27 feet in girth, or 9 feet in diameter, in the Stinkhoutrand near Maritz- 
 burg. Stink- wood (Oreodaphice &mZZ« to), Sneeze-wood (Pteroxylon utile), 
 Assegai-wood (Curtisia faginea), and many other valuable timber trees, 
 are also found in the forests, and the sawing and conveying them to market 
 employ many hands. The bark of various Acacias is used for tanning. 
 
 The Heaths, which form such a large and characteristic portion of the
 
 APPENDIX. 449 
 
 Cape Flora, are here jworly represented by perhaps less than half a dozen 
 species, none of them, so far as I have seen, remarkable for beauty. The 
 Proteads are also few ; the Sugar-bushes, which represent them here, 
 approach the coast within eight or ten miles, and stretch beyond the 
 Drakenberg. Natal, being quite destitute of the dry Karroo-country of 
 portions of the Cape Colony, is of course deficient in the peculiar vegeta- 
 tion of such districts. 
 
 Mr. Gerrard has lately discovered on the Nonoti river, and even nearer 
 the port, a species of Custard-apple (^Anona Senegalejisis) which appears as 
 an addition to the first volume of the " Flora," in vol. ii. 
 
 Of the "Water-lilies one only, the blue Nymplupa steUata, has yet becK 
 described, although a white one of smaller size is spoken of. 
 
 The Crucifers found in Xatal are few and unimportant. Of Capparidecp 
 the variety is considerable ; Cleome, Cadaba, Niebuhria, are all represented, 
 and oi Ca2Jparis itself there are several species found, one of which (^Capparis 
 corymhifera) is remarkable for its large, showy, rosy-white flowers. 
 
 Among Bixacece, Oncolea is remarkable for its beautiful large white 
 flowers and yellow stamens. One species (0. Kraussiana) is plentiful 
 around Port Natal ; another ( 0. spinosa) is much more rare, and yields 
 the beautiful spherical nut used by the Kaffirs as a snufi'-box, under the 
 name Itonguan. To this order belongs the new genus, named Bawsonia, 
 in honour of the late Colonial Secretary at the Cape, and Aberia Caffra and 
 longispina, the Kei apple, or Dingan's apricot, invaluable for forming 
 thorny fences and yielding a pleasant fruit. 
 
 Among Violaricce, the genirs Imndium are conspicuous from their 
 singularly large labellum. 
 
 Of Droseracece, a few only have yet been found, of which the finest is a 
 very tall handsome plant, discovered at the Dargle, near Maritzburg, by 
 Mr. G. Fannin. 
 
 The genus Polyqala has numerous representatives; one of which 
 (P. serpentarid), like a congener in America, has the reputation among 
 the natives of being a specific for snake bites. 
 
 The Hypericums are few and unimportant. 
 
 The order of Malvacece form, on the other hand, a very important and 
 prominent characteristic of the vegetation, in the genera Sida, Abutilon, 
 Pavonia, Paritium, and Hibiscus, many of them valuable for their fibres ; 
 a branch of industry which, as yet, however, has been but little culti- 
 vated. 
 
 In Bytfneriacece, a few species of Hermannia and Mahernia are found, 
 but Dombeya is greatly more conspicuous. One species (D. dregeanci) dots 
 the country with masses of white for months together, and is remarkable 
 for its flowers turning brown without falling off. A recent discovery of 
 Mr. Gerrard's (D. burgessice), with rosy-tinted fragrant flowers and hand- 
 some velvety foliage, will be a great acquisition to florists in Europe. 
 
 Of Tiliacece the most noticeable are the various species of Greivia, of 
 which one ((?. lasiocarpd) is known to the natives as the Elephant's-ear, on 
 
 VOL. II. 2 G
 
 450 APPENDIX. 
 
 account of its large leaves. Several species of TriumpHta and C'orchorus 
 are also found. 
 
 I have already referred to Acridocarjms, of wliicli three species are known, 
 with handsome yellow flowers. 
 
 Japindus oblong ifolius is a very common and very handsome tree, with 
 dense panicles of white flowers and yellowish oval fruit. 
 
 Amono; Mdiacecp, there are two species of Ticrrcea, oue of which 
 (T. oUusifolia) is certainly one of the most exquisite of the Natal shrubs. 
 Its foliage is of a deep glossy green, and its petals and fringed staminal 
 tube of the purest white. Melia azedarach is the Syringa of the colonists, 
 |)ossibly introdi;ced from the east, but, being a rapid grower, is much used 
 for its shade, especially in the towns. Ekehergia capensis, the Essenhout 
 of the Dutch colonists, yields a valuable tough timber. 
 
 The Oeraniacece are by no means so numerous as in the Cape Colony, 
 nor so far as I know, are they to be compared with them for beauty. 
 
 The deep crimson Oxalis ( 0. purpurata) is one of the most abundant of 
 the low-growing flowers. 
 
 The Caladendron Capense, the Wild Chesnut of the Cape colonists, is not 
 a common tree in Natal, but is occasionally met with, and unquestionably 
 is one of the finest, well deserving its name for its exquisitely-pencilled 
 delicate pink flowers. The Hutacece, to which it belongs, a very numerous 
 family in South Africa, does not, so far as yet explored, appear to be by 
 any means so abundant in Natal. 
 
 Among Terehintacece the genus Rhus presents numerous species, con- 
 spicuous for their large and graceful racemes of minute greenish flowers, and 
 their clusters of showy red berries. To this genus belong the plants yield- 
 ino- Japan varnish and several valuable drugs ; and it is probable that the 
 Natal species may, on due examination, be found possessed of properties 
 hardly less valuable. I have more than once seen a shining black varnish 
 dried upon the wounded roots of trees belonging, I believe, to this genus. 
 
 The only native plant belonging to the Orange family is Myarisin equalis, 
 a very elegant shrub, with light green pinnate leaves, but rather unpleasant 
 odour, found very plentifully around Port Natal. 
 
 The order iegfMmMiosoe, on the other hand, is remarkably rich ; the genus 
 Jndigofera being one of the most abundant and characteristic in its season 
 of flowering. Attempts were made, a few years ago, to grow and manufac- 
 ture indigo both from native and imported seed, and, it was said, with 
 every probability of success. For some reason, however, the attempt has 
 been long abandoned. Arachis hypogmi, the Ground-nut, so remarkable 
 for its mode of ripening its seed, is also cultivated for its oil, although to a 
 less extent than formerly. There seems no good reason why these plants 
 should not be cultivated with success for their respective products. Schotia 
 hrachypetula, whose showy crimson flowers are, from a superficial resem- 
 blance, popularly likened to those of the Fuschia, puts forth its large 
 i)anicles in the greatest profusion from the stem and larger branches of the 
 tree in the montli of September. Tlie genus Bauhinia, although not
 
 APPENDIX. 451 
 
 common, is not likely to be overlooked by any one who lias seen its bilobed 
 leaf and beautiful primrose-yellow flowers, with a claret-coloured spot of 
 the form of the leaf. 'J'o another genus, Entada, belongs a remarkable 
 plant (^E. Wahlbergii), said to be found also on the west coast, and which 
 seems to realize the fable of Jack's beanstalk. On the borders of the Zulu 
 country it is described as ascending the tallest trees, spreading among their 
 boughs to the distance of a hundred yards or more, the stems forming 
 (as I have myself seen) a liane or cable of 18 inches or upwards in diameter, 
 by means of which one can ascend as by a ladder, and the same spiral form 
 being assumed by the smallest branches. The legumes are often upwards 
 of 3 feet in length, and 4 inches broad, with beautiful round brown beans, 
 2 inches iu diameter. 
 
 Of the genus Acacia the species are numerous, none of them, however, 
 with the phyllodia or leaf-like petioles of the Australian kinds. To this 
 genus belong the umbrella-like Flat-crown, common in the Berea-bush near 
 D'Urban, as well as the low trees which dot the face of the country in some 
 parts of the colony, forming what is called the Thorn-bush country, resorted 
 to as a winter j^asture for cattle. The Flat-crown is a large handsome tree, 
 often I'eserved for shade when the bush is cleared ; but it is remarked that 
 it graduallj^ dies away when the trees around are felled. The barks of the 
 various species are much used for tanning, and several of them yield gum, 
 which is occasionally collected. The pink and yellow flowers of Dichrosta- 
 chus nutans are very elegant. 
 
 To the order Saxifi-agaceoe belongs the genus Oreyia, named by Sir W. 
 Hooker and Dr. Harvey in honour of that true patron of science and letters, 
 and distinguished statesman. Sir George Grey. The species on which it is 
 founded was discovered in the mountainous inland parts of the colony by 
 Dr. Sutherland, the Surveyor-General, and has been named after him, 
 G. SutherJandi. It is a low tree, which puts forth its bright crimson, 
 many-flowered racemes among the most exposed rocky places in the moun- 
 tains, and forms one of the showiest of colonial plants. 
 
 Natal is not rich in Mesembryacece, although a few are found in sandy 
 and rocky situations, and M. edule, the Hottentot Fig, is one of the most 
 striking of the plants that greet a stranger on landing. 
 
 Of the Cucurhitacece, on the other hand, the species are numerous, and 
 many of them very handsome, both as regards flower and foliage as well as 
 fruit. This family has been particularly investigated by Mr. McKen and 
 Mr. Gerrard, the latter of whom has discovered one of the most remarkable 
 {Gerrardissa megaihiza, Harv., Tubercularia, Decaisne), with an immense 
 tuberous rhizome, two or three feet in diameter, lying on the surface of the 
 ground. 
 
 The Passifloracce are not numerous. Trypliostemma, a new genus, has 
 flowers under half-an-inch in diameter ; and another genus, Modecca, has 
 lately yielded two or three new species remarkable for their handsome 
 foliage. 
 
 TIio Red Mangrove {Phizopliora ) is so highly valued for posts, 
 
 2 G 2
 
 452 APPENDIX. 
 
 stakes, and such out-door pur[>oses, that few trees of any size are now to be 
 found in the Bay of Natal, or other situations in inhabited districts. The 
 White Mangrove {Laguncularia racemosa), although far less valuable, is now 
 almost equally scarce. Mr. Gerrard believes that he has lately found a 
 true Mancrrove growing inland on the mountains ! Among Melastomacecp, 
 Osbeckia affords three species, of which 0. canescens is a beautiful fre- 
 quenter of marshy places, conspicuous by its large crimson flowers and its 
 rich russet-velvety capsules and stems. 
 
 The order of Myrtacece is represented by several genera, of which 
 Syzygium, Eugeina, and Barringtonia may be named, the last already 
 referred to as resembling the Horse-chesnut, is found also in Java, and with 
 long pendulous racemes of rosy-tinted white flowers, is one of the greatest 
 ornaments of the margin of the Bay. 
 
 Since the publication of the second volume of the Flora, the order 
 Ilolorageos. has received the addition of the genus Trapa, not previously 
 known as a native of South Africa. It was first brought from DelagoaBay 
 by my brother, Mr. Sept. Sanderson ; and, on the suggestion of Dr. Harvey, 
 I have since sought and found it in this immediate neighbourhood, in and 
 near Sea-cow Lake. The plants appear to be of different species, the 
 "devil-faced fruit" of the Delagoa Bay, one named T. hispinosa by Dr. 
 Harvey, appearing, when perfect, to have four barbed spines, and the 
 petioles much less inflated and less hairy than our Natal ones, the fruit of 
 which is really " bispinous." These Water-calthrops are used as food by 
 the natives of South Africa, as other species are in Italy, China, Cash- 
 mere, &c. 
 
 Among Loranthaceoe, the species of Lormithus are most numerous, 
 adding a beauty not their own to many of the trees of the forest. The 
 long tubular flowers are frequently decorated with alternate transverse 
 bands of colour, white and crimson, and one (N. Natalitius), waxy white, 
 tipped with yellow, has no fanciful resemblance to " lighted candles," by 
 which name I have heard the children call them. The union between 
 the parasite and the tree on which it grows forms a large globular 
 mass, the bark of which generally assumes the appearance of exquisite 
 carving, resembling the flowing foliage of a boss in a Gothic church. The 
 mistletoes are two or three in number, one being common enough around 
 D'Urban, while others are found further inland. The former has orange- 
 coloured berries, and broad obovate leaves ; the latter, like the Cape species, 
 are leafless. 
 
 The Pubiacece. form an important part of the Natal Flora, including 
 plants from the minute, trailing, cobalt-flowered Hedyotis amatymbica, to 
 the gay Burchellia and the stately Oxyanthus, already named. They 
 comprise also the Gardenias, which are among the most ornamental plants 
 of the bush, from the Cape Jessamine ((?. florida) and the O. globosa, 
 which are at once two of the most fragrant and the most common, to the 
 O. Thunbergia, which is one of the rarest, besides several other species less 
 known. The so called "Wild Medlar" is Vangueria in/oxsta. The
 
 APFEXJJIX. 453 
 
 genera, Randia, Orumilea, Pavetta, and several others, are all largely repre- 
 sented, and Buhia, the genus on which the order is founded, presents at 
 least one species, R. cordifolia. The seeds of some of the plants belonging 
 to the order are sometimes used as coffee, although it is uncertain if any 
 true coflee is to met with wild. 
 
 Among the CoTupositca, which form so large a portion of the Flora, the 
 most striking are the Everlastings (Graphalium), and the Oerheras, one of 
 which, G. aurantiaca, is found in such masses on the Town-hill of Maritz- 
 burg, and near Richmond in masses of brilliant scarlet that blaze half-a- 
 mile off. 
 
 Lohelia is, perhaps, the most prominent genus of the Ccanjxinulacece, but 
 Wahlbergia, Pombroivski/a, Roella, and some other genera, are met with. 
 
 I have now gone through, very cursorily, the chief orders embraced in the 
 already published volumes of the " Flora "; my notices of the remaining 
 orders must be even more hasty and imperlect. 
 
 Passing over the Heaths, which, as already stated, are, so far as yet 
 known, poor and imimportant in Natal, I shall only name among Supo- 
 tacece the Eed Milk-wood {Mimusops ohovatu), as valuable for its large- 
 sized and excellent timber ; among Oleacece several wild Olives, also valu- 
 able for their wood, known as iron-wood. They have also been recom- 
 mended as stocks for grafting the European Olive upon. 
 
 Several species of Strychno^ are found, the fruits of S. McKenii being 
 known as the Monkey Orange, and Brehumia spinosa, a species nearly 
 related to the Natal Orange. The seeds are enveloped in a sweet and 
 pleasant pulp, which is eaten by the natives and children. I am not aware 
 that the seeds have been employed medicinally in lieu of S. mix vom/crt, but 
 their properties are doubtless well worthy of investigation. Mr. Gerrard is 
 of opinion that it is one of this, S. Umbanda (Panda's walking-stick), that 
 has been mistaken for the Chincltona Calisaya of Peru. The bark is highly 
 bitter, and is employed medicinally, 1 believe, by the natives. 
 
 The Apocynads are numerous, and comprise two of our handsomest 
 plants to which I have already referred, Piptola'na dregei and WieArdrima 
 grandiflora, the beautiful and agreeable fruit of which is known as the 
 Amatungiilu. 
 
 The showy scarlet flowers of Ttc&ma Ctqjensis is the most noticeable of 
 the Bigiionacecc. 
 
 Mucaria procumbens, remarkable for its many-hooked seed vessel, is 
 found west of the Drakenberg : I am not aware whether it has been met 
 with on its Natal side ; but another plant of the order (the Pedaliucece) 
 namely, the Sesamum orientale, is cultivated by the natives for the sake 
 of its oily seeds, which are eaten as a kind of relish with Indian corn. 
 Attempts have been made to manufacture the oil (known in commerce as 
 gingelli, or til-oil), but have been, for the present, abandoned. This plant 
 and Spoiicdfra trilohi, which it much resembles in flower, are distinguished 
 by their tall handsome spikes of lilac blossoms. 
 
 The Coiivolvulacca', Solaricecr, and Scrophidaiicutj are all orders with
 
 454 APFENDIX. 
 
 numerous representatives, including many of the finest native flowers. 
 Among the Asdepiads are some of the most beautiful, as well as some of 
 those that have been deemed repulsive enough to be termed loathsome, and 
 stigmatized with the name of Toad-plants. The genus Gomphocarpus to 
 some extent combines both characteristics. Although but small, few 
 flowers are more beautiful to the eye, or more attractive for their perfume, 
 than G. multicaulis and some other species, while the bell of G. campanii- 
 latus has the lurid green and brown spots of the titapelias. The late 
 Mr. Plant brought from the banks of the Zugela a remarkable Stapelia, not 
 yet named, perhaps, although dried specimens and drawings were sent by 
 the writer to Sir Wm. Hooker in 1860, and by Mr. Plant himself probably 
 earlier. The five-pointed star formed by the flower is 15 inches in dia- 
 meter ; so that this is ]-)robably the largest flower in south-eastern Africa, 
 and approaches the Rafflesia itself. 
 
 Several species of Begonia are found, contrary to what was believed a 
 few years since in regard to the botany of the colony. 
 
 The ProteacecK are by no means so numerous as in the Cape Colony : the 
 'sugar-bushes have been already named. 
 
 The EupliorhiacecH are very numerous, and some of the more striking 
 have already been alluded to. The natives make oil of a species of Castor- 
 oil plant, which springs up luxuriantly in waste ground, but which has 
 probably been introduced. They do not emj)loy the oil medicinally, so far 
 as I can learn. Nor do they appear to know the Mandioc (Jatropha), 
 although it is largely cultivated at Delagoa Bay by the natives of that 
 region. 
 
 Of Urticecf!, Ficus has many representatives, both in absolute number, 
 and in number of species, of which, however, I can only refer to two. The 
 one has an oval leaf the size of the palm of the hand, and of a peculiarly 
 rich green, and is probably nearly related to the kinds which yield India- 
 rubber. Although not common, growing wild, it is a favourite tree, and, 
 growing freely from stakes, is frequently to be found about houses, raised 
 in this manner. Some have supposed it to be an exotic. The second 
 forms the largest trees now to be found around D'Urban, and is cer- 
 tainly one of the most striking from its anastomosing stems and branches, 
 as well as from the large masses of fine roots, of a beautiful crimson colour 
 when they first make their appearance, hanging from aloft. In the first 
 instance this Fig is frequently a seedling, springing up in the fork of 
 another tree. As it grows, it sends its roots down along the stem of its sup- 
 porter in search of more ample nourishment from the soil, and grows with 
 rapidity. One of the few Yellow-wood trees of any size remaining in the 
 neighbourhood of D'Urban afibrds a good example of what I refer to. The 
 stem of the Yellow-wood tree has now only three or four large branches, 
 whose rough bark and angular bends contrast strongly with the smooth 
 exterior and gliding outlines of the Fig. Around the great rough trunk, 
 3 or 4 feet in diameter, arises the climber, here flowing over its sur- 
 face as if forming a polished sheath for its protection ; there inosculating
 
 APPENDIX. 455 
 
 into a network over it ; now striking out a stem of its own, which pre- 
 sently after iniites with another which has slid along a limb of the tree, 
 everywhere embracing and closing it in until their branches and foliage 
 mingle in the upper air. The large Fig-tree, already spoken of as included 
 in the intended Victoria Park, is of this species. 
 
 The Nzangu of the Kaffirs is, I believe, Cannabis Jndica, and is smoked 
 by them and by the Hottentots, the latter of whom name it Dacha. 1 
 doubt, however, if its effects are so powerful as those we read of proceeding 
 from the use of Hashish. 
 
 rThe Conifers are comparatively few ; but the various species of Yellow- 
 wood (Podocarpiis elongatus, and others) give them importance by taking 
 the place of the Pines and Firs of northern latitudes. The great size these 
 trees attain has already been referred to ; but trees of such magnitude must 
 now be sought in localities remote from the towns. 
 
 To the Cycadeacetv belongs the remarkable plant first sent to Europe by 
 Mr. Gueinzius, and described as a Fern (Lomaria eriopus) by Kunze ; but 
 which, when taken home by Dr. Stanger in 1851, was found to belong to 
 this order, and named after him Stangeria, paradoxa being added as a 
 specific name to indicate its puzzling character. The male cone is about 
 4 inches in length, and I2 inches in diameter; the female is much 
 more rarely met with, and is rounder in form, being barely 3 inches in 
 length, and its diameter from 2 to 2^ inches. This cone when ripe 
 falls to pieces, disi)laying a large number of nuts about the size of hazel 
 nuts, enclosed in a scarlet-coloured skin. These nuts are frequently made 
 into necklaces by the natives. By the edges of ravines and among rocks is 
 found the Encephalartos Caffer, the stem of which, marked with the scars 
 of the fallen fronds of many years and blackened with fire, I have seen 
 10 or 12 feet in height, several stems rising to all ajipearance from one 
 loot, clothed near the top with tiny ferns, and crowned with a graceful 
 circle of immense fronds, from the midst of which rise one or more cones a 
 ibot and a half in height. The cone of the female is 2 or 3 feet in height, 
 1 foot in diameter, filled inside with somewhat quadrangular nuts, used 
 as snulf- boxes by the Kaffirs. 
 
 Another of this family ia the Zamia cycadifolia, found near the Umt- 
 walume. Its fronds resemble ostrich feathers, and when they first make 
 their appearance they are thickly covered with down. At the same time a 
 kind of gum is discharged in great quantity. 
 
 The Orchids of Natal are numerous and beautiful, although neither in size 
 nor splendour can they vie with those of Madagascar, India, or South Ame- 
 rica. As yet they have been but imperfectly investigated, and every year 
 new s]iecies, and even new genera, are discovered. They are found of all sizes 
 from 5 or 6 lines to as many feet in height, and of every kind, leafless 
 epiphytes, with stems like a hair, and flowers the size of a pin-head, or robust 
 terrestrials, with a hundred large showy flowers in one immense ijaniclc. 
 
 Of the order Cannece, a very fine Kannpferia, not yet named, 1 believe, 
 has been found in the neighbourhood of the Umtwalume.
 
 456 APPENDIX. 
 
 Among Musaceob I have already referred to the white Strelitzia, or Wild 
 Banana. A grove of these plants, with palm-like stems of 15 or 20 feet in 
 height, broad leaves, and striking flowers, is misur passed in grace and 
 beauty by any plant I know. 
 
 The Irideoe are very numerous ; the genera Txia, Iparaxis, Tritonia, 
 Watsonia, Gladiolus, Anomatheca, Axistea, Iris, Moroca, and others, 
 largely colouring the landscape in their respective flowering seasons. 
 
 The AmaryllidacecB are equally or even more numerous, and include many 
 of the most brilliant members of our Flora, Ilofinanthus, Cyrtanthus, and 
 Amaryllis, for instance; the favourite Natal lily being A. Belladonna. 
 
 The same may be said of the Hemerocallidece and Liliacece. To the 
 former belongs the delicious-perfumed but rarely-flowering Sanseviera, whose 
 mottled, leathery foliage is so common about the skirts of all clumps of 
 bark around the port. Species of this genus are largely employed for their 
 fibre on the Mozambique coast, and, no doubt, our native would yield one no 
 less valuable. The Aloes are numerous and showy, but no other use is 
 made of them than by the natives, who grind up their dried leaves in snufl^, 
 to give it pungency. The species of Asparagus are numerous and pecu- 
 liarly attractive, with their bright green foliage and white flowers. 
 
 Of Palms two only are known : the Date-palm (^Plmnix reclinata), and 
 the Fan-palm, erroneously described as PJiytelephas macrocarpa. iSome 
 years ago a quantity of the roots were sent to England, in the hope that 
 they might be equally serviceable in the arts with the vegetable ivory of 
 Maddalena, but it was found to be deficient in size, opaqueness, and colom'. 
 iSir William Hooker was of opinion that it was identical with the Doum- 
 ])alm of Egypt, but later information, 1 believe, has ascertained it to be a 
 Hyphcene. I have only once seen it in flower, and that a male plant, now 
 cut down, but it fruits freely iu some parts of the country. I cannot learn 
 that it is ever found branching as the Doum-palm does. 
 
 Among the Aroidece., the Calla Ethiopica holds the fii'st place ; but the 
 Richardia alhomucrdata, with its spotted leaves, and the deep crimson stain 
 at the base of their spathe, although smaller, is hardly inferior in beauty. 
 The Pistia stratiotes, commonly called the Water-lettuce, which is found 
 floating freely in ponds and still pools, is an interesting and beautiful 
 member of this family. Arum esculentum is cultivated by the natives 
 under the Lame of Amadumbe. Gtieinzia is deservedly named after Mr. 
 Gueinzius. 
 
 The Grasses of Natal are many of them very beautiful, and several are 
 cultivated by the natives for their grain ; and one, Holcas saccharutum, 
 imder the name of Imjii, for the sweetness of its stem. The grains, 
 different kinds of millet, and known as Kaffir-corn, are made into both 
 bread and beer. The Indian-corn (known as mealies — Milho, Portuguese), 
 is, however, the grain most largely cultivated, although originally a native 
 of America. A kind of rice is cultivated by the Kaffirs about Delagoa 
 Bay, but, so far as I know, not within the colony. The Tambuki-grass, 
 a handsome grass, growing to a height of (i or 8 feet, is always held to
 
 AFFENDIX. 457 
 
 be au indication of good soil, and is itself considered to yield the best 
 material for thatching. The Bi;ffalo-grass has a large broad, corrugated 
 leaf, and is greedily eaten by horses and cattle.* The underground 
 rhizomes of some of the grasses are so hard and sharp, that I have more 
 than once known one penetrate the solid tuber of a Lissochilus, but 
 without being able to determine whether this was purely accidental, or 
 whether the gi'ass was a kind of parasite, deriving nourishment from the 
 Orchid. 
 
 I cannot allow myself space to say more than a few words on the Ferns 
 and their allies, in addition to what I have already said. One, Phymatodes 
 vulgaris, growing plentifully about D'Qrban, is used as a perfume by the 
 natives. The leaves are plucked, buried, and allowed to ferment, then 
 worked up with clay into scent-balls or pomanders, 2 or 3 inches in 
 diameter, and worn round the neck. These may be purchased of the 
 Kaffirs, or bought in the stores. 
 
 The Spleenworts are particularly numerous. Of the more remarkable 
 forms of Ferns, in addition to those named, Vlttaria lineata is found 14 
 to 18 inches in length in the frond, and not more than an eighth of au 
 inch in breadth ; and Mr. McKen has recently found a Schizcea growing 
 in a river near the Umtwalume, The beautiful Anemia dregeana is 
 abundant in certain shady localities ; while the Mertensia umhruculifera 
 clothes the sunny slopes near the watercourses. I have only met with one 
 species of Equisetum. The Sycopodiums are numerous. Z. quidioides 
 and another (X. setaceum) hang their long scaly dichotomous branches from 
 the boughs of the Yellow-wood and other trees in the upland forests ; while 
 L. cernuum creeps by the watercourses on the coast, rearing at intervals its 
 mimic trees like tiny Araucarias ; and L. Kraussianum spreads its most 
 delicate satiny branches over the moist soil by its side. 
 
 Mosses and Liverworts are comparatively few, and have not yet attracted 
 much attention. Nor have Lichens yet received much notice, although 
 there are several of great beauty. The Orchella weed (Foctlla tinctoria) 
 is found on the trees all along the coast, and of good quality, but, perhaps, 
 not in quantity sufficient to repay the collection. 
 
 Of Sea-weeds 1 can say but httle. The coast near the port is not favour- 
 able for them, being mostly sandy ; and such as are thrown up are for 
 the most part mere fragments, much injured in being brought from a 
 distance. 
 
 Such is a most imperfect sketch of a lew of the most notable features of 
 the botany of Natal, by one who neither is a botanist nor has travelled 
 much in the colony, two facts which which will be sufficiently apparent to 
 the initiated. Imperfect as it is, it may serve to give some i'aint conception 
 of the vegetable wealth of the colony. It cannot compare with many 
 other lands in the size and splendour of its flowers, nor the magnificence 
 and grandeur of its primeval forests, but it is nevertheless full of interest 
 
 * If the Kanot is, as I am told, Flagcllaria Indica, it belongs to Commelinocca', not 
 to the grasses.
 
 458 APFENDIX. 
 
 to the Botanist. Even yet it is a field comparatively unexplored, and I 
 can assure any one who may be disposed to devote hiuiselt" to its study of 
 a rich harvest. 
 
 D'Ukban, Natal, June 1, 18G5. 
 
 FROM LECTUEE BY THE REV. E. ARMITAGE, M.A. 
 
 The general system of nature is divided by Botanists into 303 orders, and 
 of these it is a surprising fact tliat only six, speaking generally, are poison- 
 ous ; and so out of about 100,000 species discovered and described, only 
 about 3,000 are suspicious as poisonous. The six poisonous orders are, 
 1st, — the AmarylUds. This is a highly suspicious tribe, of which nine- 
 tenths are poisonous. To it belong the Bella-donna, of wliich the large 
 Natal lily is a species, and also the Hcemanthus, commonly found in this 
 district, and which is called by the Dutch the " poison-root."' It is from an 
 Amaryllkl, or lily, that the natives of some parts of South Africa prepare 
 the laoison for their arrows. The cliaracteristic feature of this tribe is their 
 liliform flower, placed above the fruit, or the part containing the seeds. 
 When this conformation is observed, the plant is highly suspicious ; but not 
 so when it has the fruit or seed vessel placed in the centre of the flower 
 leaves, so as to be surrounded by them. The AmarylUds, however, may 
 have many important medicinal uses, that might be turned to advantage. 
 
 The second poisonous order (common in Southern Africa, which is indeed 
 its head- quarters) is the Melanthads, of which a specimen is found here in 
 the so-called Yellow-bell, and which are all poisonous. The Culchicums, or 
 autumnal Crocus, so common in England, belongs to this order. 
 
 Thirdly, the Apocynads, or Dog-banes, a very poisonous order; but one 
 of the very few not poisonous species is found here in the Amatungulu, 
 the fruit of which is well known to be wholesome ; but it might not be so 
 safe to eat any portion of the bark or roots. Of this tribe there are many 
 here, including, perhaps, the only one not poisoi:ous ; there not being more 
 than one or two, or very few in the whole world, of which any part is 
 harmless. In Madagascar, the Tanghin, or Tangeua, belongs to this order, 
 one fruit of which, the size of an almond, has been known to destroy twenty 
 persons. It is used there as a means of punishment. This order is distin- 
 guished by the milky juice exuding from the wounded bark ; and may pro- 
 bably contain in this colony many other plants well worth attention, 
 particularly a large tree of which the lecturer did not know the name. 
 Their medical uses deserve attentive study, and much information on such 
 a point might perhaps be obtained from the native population, who are 
 acquainted with the curative properties of many simples. 
 
 The fourth poisonous order is the Loganiads. To this belongs the small 
 Kaffir orange found about the Bay, a species of Nux vomica, or strj'chninc.
 
 APtENDlX. 459 
 
 lu this district there is a new species of Stryr.linos, different from tlie ordi- 
 nary plant producing strychnine, and new to the lecturer, who was not 
 previouibly aware of there being more than one plant of the kind in Africa. 
 Whether there is any difference in the quality or effects he could not say. 
 
 Fifthly, the Solanads, such as the Deadly Nightshade, Henhane, Tobacco, 
 have their representatives here, and among them (remarkably enough) 
 another common edible fruit, the Cape-gooseberry ; so that the two com- 
 monest wild fruits in Natal both belong to highly poisonous orders, the 
 Amatungula being (as already stated) an Apocynad. Excepting the Tomata 
 and the Cape-gooseberry, the lecturer was not aware of any other wholesome 
 fruits belonging to this order throughout the world. Under it also is ranked 
 the " Gift-boom" (Poison-tree) of the Dutch, or Cestrum. 
 
 Sixthly, the UmhelUfers, or umbrella-shaped plants, including Hemlock, 
 Parsley, Parsnip, and Fool's Parsley, in England. Of these there appear 
 to be very few in Natal. 
 
 These six orders, or 3000 species, are, with a very few isolated exceptions, 
 the only kinds possessing poisonous qualities so much concentrated as to be 
 dangerous to the unwary ; though doubtless there are others that might be 
 injurious if taken in excessive quantities. 
 
 The Flora of Southern Africa, taken as including the extra-tropical por- 
 tion of the continent, is distinguished by two peculiarities. The first of 
 these is the comparative abundance of species. The area of Southern Africa 
 is about equal to that of Europe ; but while the number of species in the 
 latter is not more than 4000 or 5000, the former contains at least 10,000, 
 and probably 12,000 or 14,000 ; being thus richer than the richest part of 
 the European continent. Natal, so far as the lecturer had observed, quite 
 kept \ip the character of South Africa in this respect. On the very limited 
 area of liable Mountain, near Cape Town, the only part of the colony that 
 can be said to have been thoroughly exjtlored, there are more kinds of wild 
 plants than in the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland taken 
 together. The same might probably be found to be true of other parts of 
 the colony. The second peculiarity is, that the South African Flora, in its 
 distribution, resembles no other in the world. The plants that grow here 
 have been found nowhere else. The Floras of England, France, Germany, 
 Piussia, &c,, are to a great extent alike, many plants being common to them 
 all ; but of the 10,000 or more species of plants found in South Africa, not 
 100 are to be met with anywhere else. Scarcely a dozen of them are to be 
 found in England, and those only " mundane " plants, or such as are found 
 all over the world, as Pond-weed, Bulrush, and a veiy few others. 
 
 Further, the Natal Flora is distinguished from that of the Cape colonj^by 
 its own peculiarities in distribution ; though both may be considered as 
 included within the general Flora of South Africa. Many of the Cape 
 genera exist here, but in diminished numbers ; Geraniums, for instance, of 
 which the Cape is the head (quarters, possessing perhaps 400 or 500 si^ecies ; 
 while here there are perhaps not more than a dozen or two. Another kind 
 very abundantly distributed in the older colony is the Protcads, of which
 
 460 APPENDIX. 
 
 the Silver-boom and Sugav-bush are examples ; but wliich are here repre- 
 sented only by three or four sorts. Ol' Heaths, too, the number at the Cape 
 is enormous, while here the lecturer had seen but one ; perhaps there might 
 be half a dozen altogether. Another class of Cape plants were the Restios, 
 a kind of rushes, found only there and in the northern part of Australia ; 
 but of which the lecturer had not met with one here, though perhaps there 
 might be two or three. Natal, on the other hand, differs from the Cape 
 Colony in possessing many plants that the other does not boast of, and 
 others which are there oidy sparsely distributed. Among these may be 
 named the Acanthads, which are remarkable as being for the most part con- 
 fined to the intertropical regions. A single scattered species is found in the 
 South of Europe ; but in Natal their numbers are remarkably great ; a fact 
 which seems to imply that we have here a tropical climate without the ac- 
 companying tropical heat. In the Ca2)e Colony these form one-sixteenth of 
 the whole, but here one-forty-fifth. " Practical men," however, might be 
 informed that, although the flowers of some Acanthads are large and beauti- 
 ful, they are all, so far as is known, for human purposes utterly worthless. 
 The Scrophuluriads fomi one-fiftieth of the Cape Flora, and one-twentieth 
 that of Natal. The medical uses of the Digitalis or Fox-glove, one of this 
 order, are well-known ; and many that are found here are entirely new. The 
 Spurges or Euphorbias form one-eightieth of the Cape plants, and one-twenty- 
 fifth those of Natal. They are of all shapes and sizes, from the gigantic 
 Euphorbia down at the Bay, to others the size of a little finger. The 
 grasses are familiar to all, and easily recognised. Natal has a continuous 
 cai-pet of grass, but in the Cape Colony a great deal is either brushwood, or 
 bare and naked soil. The grasses form one-fiftieth of the Cape Flora, and 
 one-twentieth of that of Natah The Ferns are signs of a moist climate, and 
 in proportion to the average moisture do they usually abound. Here their 
 greater abundance seems to guarantee to us an average certain fall of rain, 
 sufBcieut to secure us from the droughts prevalent at the Cape, where they 
 form one-fiftieth of the whole; while, so far as can be at present known, 
 they constitute one-thirty-third in Natal ; and this is probably an under- 
 estimate. Another very important constituent of the Natal Flora is the 
 Cinchojiads, a tribe comprising Cofiee, Quinine, and Ipecacuanha. These 
 seem to be characteristic of this district, their members abounding remark- 
 ably here, being one-eighteenth, to one hundred and fortieth only at the 
 Cape. The Asclepiads abound, and are very numerous here, so far as the 
 lecturer's researches had hitherto gone. How it would be found further uj) 
 the country he could not say. In the older colony this order is confined to 
 one subdivision, the Stcqn'Jiece, while here they are found as the verce or 
 or " true" Asclepiads. 
 
 Thus we have noticed three distinctive peculiarities between the Cape 
 and the Natal Floras. AVe have tribes abundant at the Cape, in reduced 
 numbers here ; tribes in great numbers here as compared with the Cape ; 
 and in the case of the Asclepiads, one subdivision here and another at the 
 Cape.
 
 APPJCNDIX. 401 
 
 A remarkable circumstance in connexion with Natal, tliat luul much 
 impressed the lecturer, was, that manj' genera exist here which were to be 
 found nowhere else out of the tropics ; showing that we have a most extra- 
 oidinary climate, with a sufticient annual amount of heat for sustaining 
 the life of almost any tropical productions. Among the genera thus 
 alluded to, may be named the three kinds of Mangrove, Poivrcea, or the 
 Hiccup-nup, growing at the Bay, the Oshtckia, Barringtonia, and others. 
 The capabilities of the colony thus evinced are very great, extending to the 
 cultivation of almost any tropical plant, together with those of the tem- 
 perate regions. 
 
 A fifth advantage possessed by Natal over the neighbouring colony con- 
 sists in its greater abundance of wood, which is there so scarce. Even 
 including the more favoured region of the Eastern Province, there are not 
 there to be found more than six kinds of trees that grow to anj' size. The 
 lecturer could not pretend to say how many there are here ; but certainly 
 they are very much more numerous, and more than half of them are not at 
 all known: perhaps it might be said not a tenth. In fact, this part of the 
 subject forms a complete terra incognita. 
 
 There are two or three very important tribes that are found abundantly 
 here, of whose characteristics it is desirable to possess a knowledge. First, 
 the Papilionaceie, such as the Bean, Pea, and other plants, having a butterfly- 
 shaped flower. These are very numerous in the district, forming one- 
 eleventh of the whole Flora. They are separated into three sub-tribes, each 
 having its peculiar quality in a practical point of view. First, the Papi- 
 lionecH, liaving the butterfly flower, with the upper petals exterior in the bud, 
 and generally bearing edible fruit, as the bean, pea, &:c. Second, the 
 Ccesalpinece, having the lower petals exterior, and possessing medicinal qua- 
 lities, and third, the Mimosece, having valvate petals, i. c, meeting only by 
 the edges, and remai'kable for their copious production of gum. The pro- 
 duce of the first of these sub-tribes is almost universally edible ; but some 
 are dangerous if taken in any quantity, from their narcotic qualities, and 
 these genera are abundant here^ Among them may be named the scarlet 
 bean of the Ahrus precatorius, which has been supposed from some trials 
 to be poisonous ; while it has been, on the other hand, judged to be only 
 indigestible in the quantities in which it has been taken. The scarlet beans 
 also of the " Kaffir-boom," or Erythrina, are of a suspicious nature ; but, as 
 a general rule, any bean (especially if of any great size) may be safely 
 tried, and w-ill probably furnish a wholesome and useful esculent. The 
 roots of these plants are often strongly marked by medicinal quahties. 
 Those of the Ahrus strongly resemble liquorice. The large fleshy roots of 
 the kidney-bean in England are considered highly poisonous ; and it might 
 be well worth investigation whether the fleshy roots of the similar plants 
 which abound among the grass in this neighbourhood have not narcotic 
 powers, and, perhaps, therefore, new and undiscovered medical properties 
 also. To the Papilionece belong also many of those plants which produce 
 dye-stuffs. Some sorts of indigo grow wild in this colonv. The lecturer
 
 462 APPENDIX. 
 
 was not aware whether the experiment that had been tried on this plant 
 by Mr. Wilson was on a native or an imported kind, but there are one or 
 two, and probably many more, which from their fleshy and leafy nature 
 might perhaps be made to yield the dye. He thought it probable, 
 however, that the heat of this climate might not be sufficient properly to 
 develop the dyeing properties of the herb ; which seems rather to require 
 the hotter temperature of peninsular India for their full perfection ; and 
 even there indigo-growing does not always prove a paying speculation. The 
 leaves of many speciis in the second sub-tribe have medicinal properties. 
 Those of the Cassia, bearing bright yellow blossoms, so common as an orna- 
 mental shrub in this town (not a native, however, of the district), are as good 
 and pure senna as can be purchased at the chemists' shops. The Schotia, 
 or Boer-bean, bearing an edible fruit, is not common here. Another pjlant, 
 the Chamcecrista, closely allied to Cassia, may, on examination, prove to 
 have similar but distinct medical properties. 
 
 The Mimosece are valuable for their gum and tannin. The collection of 
 the former is carried on to some extent in the old colony ; but does not ap- 
 pear to be a very luci'ative occupation. The tanning principles of the native 
 Doom-boom, or thorn-tree, might probably be turned to some account, as it 
 is already used by the natives. The catechu, so much used in medicine, 
 and which is one of the most powerful astringents known, is made from the 
 heart-wood of a kind of Mimosa growing in South America, and it might be 
 worth while to institute experiments for the production of the drug here. 
 Tlie pods of another species are used in South America as an alkali in wash- 
 ing. Few of this division are in any degree poisonous. 
 
 The Euplwrhiaceop, or Spurges, are very numerous here, probably not 
 falling far short of 200 species. A great proportion of them are distinguished 
 by a milky juice, which is often highly poisonous, but at the same time so 
 intensely acrid, that there is no danger of any one taking too much by mis- 
 take, — the thing speaks for itself. Poisons, however, are always worth 
 examination as medicines. Some parts of this tribe, also, are capable of 
 being eaten, as is the case with the Cassia cultivated at the Bay, but which 
 is not indigenous here. From another species a useful kind of starch might 
 be made. The Candelabra Spurge of the old colony has supported the life 
 of persons who have been lost in the bush ; its central pith, divested of the 
 bark and roasted, being no despicable nourishment for a starving man. This 
 happened to the German botanist, Krauss, while wandering in the Karroo. 
 Some seeds afford oil. The Castor-oil plant, so commonly found wild here, 
 will not probably afford it in sufiicient quantity to make its extraction a 
 paying speculation ; but perhaps other allied plants might afford a larger 
 quantity, or an oil having new and peculiar energetic medical effects. 
 Some of this kind have their seeds large, as the Aleurites found among the 
 grass here, which produces a capsule containing three seeds, and larger than 
 a hazel nut. An elastic gum is produced from some, such as the original 
 India-rubber from SijjJionia elastica. It may be mentioned here that the 
 Amatungulu, already spoken of as belonging to the Apocynads, gives a veiy
 
 APPENDIX, 463 
 
 sti'ong milky juice on the bark being wounded by a notch. Another tree, 
 also allied to the Amatunguhi, but without thorns, has produced from one 
 of its fruit (not larger than a walnut) a lump of India-rubber as large as a 
 pistol bullet. Its name was unknown to the lecturer, nor could he say 
 whether it is not hitherto quite undescribed. Other trees or plants affording 
 similar juices might probably be met with ; and it would be important to 
 ascertain at what season of the year the juice would flow most copiously, 
 and what uses might be made of it. 
 
 The Asclepiads are peculiarly a South African tribe ; about one-fourth of 
 all that are known in the world being found here, and of these Natal seems 
 quite to possess its share. Mr. Armitage had himself noticed forty kinds, 
 and perhaps there might be 600 collected in all. Tliey have a very remark- 
 able look ; the flowers having a lurid, staring, peculiar, unmistakable 
 aspect, not brilliant in hue, but being of a livid white or a lurid red. None 
 of them are poisonous, at least to any virulent degree, and many exude a 
 milky juice, also resembling that constituting India-rubber. This is a 
 direction also in which discoveries might be made. The sub-tribe StapelecH 
 is remarkable for its flowers, which, like the toad or serpent among animals, 
 fix themselves for ever in the memory by their repulsive appearance and 
 their abominable scent. They seem to abound in the upper regions of the 
 colony ; and Mr. Plant found a flower of this kind in the Zulu country as 
 large as the top of a hat, and calculated to inspire as much horror by its 
 appearance as the sight of a large servient might be supposed to occasion. 
 No two of them agree in structure ; and (unlike the Papilionacece) there is 
 the greatest possible variety to be found in the form of their flowers. Every 
 one is different from the rest, and all are remarkable. 
 
 The Ciachonads (including Coffee, Quinine, &c.) number altogether about 
 2,.500 species ; and of these fully 100 are to be found here. Mr. Armitage 
 had not himself seen so many ; but judged from those he had met with 
 that number existed here. Cofi'ee it is well known is a berry ; and any 
 large berry belonging to tlie same genus may be confidently tried as a new 
 kind of coffee. The order may be easily distinguished by having their leaves 
 distributed not singly but in pairs, the one opposite to the other, having a 
 connecting link in the form of a stipule or ring rising to a point in the centre 
 between the pairs. In Natal the Cinchonads abound. Ipecacuanha is pro- 
 duced from the root of another plant of this order ; a circumstance which 
 shows how desirable it is to examine the properties of all parts of unknown 
 plants. There are dye-plants also in this order ; as, for instance, several 
 Oldenlandias, a genus of which two or three species exist here. Madder, the 
 well-known red dye, is a nearly allied genus.
 
 464 
 
 AI'PENDIX. 
 
 LIST OF NATAL TREES. 
 
 For the following List of Trees and Plants of Natal, witli the 
 Native and Scientific Names, the Author is indebted to the 
 Eev. J. C. Brow^, LL.D., Colonial Botanist and Professor of 
 Botany in the Sonth African College : — 
 
 Umtshongi 
 Umtagana 
 Umpahla 
 Umpalila qnala 
 Isifiti 
 Umhla 
 Umhonda 
 Isipane 
 Umvumoo 
 Umnofunofa 
 Umquaquana 
 Umkovoti 
 Umkiwane 
 Ibunda 
 Umsungulo 
 Itungamsi 
 Umhlonhlo 
 Urasinsi . . 
 ' Umnyaniati 
 Umtombi 
 Isigobo 
 Iklolo 
 Ugume 
 Umguenya 
 Ilala 
 
 Umvongoti 
 Inkweza . . 
 Umzinibiti 
 Umsanga .. 
 Umbomonane 
 Umnaminami 
 Itungwane 
 Umontwamina 
 Ussembetu 
 Isundu 
 Utandawe 
 
 Antidesma Natalensis, 
 Apodytcs dimidiata. 
 Brachylcena discolor. 
 
 „ McKenii. 
 
 Bracteolaria racemosa. 
 Brehmia spinosa. 
 Conibretum Krausslannns. 
 Calpurnia laziogyne. 
 Celtis Burmantii. 
 Cordia Caffra. 
 Clerodendron glahrum. 
 Chatachme Meyeri. 
 Cydostemon Natalense. 
 Domheya NatalenRis. 
 Dalbergia abovata. 
 Eucleu undulata ? 
 Eup)]iorbia. 
 Erythrina Caffra. 
 Ekebergia Capensis. 
 Ficus. 
 
 Oardinia glohosa. 
 Orewia occidentalis. 
 Hippobromus alatus. 
 Harpep>hyllum Caffruin. 
 Hyphcene. 
 Kigelia pinata. 
 Kra ussia flor ibunda. 
 Milletia Caffra. 
 Myaris incequaJis. 
 Ochna arborea. 
 Onchoba Kraussiana. 
 
 „ spinosa. 
 
 Plectronia ventosa. 
 
 „ spinosa. 
 
 Phoenix recUnata, 
 
 Pnivrcpa hracteosa.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 465 
 
 Umbii 
 
 Inhluti 
 
 Umgulugulu 
 
 Umkangala 
 
 Umxaino 
 
 Umvangazi 
 
 Isibaiigoniloti 
 
 Umdoui ,. 
 
 Umgano . . 
 
 Inquala . . 
 
 Unuquambiba 
 
 Indhlebendhlova 
 
 Umkuhla ., 
 
 IsibaiTgabulonga 
 
 Mavea 
 
 Umnumgwaze 
 
 Umpafa . , 
 
 Umhlandhloti 
 
 Protium. 
 
 Ehus lanceolata. 
 
 Strychtios McKenii. 
 
 „ Atherstoni. 
 Scotia. 
 
 Spoil ia Orientalis. 
 Sderveroton integrefoUus. 
 SizygyiuTn cordatum. 
 Sclerorya Caffy'a. 
 Schmidelia. 
 Toddalia (^vipris). 
 Trimeria alnifolia. 
 Trichelia Dregeana. 
 Vangueria lasiantha. 
 
 „ infausta. 
 
 Xantlwxylon Capense. 
 Zizyphus macronata. 
 Zygia fastigiata. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 2 II
 
 466 APPENDIX. 
 
 GEOLOGICAL NOTES ON THE LINE OF EOUTE FEOM 
 
 THE WEST COAST TO THE COPPER MINES IN 
 
 THE INTERIOR OF DAMARA LAND. 
 
 Coast .. .. .. White sandhills. 
 
 Walvisch Bay .. .. Flat alluvial soil from the Kuisip. 
 
 TJie Plain .. .. Decomposed hornblendic and micaceous gra- 
 
 nite, and amorphous granite boulders. 
 
 Panics of the Schwagoiqj .. Amorphous granite ; feldspathic schists, with 
 
 quartz dykes, and shale. 
 
 Ilykamgouh .. .. Homhlendic granite and vitreous quartz; 
 
 tourmaline aud garnets of large size. 
 
 Oosop Gorge and Plain .. Granite, and parallel ranges of decom loosed 
 
 slate and feldspar, and basaltic dykes; 
 tourmaline garnets of large size. 
 
 The Bed Mountain . . Ferruginous granite and feldspathic schist. 
 
 Tineas .. .. .. Clay slate ; quartz dykes ; ferruginous granite 
 
 and tufa. 
 
 Onanie's Plain and Foun- Amorphous granite ; tufa ; quartz. 
 tain. 
 
 Witte Water Bange and Amorphous granite and quartz dykes. 
 Plain . 
 
 Chohis .. .. .. Amorphous granite; quartz; and basaltic 
 
 dykes. 
 
 Otjimhengue .. .. Amorphous granite; quartz; and basaltic 
 
 dykes. 
 
 Pahhie Ohoap .. .. Limestone and quartz ; granite (hornblendic). 
 
 Mouth of Kaan Biver, and Clay slate ; gneiss and quartz dykes, aud 
 thence. limestone. 
 
 Bim Hoogte .. .. Clay slate ; gneiss ; basaltic dykes, and highly 
 
 vitrified spar. 
 
 Tlie Dam .. .. .. Compact hornblendic granite, and ferruginous 
 
 quartz. 
 
 Deep Biver .. .. Hornblendic granite; quartz ; gneiss and clay 
 
 slate, with puddingstone. 
 
 The Mine .. .. .. Bounded north by hard greenstone and mica- 
 
 ceous granite, and traversed by a lode of 
 decomposed ferruginous granite, beneath 
 that a strong mundic lode ; bounded on the 
 south by micaceous granite hills and gneiss 
 bands, with puddingstone intermixed, and 
 clay slate.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 467 
 
 Raised from the Mine 
 
 Red oxide copper, solid ; ruby do. 88'5g : rich 
 sulpliurets; bell metal; ferruginous sul- 
 phurets ; black sulpliurets ; black oxides ; 
 silicates ; mauganese and copper ; hard blue 
 granite, with mundic; highh' decomposed 
 feldspathic schist ; rich carbonates; azurite ; 
 malachite, fibrous and compact. 
 
 Heights, by 
 
 Boiling 
 
 Watek. 
 
 
 Lechulatebe's Town 
 
 
 
 2260 feet 
 
 Ghansi 
 
 
 
 3352 „ 
 
 Fort Funk (Guuegga) 
 
 
 
 3310 „ 
 
 Eiet Fontein 
 
 
 
 3450 „ 
 
 Elephant's Fontein 
 
 
 
 375^ „ 
 
 Twass 
 
 
 
 3951 „ 
 
 Quaiep Eiver 
 
 
 
 4463 „ 
 
 Awass 
 
 
 
 4643 „ 
 
 Eikhams . . 
 
 
 
 3860 „ 
 
 Barmen 
 
 
 
 3575 „ 
 
 Distances by the Wagon Road from Walvisch Bay to 
 Ngami, as measured by Trochameter. 
 
 From Walvisch Bay to Oesij) Gorge 
 Oesip to Tingas 
 Tingas to the Pass . . 
 Pass to Platklip 
 Platklip to Witwater 
 Witwater to Tsoubis 
 Tsoubis to Otjimbengue 
 Otjimbengue to Otjemonjibba 
 Otjemonjibba to Otjikango .. 
 Otjikango to Barmen 
 BaVmen to Otjithebba 
 Otjithebba to Gowsdangows 
 Gowsdangows to Eikhams ,. 
 Eikhams to Jan Jonker's (Quaiep) 
 Quaiep to Huttentot village at the 
 
 Turnaway ,. 
 Village to Nosop River 
 
 Lake 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Furlongs. 
 
 Yard= 
 
 36 
 
 
 
 166 
 
 31 
 
 3 
 
 115 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 157 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 12 
 
 1 
 
 55 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 58 
 
 21 
 
 7 
 
 41 
 
 33 
 
 7 
 
 211 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 149 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 107 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 20 
 
 l.r> 
 
 7 
 
 133 
 
 ne 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 •J 
 
 4 
 
 144 
 
 2 H 2
 
 468 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Miles. Furlongs. Yards. 
 
 From Nusop to Jonker's brother-in-law .. 36 85 
 
 Jonker's brother-in-law to AVitvley 24 6 9 
 
 Witvley to Kobi Kobis .. .. 5 94 
 
 Kobi Kobis to Elephant's Fontein ..25 4 40 
 Elephant's Fontein (by South Eoad) 
 
 to Twass 35 
 
 Ditto (by North Eoad) to Ditto .. 48 2 132 
 
 Twass to Damara Tillage .. .. 33 
 Damara Village (near the Pass) to 
 
 Sand Fontein 16 6 32 
 
 Sand Fontein to Elephant's Kloof .. 9 4 144 
 
 Elephant's Kloof to Riet Fontein ,. 57 1 117 
 
 Riet Fontein (or Tounobis) to Gnathais 30 6 161 
 
 Gnathais to Gnuegga .. .. 9 2 59 
 
 Gnuegga (or Fort Funk) to Ghanzi 26 6 73 
 
 Ghanzi to Thounce .. .. .. 25 3 135 
 
 Thounce to Koobie 23 99 
 
 Koobie to Lake (West end) .. .. 45 5 54 
 
 West end to Chief's town at East end 38 7 90 
 
 FOK THE FOLLOWING LIST OF HEIGHTS, TAKEN FROM COLESBEBG, IN THE CaPE 
 
 Colony, to Barmen, in Damara Land, the Author is int)ebted to 
 Dr. Holden, THE South African Traveller. 
 
 
 Feet. 
 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Colesberg .. 
 
 3871 
 
 Mogonon . . 
 
 .. 2981 
 
 Coleskop .. 
 
 4719 
 
 Boatlanami 
 
 .. 2897 
 
 Hamhan .. 
 
 4326 
 
 Shubi 
 
 .. 2793 
 
 Kurunaan Fountain 
 
 3529 
 
 Lopepe 
 
 .. 2882 
 
 Kuruman (or Krumun') . . 
 
 3477 
 
 ]Mashue 
 
 .. 2919 
 
 Motito 
 
 3409 
 
 Kuarubel . . 
 
 .. 2698 
 
 Tlakanuana 
 
 3137 
 
 Loshon (outspan) 
 
 .. 2929 
 
 Lohaga (the Cave) 
 
 2991i 
 
 Ditto Spring, near 
 
 Mission 
 
 Molopo River 
 
 2849 
 
 House 
 
 .. 3283 
 
 Cuani (pronounced Cliuanin' 
 
 3018 
 
 Manakalongoe pass 
 
 (summit) 3617 
 
 Loharon 
 
 3174 
 
 Letlochoe . . 
 
 .. 3368 
 
 Lequaqua .. 
 
 3430 
 
 'ilabala 
 
 .. 3363 
 
 Kanya 
 
 3669 
 
 Nkawani .. 
 
 .. 3320 
 
 Top of the descent into 
 
 
 Bachukui u 
 
 .. 3184 
 
 Koloben plain .. 
 
 3634 
 
 Malachui ., 
 
 .. 3085 
 
 Foot of the Plain . . 
 
 3278 
 
 Lotlokani . . 
 
 .. 2721 
 
 Sechelli's Town 
 
 2914 
 
 Nchokotsa.. 
 
 .. 2592
 
 Chapo 
 
 Lecluilatfebe's Town, Lake 
 
 Ngami .. 
 The Lake Ngami .. 
 Ghanzi 
 Tkanatkwa 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 46 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 2643 
 
 Gnathais .. 
 
 3326 
 
 
 Reed Fountain 
 
 3445 
 
 2664 
 
 Elephant's Kloof .. 
 
 3737 
 
 2664 
 
 Kobi Kobis 
 
 4021 
 
 3356 
 
 Elephant's Ftn. (Gobabies) 
 
 3947 
 
 3313. 
 
 Barmen (Damara Laud) .. 
 
 3592 
 
 HINTS TO TRAVELLERS. 
 
 Although I have never had an opportunity ot" trying some bullets which 
 I once made for the purpose, I would recommend all hunters to tr}' my 
 experiment, which is simply to bore a small hole through a soft conical 
 bullet from side to side, and fill it up with poison from the Bushmen arrows. 
 The bullet, meeting with opposition, will eject the poison, which, mixing with 
 the blood, I have no doubt will soon prove fatal. The Bushmen say the 
 thickness of tlie elephant's hide is the only obstacle to their killing them 
 with their arrows. I recommend Bushman poison because the flesh may, 
 nevertheless, be eaten. 
 
 In stalking game one should be particularly careful not to cock his gun 
 with a noise. He may do it unheard by gently pressing the trigger while 
 he is cocking. 
 
 The following solutions, with which I have recently been favoured by a 
 friend, will be useful to all travellers making collections in this country : — 
 
 For jelly-fish, insects, beetles, entrails, &c. : — 
 
 Salt 4 oz. 
 
 Alum .. .. .. .. .. 2 oz. 
 
 Corrosive Sublimate .. .. .. 2 grs. 
 
 Eain water .. .. .. .. 1 quart. 
 
 For star-fish, shell-fish, bats, mice, snakes, fish, lizards, &c. : 
 
 Salt ^ lb. 
 
 Arsenic .. .. .. .. 1 scruple. 
 
 Corrosive Sublimate . . .. .. 2 grs. 
 
 Boiling rain water .. .. .. 1 quart. 
 
 Every traveller should, if possible, have a few sheets of gutta-percha 
 sheeting, in case of lying out in the wet, or sleeping on wet ground. 
 Gutta-percha combs are also preferable to horn or ivorj', which break with
 
 470 APPENDIX. 
 
 the weather. His watches should be well secured against the very minute 
 particles of dust which creep in and destroy any watcli in this couutiy ; 
 they should, moreover, always be carried in a chamois leather bag. A 
 water-proof suit for walking in the dew or rain ; good heavy and light 
 boots ; coloured flannel shirts in preference to any other ; drab or grey 
 clothing ; a warm coat and cap for night shooting ; a cool hat for the day. 
 Type metal in preference to any other hardening material ; woollen socks ; 
 a spare stock to your best gim ; gutta-percha bags for carrying water ; 
 enamelled iron plates^ drinking cups, &c., &c. Tar will be found the best 
 artificial horizon, a tin plate can always be used for the purpose, and when 
 done with you may throw it into the tar-bucket of the wagon. Always 
 keep a good sujjpW of bullets ready made ; and never trust to the fnuntain 
 ahead, but always keep your water-casks /«<??. Tallow will keep off moth 
 better than pepper. To preserve skins wash them with a solution of one 
 spoonful of creosote to a pint of water.
 
 NOTES ON THE DAMARA LANGUAGE. 
 
 BY 
 
 THE EEV. MESSRS. RATH AND KOLBE. 
 1865.
 
 APPENDIX. 473 
 
 NOTES ON THE DAMARA LANGUAGE. 
 
 The Damara language is spoken by the tribes called Ovaherero and Ovam- 
 handieru. The name Damara, however, is unknown to the tribes to whom 
 it is applied ; and it is only lately that, by frequent intercourse with Euro- 
 peans, they got acquainted with it, but pronounce it ovadamava. The word 
 is derived from the Namaqua language, and its proper form is Daman, for 
 Damara, as the word was pronounced by the first European travellers who 
 were acquainted with the language, it means tiuo Damara ivomen, ra being 
 the sign for the feminine dual. The Namaquas are in the habit of calling 
 all neighbouring black tribes Daman, but distinguish Bread-daman, 
 northerly agricultural tribes, whom they also call Navin, and Kamalca- 
 Daman, Cattle-Damara, these being the two tribes whose language is the 
 subject of these lines. But although there is not much sense in the appel- 
 lation Damara, yet, for convenience' sake, it may be retained, as the said 
 tribes have no collective name themselves, and the distinction between 
 Ovaherero and Ovambandieru only tends to puzzle the reader. The Damara 
 call their language er«^•rt retu, our tongue ; and also otyiherero, though the 
 latter word is used more in the sense of manner or fashion. Ma hungire 
 eraka retu, means "he speaks our tongue ;" but ma hungire otyiherero, "he 
 speaks in Damara fashion ; also, ondyuo ya tungua otyiherero, " the house 
 is built in Ovaherero fashion," not so as Europeans are in the habit of 
 building. 
 
 The territory over which this branch of the South African family of 
 languages extends, is from 22° 30' to about 19° S. lat., and from 15° E. 
 from Greenwich to one or two degrees west from Lake Ngami. Formerly 
 the Damara had advanced to the south a little beyond the present Namaqua 
 station, Rehoboth. On the road to Walvisch Bay, along the river Swakop, 
 Zanbis is the last out-span place which, besides the Namaqua, has also a 
 Damara name, Otyshana tyozonganda. For places further south the 
 Damara have no names. The Damara language forms thus the south-west 
 limit of that extensive family of languages to which, with the exception 
 of the Hill-Damara and Namaqua, probably all South African tribes south 
 from the equator belong. 
 
 A generally adopted name for this family of languages seems still to be 
 wanting. In Appleyard's elaborate Kaffir grammar, they are called the 
 alliteral class ; and in this, as also in Boyoe's Kaffir grammar, it is main- 
 tained that a certain euphonic concord is the ruling principle of the 
 language. At first sight one might, indeed, be led to think so, as will
 
 474 APPENDIX. 
 
 appear from the following sentence : Ovanatye vaidyeovanene vevari vu ta ; 
 cliildren — mine — great — two — they — dead ; or, my two elder children have 
 died. But, although it must be admitted that euphony forms an impor- 
 tant feature in the Damara language, yet it is no more its ruling principle 
 than, for instance, the alliteration in the German sentence, dm- Lehrer 
 u'clcher gestern hier war, ibt gestorhen; er ivar eiii guter Mann. The 
 alliteration in this sentence is of exactly the same nature as in Damara. 
 Dohne, in his valuable dictionary of the Zulu dialect, calls the "alliteral 
 class " pronominal languages, and this seems to be the proper term. 
 
 The most striking feature of these languages are the prefiQ:es of the noun. 
 Every nonn has a prefix, and though this is used to denote the singular 
 and plural, yet that seems almost to be of less consequence than the 
 meaning of the prefix itself, for thei-e is at least one prefix in Damara 
 which is used both for the singular and plural. A closer study of the 
 subject will also show that the |)refixes of nouns and the personal pronouns 
 are not merely more or less similar to each other, but identical. 
 
 The following table will illustrate this: 
 
 Prefix. 
 
 Pers. Pronoun. 
 
 
 1. omu .. 
 
 u, mu 
 
 omundu, man. 
 
 2. ova 
 
 ve .. 
 
 ovandu, men. 
 
 3. omu .. 
 
 .. u 
 
 omuti, tree. 
 
 4. omi 
 
 vi 
 
 omiti, trees. 
 
 5. e 
 
 ri 
 
 eke, hand. 
 
 6. oraa .. 
 
 .. e .. . 
 
 omake, hands. 
 
 7. otyi .. 
 
 .. tyi .. . 
 
 otyiku, arrow. 
 
 8. ovi 
 
 vi 
 
 oviku, arrows. 
 
 9. on 
 
 .. i .. . 
 
 ontih, sheep. . 
 
 10. ozon .. 
 
 .. ze .. 
 
 ozontii, sheep. 
 
 11. oru 
 
 ru .. 
 
 orui, fountain. 
 
 12. otu .. 
 
 .. tu .. 
 
 otui, fountains. 
 
 13. oka .. 
 
 .. ke .. . 
 
 okakamhe, horse. 
 
 14. ou 
 
 u 
 
 oukamhe, horses. 
 
 15. oku 
 
 .. ku .. . 
 
 okurama, leg. 
 
 16. oma .. 
 
 .. e .. . 
 
 omarama, legs. 
 
 The last prefix, oma, is also used for the plural of ou ; viz., oiduku, 
 night; omautuku, nights. This is not the place to prove from other 
 dialects the identity even of those prefixes and pronouns which, at first 
 sight, seem to bear no affinity to each other, as, for instance, e and ri, which 
 seem to have nothing in common, and yet they are identical ; as it can be 
 shown from kindred dialects that the full form of e must have been 
 originally eri. 
 
 Now, if the prefixes of the noun and the personal pronouns are identical, 
 it follows that the former must have an inner signification, a real meaning, 
 according to which the classification of nouns was and is still efiectcd. This 
 interesting fact is quite lost sight of in AppWard's Kaffir grammar, which.
 
 APPENDIX. 475 
 
 though comprehensive in other respects, says nothing at all about the 
 signification of the prefixes. Tliis is an error into which all those will fall 
 who adopt the so-called alliteral or euphonic concord as a ruling principle. 
 Some approach to a designed classification of nouns is also found in the 
 genders of European languages. In German, for instance, specimens may 
 be pointed out from which it would appear that of two similar objects the 
 greater or most j^rominent is masculine, and the other feminine, viz., der 
 Thurm (tower), die Kirche (church), der Saal (hail), die Stubs (room), dei- 
 Baum (tree), fZi'e Wurzel (root), der TT'ef/ (road), die Spur (track), der Mutli. 
 (courage), die Demuth (humility). Now it is, properly speaking, the pro- 
 nouns in which the distinction between masculine, feminine, and neuter, 
 finds its expression. 
 
 It would lead us too far to expatiate here on the probable signification of 
 the several prefixes. Suffice it to say, that the so-called savages, in their 
 language, give to man a separate place, a separate prefix and pronoun, which 
 are exclusively used for him. This classification of nouns makes it ex- 
 tremely easy to learn and use existing words, as the gender of each noun 
 is, so to speak, written on its forehead ; but, on the other hand, it is difficult 
 in forming new words to find a proper place for them. 
 
 Besides the copiousness of forms for the classification of the noun, the 
 language possesses a considerable number of forms for the verb, generally 
 called conjugations. There are at least ten of them. One, with a reflective 
 signification, is formed by a prefix, all the others by suffixes, viz. veta, 
 push, throw ; he ri-vete, I pushed m}'self ; kumha, pray, ask ; ke tit kumbire 
 ku iho, go, ask /or us from your father ; ronda, climb ; dyi rondisa, cause me 
 to climb, help me up ; pata, shut ; paturura, open. As regards moods 
 and tenses the language is very defective. 
 
 From what has been said, it may be seen to some extent that the Damara 
 language, in common with its kindred dialects, has its peculiar advantages ; 
 it possesses a precision and fulness of expression which one would scarcely 
 expect to find among such a rude nation, and which may be regarded as a 
 certain proof that once they were in a higher stage of culture. On the 
 other hand, however, it is not to be denied that the very copiousness of 
 forms, and the frequent repetition of pronouns, makes the mode of expression 
 in the language, at least to our taste, somewhat heavy and awkward. 
 
 For linguists, it may not be uninteresting to observe that the Damara 
 language constructs for the four pronouns, his, her, it, their, no less than 
 fifteen times fifteen words ; further, that in it no proper negation exists, and 
 that as yet no irregularity can be proved with full certainty. 
 
 The following tables, with words and sentences in Damara, Ovambo, and 
 Vanauo, may perhaps be acceptable. The pronunciation of letters is as in 
 German, with the exception of h, which is a strong spirant, but may also be 
 pronounced like the English sh, and z like the English th ; v and y are 
 pronounced as in English.
 
 47G 
 
 
 iPFENDIX. 
 
 
 Damara. 
 
 Uvambo. 
 
 Elepliant . 
 
 ondyoii. 
 
 ondyamba. 
 
 Goat.. . 
 
 onkombn. 
 
 j ohikombo, 
 
 "1 plur. ovikomho. 
 
 Iron ., 
 
 otyitenda. 
 
 osela. 
 
 Fire .. . 
 
 omuriro. 
 
 unililo. 
 
 Tongue . 
 
 eraka. 
 
 elaka. 
 
 Neck 
 
 osengo. 
 
 ohingo. 
 
 Knee 
 
 ongoro. 
 
 ongolo. 
 
 Village 
 
 onganda. 
 
 onganda. 
 
 Hair.. . 
 
 ozongise. 
 
 omasusu. 
 
 Spoon 
 
 orutuo. 
 
 oruhindo. 
 
 Sky .. . 
 
 eyuru. 
 
 exdu. 
 
 Nose 
 
 eyuru. 
 
 eyulu. 
 
 Child 
 
 omuatye. 
 
 okanono. 
 
 House 
 
 ondyno. 
 
 ondyno. • 
 
 House-plac 
 
 e . . orumbo. 
 
 eumbo. 
 
 Arm . . 
 
 okuoko. 
 
 okuoko, 
 ^Zwr. omanko. 
 
 Foot.. 
 
 ombaze. 
 
 j ombaze, 
 
 ( p/«>-.ozombaze. 
 
 Hand 
 
 eke. 
 
 eka.,plur. oniaka. 
 
 Face . . 
 
 omurungu 
 
 omuUmgu. 
 
 Eye .. . 
 
 eho. 
 
 eho. 
 
 Arm-rings 
 
 ozonkoho. 
 
 oviyera. 
 
 Beer 
 
 . 
 
 omaruf. 
 
 Pick.. , 
 
 
 jetemo, ] 
 ( plur. omatemo.] 
 
 Tobacco-pi 
 
 pe,pot onyungu. 
 
 ombilia. 
 
 Place 
 
 otyirongo. 
 
 ohilongo. 
 
 Hatchet . 
 
 ekuva. 
 
 ekuya. 
 
 Hunger . 
 
 ondyara. 
 
 ondyala. 
 
 Knob-kieri 
 
 e . . ongunya. 
 
 onguruzimbo. 
 
 Snuff 
 
 
 osenya. 
 
 Snuff-box 
 
 
 ohipakorua ) 
 hosenya. ) 
 
 Stick 
 
 okati. 
 
 ohiti. 
 
 Shoulder . 
 
 otyituve. 
 
 epepe. 
 
 Check 
 
 otyitama. 
 
 ombese. 
 
 Heel .. . 
 
 otyipante. 
 
 ohisi. 
 
 Bow .. 
 
 outa. 
 
 outa. 
 
 Arrow 
 
 otyiku. 
 
 ikuti. 
 
 Vanano. 
 
 ondyamba. 
 ot3'ingongo, 
 
 plur. ovingongo. 
 jotyivela, 
 ( plur. ovivela. 
 ondalo. 
 j elaka, 
 
 ( plur. omolaka. 
 j ohingo, 
 
 ( plur. olohingo. 
 
 j ongolo, 
 
 ( plur. olongolo. 
 
 onibala. 
 
 otjisame. 
 
 j onguto, 
 
 ) p?«r.ozonguto. 
 
 eiru. 
 
 enj'um. 
 
 omola. 
 
 j oondyo, 
 
 ( pi ur. o\oon(\yo. 
 
 eimbo. 
 
 okuako, 
 
 plur. ovauko. 
 omai, 
 
 2)lur. olomai. 
 eka, plur. ovaka. 
 opolo. 
 eho, plur. ovaho.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 417 
 
 Morrow ., .. omuhuka. 
 
 Sandal .. .. onkaku. 
 
 Words .. .. omambo. 
 
 Day-time . . . . omutenya. 
 
 Woman .. .. omukazendu. 
 
 Meal .. .. oruhese. 
 
 Thirst .. ., onyota. 
 
 Tail omutyira. 
 
 Rope .. .. ongoze. 
 
 Spear .. .. enga. 
 
 Gun otyimbari. 
 
 Dagger 
 
 Name .. .. ena. 
 
 Sweet milk .. omaisi. 
 
 Thick milk .. omaire. 
 
 Old man .. .. umukiirurume. 
 
 ■p . jokiitui, 
 
 \ plui\ OTnakwtu'i, 
 
 Young man .. omuzandu. 
 
 Leg okurama. 
 
 Shin epindi. 
 
 Calf (of the leg) ongehue. 
 
 Sun eyuva. 
 
 Day eyuva. 
 
 Come ; I come . . indyo ; me ya. 
 
 Iomueze omutatu 
 omueze u tva ta- 
 tu. 
 
 My pot . . . . onyungu yandye. 
 
 Yes in. 
 
 No inde. 
 
 T,T , ^1 i omukazendu \ 
 
 Not the woman | j.^ ^^^ J 
 
 One mue. 
 
 Two imbari. 
 
 Three .. .. intatu. 
 
 Four .. .. yane. 
 
 Five tano. 
 
 Six hamboumue. 
 
 Seven .. .. hambombari. 
 
 Eight .. .. hamboutatu. 
 
 Nine omuviu. 
 
 Ten omurongo. 
 
 Many words . . omambo omengi. 
 
 He fears .. .. e ua tira. 
 
 Ov.imbo. 
 
 omuhuka. 
 
 onkaku. 
 
 omambo. 
 
 omunina. 
 
 lomukaeudu, ) 
 Ipliir. ovakaendu. j 
 
 usira. 
 
 onota. 
 
 umhira. 
 
 ontimbo. 
 
 eonga. 
 
 otyifufuta. 
 
 omuele. 
 
 ezina. 
 
 omachini. 
 
 omale. 
 
 ombambani 
 
 okotyui, 
 2ylur. omakotyui 
 
 umati. 
 
 okulama. 
 
 omui^indi. 
 
 omuzo. 
 
 e tango. 
 
 euya. 
 
 ingam ; di ya. 
 
 omueze umtita- 
 tu. 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 ombika andye. 
 
 eno. 
 
 aoe. 
 
 omukaendu aoe. 
 
 omuzi. 
 
 inyara. 
 
 intatu. 
 
 none. 
 
 tano. 
 
 ihemane. 
 
 heari. 
 
 hetatu. 
 
 nomukoi. 
 
 omulongo. 
 
 omambo oengi. 
 
 e ua tila.
 
 478 
 
 APPENDTX. 
 
 
 
 Damara. 
 
 Ovambo. 
 
 Vauaiio. 
 
 He saw .. 
 
 ua tarere. 
 
 ua talele. 
 
 
 There he sleeps 
 
 o|)u oa rara. 
 
 opu ha lala. 
 
 .. 
 
 He is risen 
 
 ua sekama. 
 
 ua tikama. 
 
 .. 
 
 Wait .. .. 
 
 kurama. 
 
 mueua. 
 
 .. 
 
 Man 
 
 jomuadu, ) 
 
 
 omunu, 
 
 ( p?«i?'. ovandu. | 
 
 
 'plur. omauu. 
 
 Ox 
 
 jonkombe, 
 
 \ |j/«r.ozonkunibe 
 
 .1 
 
 j onkombe, ylur. 
 \ ozonkombe. 
 
 Tree 
 
 omuti, ) 
 plur. omiti. j 
 
 
 •jouti, ^Zwr. oviti. 
 
 Knife .. .. 
 
 j orutuo, ) 
 ( plur. otutuo. J 
 
 
 j umoko, jilur. olo- 
 ( moko. 
 
 Head .. .. 
 
 j otyiuru, 
 
 
 j outue, plur. 
 
 
 ( 2jlur, oviuru. 
 
 
 \ ovitue. 
 
 Mouth 
 
 . otyinyo, ) 
 
 
 j<imela, plur. olo- 
 
 
 ylur. ovinyo. f 
 
 
 "l mela. 
 
 Tooth 
 
 eyo, ylur. omayo. 
 
 
 eyo, pilur. ovayo. 
 
 Finger .. .. 
 
 jomunue, 
 
 ( pilur. ominue. 
 
 
 jomunue, plur. 
 \ oviuue. 
 
 Sheep 
 
 jontu, ( 
 
 
 j omeme, jj^wr. olo- 
 
 ( yiar. ozuntu. ) 
 
 
 ( meme. 
 
 Chief .. .. 
 
 jomuhona, 
 
 ( plur.oYshoan. 
 
 
 johoma, ^Z«r. olo- 
 ( homa. 
 
 Water .. .. 
 
 omeva. 
 
 
 ovava. 
 
 Door 
 
 oniuvero. 
 
 
 ovelo. 
 
 Forehead ., 
 
 otyipara. 
 
 
 otyipala. 
 
 Back .. .. 
 
 etambo. 
 
 
 ouvongo. 
 
 Dog 
 
 ompua. 
 
 
 ompua. 
 
 To climb .. 
 
 oku-ronda. 
 
 
 okulonda. 
 
 To fight .. .. 
 
 oku-rua. 
 
 
 okulua. 
 
 To throw . . 
 
 oku-yumba. 
 
 
 okuyimba. 
 
 To speali . . 
 
 oku-hungira. 
 
 
 okupopia. 
 
 One man . . 
 
 omundu umue. 
 
 
 omuna umue. 
 
 Two men . . 
 
 ovandu vevari. 
 
 
 omauu vavari. 
 
 Two oxen . . 
 
 jozoukombe im-) 
 ( bari. ) 
 
 
 jolonkombe 
 \ vivari. 
 
 One eye . . 
 
 eho rimui. 
 
 
 eho limui. 
 
 Two eyes.. 
 
 omeho yevari. 
 
 
 ovaho ovari. 
 
 AVash j-ourself .. 
 
 rikoha. 
 
 
 lisukula. 
 
 I washed myself 
 
 be rikoho. 
 
 
 nda lisukula. 
 
 I throw . . 
 
 me yumbu. 
 
 
 ndi yimba. 
 
 Kindle the fire.. 
 
 yakis omuriro. 
 
 
 sahala ondalo. 
 
 Put the fire out 
 
 temisa omuriro. 
 
 
 ima ondalo. 
 
 Cool the water . . 
 
 porisa omeva. 
 
 
 polis ovava. 
 
 My arm . . 
 
 okuokokuaudye. 
 
 
 okuako kuange. 
 
 My arms . . 
 
 omaoko oandye. 
 
 
 ovanko ange. 
 
 Your trees 
 
 omiti vioye. 
 
 
 oviti vioye.
 
 APPENDIX. 479 
 
 SENTENCES IN DAMAEA AND VANANO. 
 
 We love each otlier.—D. Tu suverasn.na. V, TuWsoh. 
 
 They beat each other, — D. Va tonasana. V. Va liveta. 
 
 Shut the door. — D. Fata omiivero. V. Tir ovelo. 
 
 Open the door. — D. Paturura omuvero. V. Yululaha ovelo. 
 
 Sit down, I work for you. — D. Kara pelis, me ungurire ove. V, Dumala, 
 
 ami hu dalavayela ove. 
 Work, do not sit down. — D. Unyura a hara pelis. V. Dalavaya, ka 
 
 dumale. 
 The man works. — D. Omundu ma ungura. V. Omunu u dalavaya. 
 The men work. — D. Ovandii va ungura. V. Omanu va dalavaya. 
 
 SENTENCES IN DAMAEA. 
 
 Ka omuti. — Chop down the tree. 
 
 Ka ef ozongune. — Go, fetch firewood. 
 
 Me ka teka omeva. — I go to draw water. 
 
 3Ia tu ka via. — We are going to eat. 
 
 Ue kuta f — Are you satisfied. 
 
 Mo i pi f — You-go- where ; where are you going ? 
 
 Me ka rara. — I am going to sleej). 
 
 Okakambe ka u. — Horse-it-fell ; the horse fell down. 
 
 Otyityuma tya teka. — Vessel-it-broke; the vessel is broken. 
 
 A mu tya ka a nyauda tyi ma verekena. — Not-you-saj^-not-it-glad-if-it 
 carried on the back ; don't say it (the child) is not glad, when carried 
 on the back ; i.e., ! how happy is the child when carried on the back ! 
 
 Ondyno ai tu peoe. — The house ends by the rock — i.e., it is as strong as a 
 rock. 
 
 Ena roye ove ani? — Name-your-you-who ? — i.e., what is your name? 
 
 Ka mu nena. — Not-you-with-uame ; you have no name; you are insigni- 
 ficant people. 
 
 Omucze ua ka rara. — Moon-it-go-sleep ; the moon sets. 
 
 Omundu u nepunga. — Man-he-with-lung ; the man has a lung — i.e. the 
 man is dying. 
 
 Bi notyiuru. — I-with-head ; I have a head — i.e. headache. 
 
 E ua Sana 2^eke. — He-he-like-alone — i.e. nobody is like him. 
 
 Oundyendye u nomayuru omanene. — The beads have big noses — i.e. they 
 are unequal. 
 
 Ka tu nooandu korutyira- — We have no men at our tail — i.e. nobody 
 comes after us ; we are the last.
 
 480 APPENDIX. 
 
 Ue ndyi pe otyiruaro. — You-me-gave-wound ; you have wounded me. 
 
 Ovandu va ha-rir otyizire. — The men have become a shadow — i.e. they 
 are so far ah'eady that they are almost iuvisible. 
 
 Outitiypo, ounene opuno ? — Smallness-or-greatness-enough — i.e. Is it full- 
 grown, or still growing? 
 
 Van(/a du a vanga. — Will-which-you-will — i.e. take which you like 
 
 Ua heua hohure. — He-is-meant-far — i.e. he is far from knowing it well. 
 
 THE END, 
 
 U)NDON : PRINTRD BI WILLIAM CLOWKS AND SONS, STAMFORD 8TKEF.T AM) OIIARfNG CROSS.
 
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